by Adam Middleditch News reporter A transsexual woman spoke in the Corbett Center Student Union on Thursday night about her transformation to and life as a woman in the society of today. Deidre McCloskey, 63, formerly Donald, addressed the trials and tribulations of wanting to be a woman but living life as a man. McCloskey's talk was part of Women's History Month and co-sponsored by the New Mexico State University Teaching Academy. McCloskey said she remembers falling asleep every night as early as age 11, hoping to wake up a girl. However, the society of 1953 was not open to the idea at all, she said. "If you told someone you were queer, they would put you in the madhouse," McCloskey said. McCloskey said she tried to embrace the male identity for most of her life. She was the captain of her high school football team, was married for 30 years and has two children. She said she used to privately cross-dress occasionally for fun. In 1995, she discovered cross-dressing clubs and conventions via the Internet and began publicly dressing in drag. McCloskey said her wife began to worry at that point but remained supportive. McCloskey said she came to a sudden realization after a long process of thought in July 1995. "It suddenly struck me that I didn't want to be a cross-dresser," McCloskey said. "I wanted to be a woman." McCloskey said her mother was comfortable with her decision almost instantaneously. Conversely, her sister, a professor of psychology in Arizona, thought her older brother was insane. "She had me committed twice," McCloskey said. She said afterward she moved to California to escape her sister. McCloskey began having cosmetic operations in November 1995. "These are my cheekbones; I paid for them," she said. McCloskey said she then spent a year in Holland as a full-time woman and visiting professor. Upon returning home, she received an e-mail from her son. She said her son was announcing his marriage and telling her that she was not invited to the wedding. "The bad news in my story is that the three people I love most in the world, my former wife, my son and my daughter, haven't spoken to me for nine years," McCloskey said. She said her story has a happy ending, regardless of the hardships she faced along the way. She never misses being a man, she said, and does not regret her decision in the least. "I haven't lost my sense of direction, I just ask for directions," she said. McCloskey said she probably would not have made the change in a more oppressive society. Also, she said her career would not have gone as far as it has if she were born a woman. McCloskey said she does not believe she has been two different people. Rather, she described the change as comparing herself now to herself when she was a child.
Sex change leads to happiness
Published: Monday, March 14, 2005
Updated: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:08
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