Transgender Student Appeals To Strangers To Help Her Pay For Gender Surgery
Transgender Student Appeals To Strangers To Help Her Pay For Surgery
PA
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A broke student has appealed for strangers to donate their cash so she can undergo surgery to become a woman.
University of Westminster student Nikki Hayden, born male, said "all I've ever wanted was to be female."
So far nearly £2,000 has been raised to help the second year psychologically graduate fulfil her dreams.
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Nikki Hayden is raising money to help pay for her surgery
On August 4 she went to Poland for rhinoplasty to shave her nose and make it appear slimmer.
But it is just the first step in a series of planned operations.
In total she aims to raise £10,000 towards breast implants and the removal of her Adam's apple.
She is hoping this will take place within the next two years when she's due to finish her psychology degree at the University of Westminster.
"The NHS won't pay for the additional ops which are crucial to help me become who I am," Miss Hayden, of Nottingham, said. "So I've had to launch a transgender surgery campaign online.
"I don't feel guilty about asking strangers for money."
She said in the past she has felt suicidal. "Ever since I can remember all I've ever wanted is to be female," she said. "I felt I was never going to fit in and I withdrew into myself.
"I had very few friends in school and none outside of school. My evenings and weekends were spent alone, usually reading.
"All I could think about was taking the necessary step to become whole – to become who I am as a person inside and out.
"I wanted to become the real me; the authentic me.
"Life is too short – I needed to be me."
Once she started college in Nottingham, Hayden began experimenting with make-up and a more androgynous style.
At 19, unable to face life as it was, she transitioned to live full-time as a woman, knowing there was no turning back.
"At such a young age it was a big step,' she said. "I knew there would be no turning back but I was confident in my decision."
At 21, she began Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) but having suffered with lung disease from the age of three, it took longer than normal to start the regime.
"HRT was wonderful at first, but its feminising effects began to slow down, particularly breast growth," she said. "Now it's stopped altogether which is so frustrating."
In May of this year, her gender dysphoria got so bad that she stopped going out.
Unable to afford her surgeries as a full-time student, she even considered prostitution but could not go through with it.
"But I want do things that make me feel better about myself, not worse," she said.
"My pursuit of a career and education play a big part in that, and I do not want to go down the dark and dangerous path putting myself in both mental and physical danger."
Instead, Hayden is hoping her GoFundMe page will lead to the donations she needs to pay for her surgery.
In three months she has raised nearly £2,000. One anonymous donor even gave £700.
"I am calling upon those of you who can understand and empathise with what I am going through to help me truly be the person I am," she said. "So I can not only be happy and content, but also go on to become a professional where I can help others."
What to do if your friend has come out as transgender
A person's identity is their own to decide(01 of10)
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If someone tells you they are a “he”, a “she”, a “they” (which some genderqueer people opt for), use that pronoun. Some people might even refer to themselves as an “it”, but definitely avoid this unless a person has specifically asked. You do not decide a person's identity, they do, both because it’s their right and because they are the only people that can ever truly know. Respect their wishes without question. (credit:DaveBleasdale/Flickr)
If you're unsure how to refer to someone, just ask(02 of10)
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If you really don't know, the best option is to just ask. Dancing around the subject can be irritating for a transgender person. Think of it like asking someone’s name: until you ask what it is, it’s fine for you to not know! If you’ve not had an opportunity to ask yet, “they” is a good general purpose pronoun to go for. Definitely don’t resort to “it”, “she-he”, “he-she” etc. as most people find these names horribly degrading. (credit:Matiluba/Flickr)
Be careful when talking about the past(03 of10)
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When you're referring to things in the past, never say things like "when you were x gender", or "born a man/woman". Most transgender people feel like they have always been the gender they have come out to you as, but needed to come to terms with it in their own way. Instead refer to the past without referencing gender, for example, "last year", or "when you were a child". (credit:jasonepowell/Flickr)
Don't be afraid to ask questions(04 of10)
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Each person is different, so won’t want to talk about it at all, whereas some might enjoy the opportunity to discuss it. The worst thing you can do is be awkward about it; just ask them if they want to talk about it! At the same time, don’t ask questions that would be strange to ask a cis person. Transgender people and cis people should be treated the same – don’t start conversations about their bodies, for example, that wouldn't be normal to discuss with your cis friends. (credit:Eleaf/Flickr)
Forget stereotypes(05 of10)
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Never call out a transgender person for behaviour which isn’t stereotypical for their identified gender, for example, if your trans-woman friend decides she doesn’t feel more comfortable in trousers sometimes. Gender identity is much more than just the things people do and the way they dress, but it’s not uncommon for transgender people to feel pressured into following stereotypes to “prove” themselves to their friends. (credit:kristin_a (Meringue Bake Shop)/Flickr)
Respect their privacy(06 of10)
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This one should be obvious, but never out someone unless they’ve made it clear they are openly transgender. It’s up to the individual to decide when they are comfortable coming out to people, and it is possible for them to be out to some people, but not others, so don’t assume that because they’ve come out to you there’s a free pass to tell everyone about it. (credit:anna gutermuth/Flickr)
It's okay to make mistakes(07 of10)
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Although it is important you try your best to respect a person’s identity, you are only human – if you've known your friend a long time, you'll likely have a lot of habits to break, including a change of name, pronouns, etc. As long as you’re trying, transgender people normally don’t mind. Sometimes they might point out that you’ve messed up, and that’s fine. When they do, measure the tone of their voice: if they are annoyed about it, calmly say sorry and try to ensure it doesn’t happen again. But equally, if they seem happy, don’t make a massive deal of it. (credit:opensourceway/Flickr)
Cross-dressing(08 of10)
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A cross-dresser is just someone who dresses in clothes stereotypically associated with the opposite gender: cross-dressing does not imply anything about a person’s gender. Eddie Izzard, for example, is a straight cis male who loves his makeup and dresses. Don’t say a cross-dresser dresses in “women’s clothes” or “men’s clothes” – if a male likes to wear dresses that he owns, he’s wearing a man’s dress because they are his. And do not assume that a person's gender correlates with their sexuality - it doesn't. (credit:twicepix/Flickr)
Get the terms right(09 of10)
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Try to avoid the term 'transvestite' as no one knows what it means. Technically, it just means 'cross-dresser', but it has been misused for a while now. 'Sex' is what body you have whereas 'gender' refers to a person’s identity. Other than the fact it is fairly common for a person’s gender to match their sex ('cis'), the two things are otherwise completely unrelated. 'Genderqueer' is a broad term that covers people that don’t fit into the stereotypical gender binary – that may be because they don’t feel they have a gender at all, they feel that they fit into another, third, gender or that they flit between those options, making them 'genderfluid'. 'Transgender' is someone who identifies with a gender other than their birth-assigned sex. A 'Transsexual' is someone who has physically changed their sex. (credit:.reid./Flickr)
Don't know? Don't worry!(10 of10)
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If you see someone out in public and you can’t figure out what gender they are, just don’t worry about it! Definitely don’t have a loud conversation discussing what “they might be”, and absolutely don’t try to peek under their skirt or into their shirt to see what 'parts' they’ve got. Yes, some transgender people really do have to put up with that sort of thing. (credit:@Doug88888/Flickr)