“I have been struck by how much more immediate ‘unearned’ credibility and respect I get as a completely average-looking man than I did as a visibly masculine-appearing woman. The difference is stark – whether it is service in a restaurant or on a plane, or appearing in court.”

“My sister was gay, my best friends were gay, so I figured I had to be gay. So I did everything they did. I tried kissing girls. But it didn’t feel right for me and eventually I was forced to come out as a heterosexual.”

“The numbers of gays and lesbians far outweigh those of trans. And gays and lesbians pay for our community’s struggles as volunteers and donators and we’ve still got a lot to do. Trans issues are also important, and perhaps they should be included in the overall agenda (though it seems this has become an assumption of our leaders without there first being a genuine debate about it). Meanwhile, any organization that buys into the idiotic and insulting concept of hierarchies of oppression is not getting a donation from me.”

“I was born in a small logging town on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State at Olympic Memorial Hospital. My family and I enjoyed spending vacations at Olympic National Park, where our favorite spot was the Olympic Hot Springs. I was able to finish high school one year early due to credits earned through Olympic Community College in Bremerton. I then attended college in Olympia, the capital of Washington State since 1889, where I belonged to a club that spent weekends hiking in the Olympic Mountains. I earned my way through college by working at the Olympic Boat Center, knowing more about boats than cars due to my upbringing in this Olympic environment. Upon graduation, I moved to the community of Bellingham, where I lived on Olympic Drive, until I moved near Seattle, where I enjoy having guests stay at its premier hotel, the Olympic Four Seasons.”