Transition Photos
When I was newly out waaaayy back in 2001-2 it seemed to be an unwritten rule that every newly out trans girl should have an online photo album*, and I guess I was no exception. For me it was not so much to do with vanity, but rather with proving to myself that I could actually do it.
* Remember that this was long before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other forms of social media as we understand it now.
With the benefit of 20 years of hindsight, they also show how far I have come since then, and I've kept them up as they document an important bit of my past. The person you see in these photos is me, but she's definitely a proto-me, and I've changed massively since.
Early Glimpses (July/August 2002) | |
My first week "out" in public (August 2002) | |
The Fluffball (September 2002) | |
My first Girls' Night Out (October 2002) | |
Friends' Reunion (February 2003) | |
A long weekend in Somerset (May 2003) | |
Six go mad in Tewkesbury, or... "Re‑enactors do it with big weapons" (July 2003) | |
Trans-MISSION (August 2003) | |
Thailand (November/December 2003) | |
Thailand (January/February 2004) |
If you are in a similar position to where I was and are despairing about being accepted as yourself, I hope these photos will show that it's not as unlikely as you might think.
Even before I underwent facial feminisation surgery I didn't have any significant problems, despite my face not (as far as I was concerned) looking particularly female - at best I felt my face seemed somewhat androgynous then.
Since I completed my transition in early 2004, visibility and acceptance of trans people has grown massively. I know that sometimes it feels like we have a huge target on our back, but - take it from me - overall there are many, many more of us standing together and things are far more enlightened than they were when I came out.