Alfred Kinsley's research on sexuality showed that gender and sexual preference both function on a separate spectrum and are not always linked together. Gender and sexuality is not a choice but rather an acknowledgement of the inner feelings a person has had throughout his or her life.

Dee has learned that the world was not a safe place for a transgender individual. National statistics about transgender life paint a grim picture. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force estimates that people read as transgender are 17 times more likely to be targeted for hate violence that people read as gay.

During her initial transition, Dee went through many different wardrobes. She believed the transition required her to re-invent her persona and so she tried out many different fashion and fashion statements. It took sometimes before she began to just be herself.

Dee has not gone through a gender reassignment operation yet, however, the hormones have helped her evolve more into her feminine gender.

Dee recalls that back in kindergarten, while all the boys played together and wanted nothing to do with girls, he just wanted to hang with the girls and play their games.

The hormones and electrolysis have not resulted in a complete freedom from all morning routines required by a male body.

Dee feels lucky to be surrounded by friends and family members who understand her choice and acknowledge the inevitability of that choice. She feels at home amongst her close friends at a restaurant before attending a show in a local theater.

A whopping 41% of people who are transgender or gender-nonconforming have attempted suicide sometime in their lives, nearly nine times the national average, according to a sweeping survey released three years ago in 2011

Dee was married four times. She has gone through three divorces and she is still officially married to her 4th wife, Penny. As David, and when still married with her first wife Lisa, cross-dressing was part of a game they played.

Donna & Gerry K., Dee's mother and father, are never too far. Dee's biological mother passed away before Dee's transition; however, Dee is certain that her mother would have supported her in her decisions just like her father now does.

Penny, Dee’s wife, remains a close and a trusted friend. Penny has helped Dee through her transition in many ways. As a fashion adviser, Penny often gives her opinion on Dee’s wardrobe and various fashion statements.

In school, Dee tried her best and succeeded to be one of the best students. She felt she had to be the best because it made her feel safe. Here, when she was David at 12 years old.

Gerry and Donna, Dee's father and mother, and sister in a family picture.

In Michigan where Dee and Gerry, her father, are on their way to breakfast on the morning Gerry turned 79 years old. Dee and her father enjoy a very close relationship. Gerry continues to refer to Dee as “him” and as “a great son.” He knows Dee will always be “his son” and he will love “him” no matter how “he” chooses to live “his” life.

Dee’s father lives in a small town in Michigan, and is undergoing a transition of his own and is in the process of selling their home and moving in with his daughter. Their family home basement now sits empty and the house is listed for sale.