I’ve always been a big fan of CSI Las Vegas (well mostly the “Gil Grissom era”). I love the humanity, the thoughtfulness, and careful development of characters. The gentle fallibility, the dry yet always respectful and kind humor and, more than anything, I adore the always non-judgmental approach no matter which little corner of human diversity the series highlights. No finger is pointed and there is no blame. They really cut to the core of what it means to be human.
Anyways, my partner and I are in the delightfully long process of binge-watching all seasons yet again. Yesterday we re-watched an episode that highlights the transgender community (Ch-Ch-Changes, Season 5, Episode 8).
One scene in particular stands out. Grissom meets Mimosa, a beautiful transgender dancer, the friend of a murdered trans woman. Mimosa explains to Grissom what it feels like to discover and be aware you are trans in a beautiful, simple metaphor: “Imagine being three years old, tormented by the sensation that you have the wrong parts. Your body is like a foreign country and you’re stuck without a passport. All because in your first trimester your X and Y-chromosomes split off and went different directions. Girl soul – boy body.”
In my case it was girl body – boy soul but, oh my, I seriously could never have explained this any better or more accurately.
