As anyone who knows me would agree, I truly am a unique individual filled with lovely quirks. One of which, I must confess, is the fact that I adore adorning my nails with vibrant colors (although only occasionally do they properly match my outfits).

When questioned why I do this, my answers might vary. A simple, "Because I have great nails, and I like to paint them" suffices for the casual acquaintance, or I might even use the excuse, "I painted them once to go to a club and decided to keep it."

Those who would understand what I'm talking about would hear how "it's my own small, private way to fight against gender stereotypes."

You decide which explanation you prefer. Regardless, one would think that something as simple as a guy painting his nails would be no big deal. Hey, a lot of the new musical artists are going with black, so it's practically mainstream, right? You'd be surprised.

Last semester, I tutored a fifth-grader as part of my Teacher Education 250 class. While on a field trip with some of the other TE students and their own mentees, one of the younger girls asked me why my nails were painted. I replied using choice No. 1 from above, but this didn't satisfy her.

She proclaimed that only girls could paint their nails, and even despite assurances from her own mentor that it was all right for guys to do so as well, she refused to change her opinion.

Recently, I've been tutoring at a middle school (now on to TE 301), and on my first visit, I was asked to work with a student on an activity the class was doing. While I was sitting near his desk, he kept calling across the room for his friend to come help him. He confided in whispers (that were clearly audible to me) that he didn't want to have to work with the weird guy with painted nails.

I was crushed. I had traveled to the class in the hopes of being a great resource for these struggling kids.

Yet, I had become so accustomed to my nails that I hadn't even considered that something so small could be used against me. I told the child he didn't have to work with me if he didn't want to, but on the inside, I felt like hiding in some hole somewhere.

Now take my story and consider it on a grander scale. Let's say instead of simply breaking small gender stereotypes, you're stepping completely outside of that small "M" box you mark on the "sex" part of surveys. What if it's not about painting your nails because it's pretty but about feeling as though you're trapped in a body that isn't yours? Sound like something out of a science-fiction movie? For many people, it's a reality that they have to deal with every waking hour. Transgender people are not only something that the MSU community knows little about but are also often a forgotten part of the lesbian, bisexual , gay and transgender community - the elusive "T" in LBGT.

Transgender, often an umbrella term used to describe many different types of people, is commonly an identity overlooked and misunderstood.

It's difficult even for me to comprehend, because I identify as the sex I was born - male. However, gender is less about the physical plumbing and more about the psychological identity of someone. I personally can't even begin to comprehend the strain, frustration, prejudice and fear that transgender people have to deal with. Along with the outright discrimination against them, they also have to deal with the fifth-graders who fear them or the people who don't intend to be insulting or hurtful but might say things that truly can injure a person's psyche.

What many people don't realize is the wide breadth that gender identity encompasses. There are a series of transgender people - those who feel their gender doesn't match their physical sex. Some have operations to actually change their sex to match their gender, and others change their characteristics in an attempt to achieve that sort of transformation. Many reject the dichotomy of "male versus female" altogether and decide they fall somewhere in the middle or in a completely different category altogether.

But even outside of being transgender, tons of people (such as myself) are exhibiting gender characteristics and gender expressions every day that don't match their societal image of "sex" - the women who work in traditionally male jobs and, likewise, men who work in traditionally female settings. Women who wear pants instead of dresses or cut their hair very short.

Men who paint their nails or who wear earrings. At some point in your life, you're probably going to break out of that Barbie-and-Ken-doll mold that society defines as "male" and "female" - bet you didn't know that you were creating your gender identity and that you - yes, even you, could be considered transgender. I believe that education is an effective way to erase discrimination and prejudice, because many people who exhibit these traits aren't malicious so much as ignorant.

Consequently, I have done as much as I can to help educate myself about transgender issues. I question my friends who are transgender and attend panels with them, trying to learn what life is like for them being a minority within a minority.

I study my history and see what an important part transgender people played in the famous Stonewall Riots. I stop calling a group of people "you guys" and make sure that I'm "staffing" a table at a resource fair.

I participate in transgender awareness activities on campus, and I get to know the person behind the "T" instead of his or her label.

I suggest that the rest of the MSU community try to put in the same effort I have to get to know this community. These people are in your classes, at your work, in your dorms and, most of the time, I bet you don't even realize it.

Take a little bit of time to find out something about someone different than you.

If you'd like to learn about the transgender community, as well as proactive ways the LBGT community is fighting for transgender rights, please contact alliance@msu.edu for information.

Erik Green is a State News guest columnist and president of RING. He can be reached at greener5@msu.edu.