[livius drusus]

What Happens When a Quiverfull Dad Becomes a Woman?

Some time later, Melissa's husband confessed that he had been reading a lot about transsexual people on the internet, and that he felt like he might be a "transsexual"; he'd always felt like he was born in the wrong body, had mourned not being able to be a mother, and coveted his sisters' long hair when he was young.

The two talked, and talked, and talked, and talked about what to do about her husband's dilemma. At this point, he was an ordained pastor and they had three children. She talked to a priest, who dismissed her husband's problem as a sexual disorder (he was an aggressive gay! He just wanted his own vagina to play with!) and she consulted the internet, discovering that her brand of Christianity believed that being transgender was caused by childhood trauma. Her husband had no such problem.

Instead of quashing his desire to present in a more feminine way, Melissa encouraged her husband to be the person he felt he should be. He grew his hair long, began working out, and began dressing differently. Meanwhile! Melissa realized that she'd always been sexually attracted to women, and that her husband's gender had no effect on the fact that she loved him. And also meanwhile! Church leaders noticed that her husband was carrying a purse around and wearing eyeliner and acting more feminine, which they attributed to satanic intervention. Melissa was over dudes, Melissa's husband was over being a dude, the church was over both of them, and they were over the church.

After much trepidation, Melissa's husband decided to begin living as a woman. And because Melissa is attracted to women and loves her spouse, they stayed together and Melissa came out as a lesbian and the two left the church.