"It was a modern coming-out"

After her sex change, Michelle LeBlanc says she 'desperately needed to talk to other people like me."

André Picard

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Published on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 5:35PM EST

Last updated on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 1:54PM EST

One night, in May of 2007, Michel Leblanc was lying in bed with his wife watching CNN. Larry King was interviewing a transsexual – someone who had undergone a sex change.

Mr. Leblanc turned to his wife and said: “If you would die, that's what I would do – I would change gender.”

With those words, “a time bomb went off” in his head, plunging him into a profound depression. Mr. Leblanc, a former football player and successful Internet entrepreneur, had been hiding for 45 years that he had always felt like a woman.

He had long struggled with depression, but, over the next three months, went virtually sleepless, dropped 30 pounds and became suicidal.

A psychiatrist diagnosed him with sexual-identity disorder and recommended a sex change. It was liberating.

Michel Leblanc began the transition to Michelle Blanc.

But what would the impact be on her successful business as an Internet marketing consultant? Ms. Blanc turned to public-relations experts, who had one firm recommendation: “Shut up.”

But she decided otherwise, turning instead to what she knew best: the Web.

“My life had crumbled and I desperately needed to talk to other people like me.”

Online, I found a community and support.”Ms. Blanc opened a MySpace account and became friends with 235 other transsexuals. She started a blog, femme 2.0, and created an avatar on Second Life, a popular online community.

“It was a modern coming-out,” Ms. Blanc says with a laugh.....

Original Article