Who we always were: the girl next door

Part one of a monthly series on transgender lives in rural America

Photos by Liz Chrisman

At first blush, a cisgender person writing about their perspective on *transgenderism comes across as ‘splainin’. You know, like mansplainin’, whitesplainin, and now cissplainin’.

“Splainin’” (for those who need an explanation) is ignorant, self-righteous, condescending, and usually unsolicited. It’s offered by someone wallowing in …