Ep 46: Crossroads of Faith: Michelle Navigates Intersection of Identity and Spirituality

Ep 46: Crossroads of Faith: Michelle Navigates Intersection of Identity and Spirituality

Michelle’s Transgender Journey: Surviving Trauma, Finding Faith, and Living Out Loud Demystifying the Transgender Journey Hosts Lynn Murphy and Wendy Cole welcome Michelle, a transgender woman with multiple advanced degrees and an eidetic memory, to share her story of identity, resilience, and freedom. Raised in a small DC-area town by a Pentecostal minister father, Michelle describes realizing she was female as a teen, coming out at 15, and being brutally abused and forced back into the closet for decades. During a later divorce, therapy with a transgender therapist helped her name her experience and come out as a woman born transgender; she quickly began hormone therapy and pursued gender-affirming surgeries while navigating dysphoria and dysmorphia. Michelle discusses family reactions, parenting a teenager exploring identity, rebuilding community after a church relationship ended, and finding an affirming church nearby. She emphasizes humor, supportive “tribe” building, and not giving up after surviving multiple suicide attempts. © 2026 Key Innovative Solutions, Inc. For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202] https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com [https://womenwhopushthelimits.com] (c) 2026 Key Innovative Solutions, Inc. To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

Episode 45: Intersex Uncovered: Myths, Truths, & Lived Experience with Vickie Boisseau and Jim Costich

Intersex: The Hidden Reality, Forced Surgeries, and Why Sex Isn’t Either/Or | Demystifying the Transgender Journey In this episode of Demystifying the Transgender Journey, hosts Lynn Murphy and Wendy Cole focus on intersex experiences with guests Vickie Boisseau (Organization Intersex International) and Jim Costich (retired medical lab professional and speaker). They explain how intersex has been historically pathologized and deliberately hidden, discuss the lack of adequate language and the conflation of sex and gender, and challenge the cultural insistence on a strict binary, emphasizing “all/and” rather than “either/or.” Jim shares being born in 1957 with ambiguous anatomy, being sent to a gender clinic at 14, and later discovering at 44 that he has a vagina. Vickie describes being surgically altered starting at eight months, undergoing 14 failed hypospadias repairs, hormone interventions, partial androgen insensitivity, and a later adult amputation and ovotestes removal. They criticize non-consensual infant surgeries, note intersex is common but rarely discussed, and recommend books by Hida Viloria, Sharon Preves, and work by Cynthia Mulit.   For More Information about Vickie Boisseau: https://www.facebook.com/vickie.boisseau [https://www.facebook.com/vickie.boisseau]  Elder A. Vickie Boisseau - Intersex Campaign for Equality IC4E | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avboisseau]  https://www.instagram.com/vickie2spirit [https://www.instagram.com/vickie2spirit]    For More Information about Jim Costich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-costich-34919340 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-costich-34919340] https://www.facebook.com/jim.costich/ [https://www.facebook.com/jim.costich/]  https://jamescostich.substack.com/ [https://jamescostich.substack.com/]   Writers Mentioned: Katrina Karkazis Hida Viloria: Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self Sharon Preves Cynthia Mulit: "Intersex Experiences, Activists' Perspectives, and Counseling Implications"   For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com [https://womenwhopushthelimits.com] (c) 2026 Key Innovative Solutions, Inc.    To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm [https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm]

Ep 44: From Role Playing to Role Model: Dr. Grace Kinsley Finds Joy in Community and LGBTQ Visibility

From Role Playing to Role Model: Dr. Grace Kinsley Finds Joy in Community Care and LGBTQ Visibility In this episode of Demystifying the Transgender Journey, hosts Lynn Murphy and Wendy Cole speak with Dr. Grace Kinsley, a retired locum GP in Nova Scotia and trans woman who knew she was not a boy at age six but hid for decades, describing puberty as terrifying and living behind a “mask” until a “transition or die” moment at 55 amid extreme stress and suicidality. Grace shares how she came out to her wife Sandra (who supported her immediately), faced resistance from her mother, began socially transitioning right away, and started HRT five months later after WPATH assessments, describing profound physical and emotional changes, increased confidence, and sustained joy. She discusses gender-affirming surgery in Montreal, her advocacy with GSAs and queer youth, safety in public spaces, and the importance of education, science-based care, and empathy for both transition and detransition.   For more about Grace Kinsley: https://www.facebook.com/grant.kinsley   For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com [https://womenwhopushthelimits.com]   (c) 2026 Key Innovative Solutions, Inc.    To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

Ep 43: The Last Big Step: Krystal Franqui's Experience Before, During and After Gender-Affirming Surgery

Krystal’s Gender-Affirming Surgery Journey (Part 3): Preparation, Recovery, and Finding Peace In part three of Krystal’s three-episode series on Demystifying the Transgender Journey, Wendy Cole and Lynn Murphy welcome back Krystal following her recent gender-affirming surgery at Mount Sinai in Manhattan. Krystal explains how her dysphoria and safety concerns led her from considering surgery to realizing she needed it, how she chose her surgical team, and the lengthy requirements involved, including letters, BMI goals, tucking, and extensive hair removal. She describes the emotions and logistics of moving up her surgery date, the hospital experience, early recovery challenges, and key post-op care such as swelling control and long-term dilation. Krystal shares that post-surgery she feels “normal,” calm, and at peace, reflecting on gratitude, womanhood, and what trans perspectives reveal about gender.   Video Content Mentioned in this Episode: Pt 1 of Krystal’s Story on DTTJ: https://youtu.be/o-EMMRsf3bk [https://youtu.be/o-EMMRsf3bk] Pt 2 of Krystal’s Story on DTTJ: https://youtu.be/LroRkCwUiJo [https://youtu.be/LroRkCwUiJo] “Born To Be” Documentary on Mount Sinai: https://www.borntobefilm.com/ [https://www.borntobefilm.com/]   For more information about Krystal Franqui: https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472 [https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472]  https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social]   For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com   To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm

Episode 42: Krystal Franqui's Journey Part 2: Adult Life, Acceptance, and Advocacy

Krystal Franqui on Dysphoria, HRT Relief & Choosing Visibility (Part 2 of 3) | Demystifying the Transgender Journey In part two of Krystal Franqui’s three-episode series on Demystifying the Transgender Journey, Krystal describes years of trying not to transition by using detailed mental stories and intense hobbies like Civil War reenacting to distract from dysphoria, until COVID-era stress triggered severe panic attacks and breakdowns at work. After starting therapy and being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, she began HRT in 2021 and describes rapid improvements in mood, relationships, and mental clarity, alongside losing a job after coming out to HR. Krystal shares her family’s reactions, including supportive children and an accepting mother, recounts early experiences of gender euphoria, and explains being trans through analogies like a pebble in a shoe and describing color to someone born blind. She also explains why she chose visibility and education over going stealth. For more information about Krystal:  https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472 [https://www.instagram.com/krysfran2472]  https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/ember83.bsky.social] For more information about this project: https://www.thetransgenderjourney.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/demystifying-the-transgender-journey/id1799458202 https://www.facebook.com/thetransgenderjourney https://womenwhopushthelimits.com [https://womenwhopushthelimits.com] To contact Wendy: MeetWendyCole.com. https://www.facebook.com/wendycolegtm https://www.youtube.com/@wendycole8326 https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-cole-gtm