Presidents Report

by Jean Noble

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Again I bid you all welcome, my April report is as follows. What a discombobulated time it has been since my last report to you all, I've just about recovered from the momentum of Mardi Gras and I guess that some of you would be feeling the same (seriously, it really does knock the stuffing out of you).

I believe this year's Trany Pride initiative was one of the most significant events thus far this year and I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you all about what Trany Pride actually means and how all this relates to the service. The tranny community has not had a float in the Mardi Gras parade since the days of Tiresias House, (as no doubt some of the older girls will remember) we at the centre had wanted to raise the profile of the community via the parade for some years but took the viewpoint that the community itself should take the initiative when the grass roots could say that the time was right.

I'm sure that everyone involved in the float had their own individual reasons for participation and their own unique understanding of the ideal "trany pride", as I'm sure you all do. The reason that made the most sense to me was the feeling that we at the centre could not expect to foster self-esteem in the client base and the community unless we had addressed these issues ourselves; specifically that the "community" consists entirely of vastly different individuals with one central concern, of gender issues. It is impossible to advance one solution to all people coming to terms with their place in such a hodge podge of sexual identities other than the idea that the people who experience this continuum each have an individual unique worth. That the individuals themselves should show pride in that which holds them together as a community.

This is sounding a little long winded; my apologies, but from feedback it appears that these concepts are not universally understood: either that the ideas themselves are frightening; I know that the reality of "springing" myself to half a million people from the back of a truck was utterly over the top, totally the opposite of everything I had ever done to that point. It was a wholly positive experience and one that does not fade with time, the wholesale approval of the crowd and the Mardi Gras marshals particularly made me realise that one of the main reasons that I feel proud of my trannyness was that thousands of other people are proud of me and my trannyness too.

By way of conclusion, I would like to thank a few people; Aidy, Jill, Norrie, Sharon, Max, Catherine, Bruce, Linda, Lisa, Christina, Camille, Bill, Lee, Carmen and Phyllis. Tony the truck driver for work far beyond what he expected and everyone on the float that night. I'd like to especially thank all the people at Mardi Gras workshop who made the experience so much easier and more pleasant.

Things at the Centre itself have been moving along rather nicely as well, the Easter barbecue last week went really well, easily the best and most enjoyable one for a while. Magnificent food (thanks Josie and staff team) and a great atmosphere, thanks to everyone who attended, please come again.

Thanks everyone for being patient with me and my ravings, I appreciate your time and interest.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.