I think the standard is usually 'insistance + persistance', like this little boy insists he's a girl and that persists, that child continues to insist on it over a lengthy period of time. If it falls by the wayside and is not persistently held, then yeah, probably just a phase.

Personally, I think 'go them' and I'm glad they figured it out a whole lot earlier than I did. I think I might have had the fleeting thought of "I'd like to grow up to be a girl" as a kid, but I did not figure it out completely until I was 22. I'm 24 now, and have been on hormones for a year now. I'm glad I figured it…

Y'know what my favorite part of the whole dude ranch was?

"What does the T on the wall stand for?"

For myself, I was a teenage boy who wasn't particularly thrilled about being a virgin, but I never took it out on any girls, I always directed my anger at myself. I had some competency at self-reflection, but yeah, I was not very good at self-perception, as it took me another 7 years to figure out I was a girl, so…

Yeah, I saw that and was like, 'is that a wrist gauntlet made from a Chuck?"

and one time he had to use a burlap sack instead!

Personally pre-Swordfishtrombones is by far my favorite of all Waits stuff. Love 'Small Change' and 'Blue Valentine'