AMAV VICDOC SUMMER 2023 - Magazine - Page 25
While progress has been made,
both socially and legally, there are
still areas where systems fall short,
or where discrimination occurs,
which unfortunately includes
our healthcare system.
—
It can be tough for transgender
and nonbinary people to bear
the burden of educating others
about their lived experience.
Look in the mirror and tell me.
What it is like to be free.
How do I grasp reality.
When I don’t have an identity?
To quickly summarise, transgender people have a
gender identity which differs from the one they
were assigned at birth, in contrast to cisgender
people (who’s gender identity matches). A trans
woman, for example, may have been assigned,
or assumed to be, ‘male’, but is in fact a woman
(and vice versa for trans men).
In addition to trans men and trans women there
are nonbinary people, whose gender identity is
outside the male/female binary classification of
gender. Gender identity also differs from gender
expression; gender identity is the gender someone
is, who they ‘internally’ are, gender expression is
the way people show who they are externally,
whether hair, clothing, jewellery, makeup, etc.
A classic example to demonstrate is a
‘tomboy’; a girl/woman with a more masculine
gender expression.
When I first heard about ‘transgender people’,
I found myself strangely drawn. People could
‘change’ their gender… and that was okay? I fell
down a rabbit hole of reading, watching, learning.
It took a few months, but it would finally click.
As the realisation hit, I felt an immediate rush
of warmth, joy, and relief: “I AM TRANS!!”.
Then the reality of the situation slowly
descended, replacing the joy with a sense
of dread “I… am trans”.
Transgender people
have a gender identity
which differs from the
one they were assigned
at birth, in contrast
to cisgender people
(who’s gender identity
matches).
––
VI CD O C SPRI N G 2022
25