Teens in transition

Philly.com – By Gloria Hochman for The Inquirer

As puberty hits, transgender youths are increasingly finding it the catalyst for coming out about their sexual identities.

Shortly after school began in the fall of 2004, an eighth grader named Tye Clark delivered a jolting message to her classmates.

“I’m the same person I was last year and the year before, but I am transgender and will now come to school as a boy,” Tye told four assemblies at Cedarbrook Middle School in Cheltenham Township. “You may not agree, but I hope you will respect me and my right to get a good education.”