<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/28/i-had-two-options-die-or-find-a-way-to-live-as-a-transgender-man>
"At the age of three I told my nana, “There’s been a mistake, I’m not a girl”;
at 17 I made my identity public knowledge. I am Jasper, a now 24-year-old
transgender man, almost seven years into my transition – and happier than ever.
The happiness I now feel was hard fought, as is the case for many trans and
gender-diverse folk like me.
Trans rights are in the news again because of the tour of the rightwing
anti-trans agitator Kellie-Jay Keen, AKA Posie Parker. My mum and I attended
the nipaluna/Hobart counter-rally along with hundreds of other fair-minded
people. We couldn’t hear it at the time, but my mum and I were subject to
baseless personal attacks from Parker, which led to a flurry of online
harassment labelling my parents as “groomers”, deadnaming and misgendering me.
On a positive note, in one of her tweets Parker called me a “small straight
man” and, while I’m sure it was meant to offend, my Tinder bio has never looked
better.
There were two options for me as I grew up and had no choice but to accept my
identity – I could die or find a way to live as Jasper. I did not want to die
but I was terrified of how difficult transition would be. No two gender-diverse
people trek the same transition path; I am one of those who knew medical
transition was necessary for me – a genuinely lifesaving process."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
