Transgender community seeks end to violence, discrimination

MercuryNews.com – Donna Jones – Sentinel Staff Writer

Tara Sawyer was punished as a small child for acting like a girl so she tried to live as the boy she appeared to be at birth.

But four years ago, the 32-year-old admitted to herself what she knew instinctively as a toddler. Despite her male physical characteristics, Sawyer said, she isn’t a man.

Coming out cost her family and friends, the Santa Cruz resident said. But after years of being detached from any emotion, she said she’s regained her ability to feel and she can’t go back.