transgender issues
Allowing trans young people to use their preferred name at work, school, home and with friends dramatically improved mental health.
Trans people still face hardship in Canada.
Russian Paratroopers at an anti-homophobia rally in Moscow (source: Wikimedia) Only 18 months ago the drive for global LGBT
I was born me, I still am me. The only change was no longer having to pretend - or try to pretend - to be male to please others. The only change was finding freedom and wanting to live. I never changed sex I found a way to speak truth out loud.
It is not my queer identity that causes my depression. I am more happy than I have ever been since I came out and found words to express my own identity. My wife was astounded by my forwardness and how comfortable I was with holding hands or kissing in public. I never had a second thought about it, my relationship with her was as natural as any I had with men
The US Secretary of Defence's recent announcement that transgender Americans will be permitted to continue serving in the country's military for the time being has come following a disastrous few weeks in the wake of President Trump's ban.
But I've spent my whole working life and most of my childhood connected to live performance so I can reel off a million reasons why it matters. Recently however, one justification in particular has been at the forefront of my mind. I have been producing a new show called BULLISH with my theatre company Milk Presents.
So many rhetorics around LGBT+ and particularly transgender identities focus on the difficulties and tribulations so I thought that I would share a story of hope today. Five weeks ago I married the love of my life, a cisgender woman, a lesbian. When we met almost three years ago I presented as female and, though I was beginning to question my identity I really had no language to explain it.
I am trans, I'm also an ambitious and well educated woman with a higher degree. However, like many trans women post transition, I've found that barriers to working as a professional abound. My mother, a feminist, politician and writer taught me to aspire to be the best I could possibly be. Consequently I trained as an educator, working in universities, colleges and schools.
I will preface this, not with a content/trigger warning, but with an explanation of why I feel I can write about this subject. I'm a cis woman and a loving ally of the trans community. My first partner was trans and, although we didn't work out, I have always had respect and love for the trans community. I've also been a volunteer with Sparkle for 7 years.