42-year-old Lia has gone through a series of procedures and plans to go through even more procedures because she felt she was stuck in the wrong body. She lived as a man for more than four decades, before realizing that she had been pushing aside her feelings of wanting to be a woman all her life. Her courage has inspired many people to express their support and admiration. Yet, as always, not everyone has been open and accepting. There are also those who choose to be offensive and hateful in expressing their hatred towards people who are different from them. We had a little taste of this hatred ourselves when we shared Lia’s story on social media, which led to an onslaught of abusive comments and threats. What does this say about us as a society – is being different really such a huge issue?
Why are we, as a society, so intolerant of those who are different?