Sophie

I generally say I am queer. I feel as though that’s important to me because I feel as though the word, queer for me, it sort of, it symbolises sort of fluidity it sort of I, when I am romantically sexually attracted more to, I don’t focus on gender identity as such, do I like you as a person? Do we have so many interests? Do you respect me? Do you see me as a woman. That’s a big point as I’m not going to be in any relationship at all with anyone who doesn’t. And that sort of thing. So that is how I experience, I experiences my gender identity. I experience my sexuality more as a sort of continuation of my gender identity but not, about more, about who I am attracted to and I do, I feel a great freedom by being able to have the sort of fluid sort of easy-going as it were inclusive sexuality and able to be true to myself and the reason why I used the word queer is because it’s very useful to me in terms of being able to reclaim the word as a empowerment of my people. Although I understand that not everyone uses that and I completely understand and respect that. I’d only ever use it to describe myself and not anyone else.

I feel as though there is still quite a lot of misinformation about trans, especially medical care within sort of the media, a lot of focus on the left stages about things like surgery and stuff. There have been very good programmes that have been on TV that I have watched a few of about transitioning. I feel as though it’s, in some ways not sensationalistic but you could argue in some ways slightly, even though they may be the best intentions. I don’t feel as though the media, as a whole understand the full sort of being trans and transitioning. They are improving, but very slowly and like the whole of society, but I feel as though once they sort of fully understand and fully understand sort of whole process of everything through to like pronouns and stuff. I feel as though I would be a lot better. Although, myself I haven’t had really any impact with the media as such. It’s just what I’ve seen on TV and read.

I don’t really ignore negative things. I do get angry. I do get very angry when I see things and I read things on the media, especially when they’re reported and spoken by high profile people, political leaders that are negative towards trans people and LGBT people. I do get very sad. It saddens me. It makes me feel quite angry, actually that I, my gender and who I am has not been recognised. That is my whole comment. Unfortunately, I feel as though the climate at the moment in terms of certain political events, and also certain sort of attitudes within the media. I feel as though those attitudes I feel are a lot more shown, a lot more than maybe positive outcomes and that happens to me a lot because I feel as though all you’re seeing is negative things. It would be nice to see positive things, even if there’s negative things and people say, this is bad. It would be nice to see some really positive things have helped LGBT people about positive representations I feel are in many ways lacking. Especially in sort of characters in films. It would be nice to have a, it would be nice to have characters that are trans characters. I know there’s been recent franchises, there’ve been recent characters or things that are milestones of relationships. It would be nice to have, like for example, a trans superhero for example. That would be nice to have or a trans, a TV series, I know there have been some, but a TV series that wasn’t about someone transitioning, but through the main character happened to be trans.

I would say if GPs knew more about the key points are things like gender identity being a spectrum. Pronouns and names, the importance of pronouns and names and the fact that gender identity and sexuality are not, can be related, but not, not exclusively related, that they can change. And really just listen to understand that it’s really tough going to your GP and going to anyone and saying that you are trans your non-binary and whatever. It was the hardest thing one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. It’s something that I have, would only be able to do because something that I was able to do because I had knowledge when I was sort of knowledge unable to speak it and sort of say, this is who I am and I was, I felt comfortable enough to do that. As a rule it was something, it’s something that is very difficult. So GPs need to understand and respect that—I realise I went off on a tangent. I do apologise. Understand and respect that and be, just listen and understand that’s my main message.