Transgender Community In Action

by Jonathon Pare

(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.)

When I was approached to write this article I was faced with the dilemma of not knowing where to begin; there are so many areas of interest, issues of concern and problems faced by transgender people that need to be discussed.

Literature pertaining to transgenderism for too long has been dominated by individuals from institutions such as the medical profession, the legal profession and the media. Whilst they provide informative, sometimes fascinating and sensational explanations and possible solutions to our existence, they do not seek to empower, liberate or validate our situation. From this premise there is no validation (acceptance or respect) of our difference, only justification (explanation, after explanation, after explanation, something that we all do too often). People from these institutions often convey to the wider society (including transgender people ourselves) that the phenomena of transgenderism is a problem and that there is a solution - namely surgery. Those of us who have had some or all of the medical procedures available know all too well that "we" as individuals do not change, only our appearance. We will always be different, we will always be transgender; even after medical treatment. Our experience(s), past, present and future will always be that of a transgender person, regardless of whether we are out or not, passing or not, or pre or post operative. Some of you may hate this truth for a variety of reasons, all of which are real, important and should be respected. I personally have come to appreciate and accept my transgender status after many years and through many difficult, often uncomfortable and yet challenging experiences.

My name is Jonathon, I'm twenty-six years of age, I reside in Victoria but I am originally from Tasmania. I am a qualified chef and worked for many years in the hospitality industry where no-one knew my transgender status, at present I am completing my third year of a Bachelor of Arts (Community Development).

I was fifteen years old when I came out to family and friends as a transsexual. I immediately faced and received an enormous amount of ridicule, violent forms of discrimination (mainly verbal) and many contradicting signs of love and support. This was a difficult time for not only me but for all the people around me who cared about my future. I dreamed of the day when I could forget my difference and get on with my life as a man. I longed to be just like everyone else, namely "normal".

Eleven years later and I have to accept the fact that there is either no such thing as normal or I am just another type of normal. I am a female-to-male transsexual, I am a transgender man, I do not pretend to myself any longer that I am a genetic man. This is my reality: I was born a female; something I fought for years to deny and perhaps it was the hardest thing about myself to accept, as I am a man, just like any other man - similar, yet uniquely different.

I attained the dream of looking the way I had always felt, as a man. I got on with my life (work, social life) but then I found myself in a society that still would not let me belong; people's inhumane, incorrect and often ridiculous opinions or arguments about difference (sexism, racism, anti-transgender and homophobia); and my lack of legislative recognition and protection (birth certificates, equal opportunity etc.)

For many years I successfully worked, socialised and lived in the mainstream "straight" community, but for me there has always been something missing. I have since tried to fill this gap by being involved with the gay community, but the gap is still there. Both of these communities contain wonderful people that help to meet some of my needs - employment, friends and networks. But over the years I have come to realise that there is only one community that can provide me with an array of wonderfully supportive and encouraging, accepting and understanding peers - the transgender community - in which I can truly be myself and therefore really belong.

Together with Sharon, I am actively involved as co­founder of a newly established support group entitled Transgender Liberation and Care (T.L.C.). T.L.C. is for Victorians (interstate visitors are most welcome) who identify as either M.T.F. or F.T.M. transgender (or transsexual). There are thirty-five members at present and the group meets monthly. The aim of T.L.C. is to address and challenge a diverse range of issues raised and prioritised by our membership as short-term and long-term goals. For example:

• decreasing the isolation faced by transgender people through peer and social support, establishing a comprehensive library (transgender archive, information and resources) and making available a newsletter;
• providing community education for the transgender and the wider society;
• lobbying for legislative recognition and protection (birth certificates, marriage rights and anti-discrimination);
• developing a referral listing of sensitive practitioners; and
• more involvement with the medical profession (through Monash Medical Centre's Gender Clinic).

Details about making contact with myself and/or the support group can be obtained by contacting Camille at the Gender Centre. As you can see, the work that we have to do as a community - supporting ourselves and each other, and increasing our recognition and acceptance - will keep us busy for a long time.

I, like many other transgender people, challenge the existing notion that our difference is a problem that can be fixed. I prefer to view it as an asset that holds huge amounts of potential for us as individuals, for us as a community and for our many supporters from the wider society. What the silent members of the community are now witnessing is a push (finally) by the active members of the transgender community and its supporters for the respect and the rights that we, like all members of society, deserve. We are slowly but surely creating and encouraging a united voice of our own. This is our time!

Jonathon Pare
Transgender Liberation & Care Post Office Box 1674
Preston South, Victoria 3072

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.