Stephanie and Billie Jean: Living transgender in rural Pennsylvania

Clouds as dark as anthracite crested a mountain and thundered across a valley before they crashed into the quiet town Stephanie Fritsch calls home. The late-June storm blew dust up and down the hilly streets of tiny Wiconisco, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County. American flags thrashed outside homes where miners once lived. Rain pelted cars rusting out back. Stephanie stood on her front porch, taking in the beauty. Her pink hair whipped around in the wind. “This is a real Appalachian thunderstorm,” she said. “Welcome to rural Pennsylvania.” Stephanie, 58 at the time, is a transgender woman living…

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