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Being true to your trans self
Who would have thought in the dark days of Section 28 in the UK that actually educating kids about queer and trans identities would be a good thing. A lack of education about identities is always problematic, especially when the identity you gravitate towards is either verboten or shunned by society. Many British transitioners of my age will tell you much the same story, that they either only accidently discovered trans identities in the 1990s or they came out in much later once they saw that such as thing was possible. Indeed, you read Jan Morris’s biography and it is clear such things were the case in the 1940s through to the 1970s, as society was keen to keep a tight lid on trans identities being respectable. The internet blew that out of the water, and for that there is much to be grateful for. Yet, with the rise of social media has also come an increased visibility of those who wish to either put the trans genie back in the bottle (spoiler: you cannot) or twist the handful of detransitioners into more than a rounding error. This is why I firmly believe it is essential that each trans person is free to live their best affirmed life, being true to their personal truth.
When I came out to myself around 1991 I was brash and a kid, not really appreciative of the wider impact being trans would later have on my life. There was nothing anyone could say or do that would have shifted my inner…
