A gondolier who made headlines a decade ago for being the first woman to enter the male-dominated cadre of Venice's 'gondolieri' has announced s/he is transgender.
Alex Hai made the revelation last Wednesday on Facebook and in a lengthy interview on Radiolab.
In the Facebook post, Hai said he had mastered rowing "while in the body of a woman". But he said he was not a woman and "it is inaccurate to refer to me as 'she' or 'Alexandra' for any reason".
Mind you, I couldn't care less whether s/he calls him/herself Alex or Alexandra. So while s/he's trying to figure out which toilet to use, I much rather watch once more Luchino Visconti's "Death in Venice".
If you want to read Thomas Mann's novella of the same name, click here. Reading this short novella (love that tautology!) shouldn't take you much longer than it takes them to add another letter to "LGBTI".
