Jessie Reyez - NO ONE’S IN THE ROOM

Mom let us do our thing. I climbed trees and played with blocks and Dinky Toys. I didn’t know what to do with dolls. My brother had an Easy Bake Oven and did his own ironing (early 1960s). No, we were not choosing gender, we were just being kids.

I remember taking my fiancé to my home church (early 1980s), and people told me afterwards that they thought he was a she. Right, a 6’3” she. He actually was deformed. His mother was near Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped.

I think if I had a young son or grandson who was experimenting with makeup I’d encourage him to join a theatre group so he could explore that without painting himself into a corner.