It seems almost unconceivable the ground we
have covered over the last year in terms of real visibility and what it is to
be trans. We have entered a period of ‘transgender awakening’. There can be no
going back, but there is still much to do.
Leading this charge and putting the issues on
the world stage was the feature in the June 2014 issue of Time. ‘The
Transgender Tipping Point – America’s next civil fights frontier’ by Jaty
Steinmetz profiled a range of transgender people, making the point that trans
people are significantly more likely to be impoverished, unemployed and
suicidal than other Americans. We know through current studies that this is
exactly the same in Australia.
For the first time anywhere in the world a
magazine with the credibility and power of Time put US trans woman and star of
the Netflix drama Orange is the New Black, Laverne Cox, on its cover. She is an
incredible role model for us all and in this profile she nailed the benefit we
all wish as an outcome of this awakening.
“We are in a place now where more trans
people are willing to tell their stories,” Cox told time.
“More
of us are living visibly and pursuing our dreams visibly, so people can say, ‘Oh
yeah, I know someone who is trans’. When people have points of reference that
are humanising, that demystifies difference.”
These stories are also being told in
Australia. Around the same time as magazine was released, Carlotta screened on
TV, easily winning the ratings for the most watched program in its timeslot.
Based on local trans icon Carlotta, the movie chronicles her life: growing up
in the 1950s, her gender confusion, her response to it, her departure from the
suburbs and how she became a showgirl. This movie handles the more confronting
and challenging aspects of Carlotta’s journey, those out of the spotlight, with
great sensitivity and gives an accurate insight to what it is to grow up and
live a trans life.
Cate McGregor is another who has had a high
visibility over the last year. She is known to the public as the highest
ranking trans person in the Australian military. Cate was profiled over eight
pages in the Australian Women’s Weekly in March earlier this year March and her
Australian Story, ‘Call Me Cate’, introduced by the Prime Minister Tony Abbott,
exposed a different snapshot of a trans life to the mainstream public. Cate has
become a popular speaker, telling her transition story all over the country and
to wide-ranging audiences.
Australian model Andreja Pejic has become the
first trans model to be profiled in the May issue of Vogue. At just 23, Andreja
has an incredible story to tell, especially to our young folk. Born in Bosnia,
her family fled Serbia during the Bosnian War, where they lived in a refugee
camp before being resettled in Melbourne in 2000 when she was eight. She is
currently making a documentary about her transition and her life in the world
of fashion. “I have the opportunity to tell this very interesting story and I feel
so many kids all around the world will relate.” Andreja said.
Reaching a level of visibility of
unimaginable proportions is, of course, Caitlyn Jenner. As the cover girl of
the July issue of Vanity Fair, complete with a 22-page feature of photos by
Annie Leibovitz and story by Buzz Bissinger, Jenner is taking the trans story
to millions all over the world. This builds on the successful 20/20 interview
with Diane Sawyer that Jenner used to come out as trans. Although part of the
Kardashian TV brand, her transition story is to be told in an eight-part
documentary and to her credit Jenner has said it will focus on ways to address
the level of trans suicide and violence among other issues.
So what is the benefit of all this
visibility? Well the lesbian, gay and bisexual coming out story is often
celebrated as arriving at a place of pride, but for a trans person it is the
start of a long challenging journey. Seeing how others have made a tran’s life
possible and become a success is a true solace.
A recent study out of Curtin University found
that trans people in Australia are four-times more likely to ever be diagnosed
with depression than the general population. Difficulty accessing healthcare
and surgery, lack of employment, the challenge in changing identifying
documents; experiences of discrimination and poor quality of life were all
contributing factors.

The Human Rights Commission recently released
a report on their consultations with the LGBTI community, and it covers the
full breadth of challenges faced by trans people. The outcomes of this process
will inform the work of the commissioner in the area of LGBTI rights in the
coming years.
“The task before us all is to ensure the
experience of the next generation of transgender Australians is better than
those before,” Wilson said.
When I hear such a strong statement from such
an influential leader and see the trans women mentioned here standing up as
examples of all the different kinds of trans stories and experiences, I’m sure
that this new level of visibility will lead to a more trans-friendly world.
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