This article has been checked with Naomi and approved by her as reflecting the way she sees things. It also reflects my efforts at understanding a dimension of life that is new to me.
“My name is Naomi. That is what I would like you to call me, Naomi. It’s the name I have chosen for myself and I like it. That is what I answer to, that is what I identify with. Naomi. I know you used to know me as Robert but I have changed. I am Robert no longer, can’t you see? Is it not obvious that now I am a woman? And if you continue to call me Robert out of habit all that tells me is you are not actually relating to ME. You are stuck with an old idea of me and you are not connecting to the way I am right now. In my view, the only reason anyone could get stuck in that way must be because they are not interested in knowing who I really am and how I feel. Somewhere inside, they don’t want to know me. It’s too threatening.”
I have “known” Naomi for almost thirty years, first as Robert, of course, and ove…
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