Trans Day of Visibility takes place every year on 31 March, and is a time to celebrate trans and non-binary people and raise awareness of discrimination faced by trans people worldwide.
"Trans is beautiful"
Micah Gerstner (he/they), your newly elected LGBQ+ Officer for 2023/24, speaks about his experience of being trans.
"Trans is beautiful – this statement took a while for me to accept. But as I’ve grown into myself and my identity, it’s become clear that this is unequivocally true. There is beauty in the way we decorate our bodies with clothes and make-up; in the art of reshaping our bodies, I found magnificence. I found splendour in the sheer complexity of trans lives – we ask questions of the importance of a gendered system, of the established system, of who we are and what we want to do. Trans is vast – I cannot claim to have the same experience as every trans person. But I hope that every trans person can learn to see the beauty in their existence and push to share that with the world.
For many trans people, these are aspects that will be overlooked by those around us, especially in the media. Internalised biases often relegate trans folks to a specific role: who we once were. People will focus on our physical journey, but very rarely do people focus on who we are – the artist, the scientist, the politician, the caretaker, the student, the friend.
As a culture that focuses on physical transitions, it still baffles me how difficult these services are to access. A GP can directly refer a cisgender man to surgery to have his testicles removed for scrotal pain; they can directly refer a cisgender woman to a hysterectomy for endometriosis or quickly recommend hormone replacement therapy to prevent premature menopause. In London, a transgender person must wait a minimum of 6 years* to even schedule an appointment, undergo multiple psychiatric assessments, and be on hormone replacement therapy for at least a year. Even then, the doctor might decide that the patient might like to have kids and deny them treatment anyway. When someone asks about the transition process, it’s easier just to say “I’m still waiting to get an appointment” than to explain how the healthcare system is unfairly stacked against trans patients.
I have often found myself wondering what a trans-friendly future would look like. A trans future is a female future, a queer future, a POC future, and a disability-friendly future. I dream of women feeling safe to walk the streets alone and people of colour not feeling any more scared of a cop than a white person. I dream of a world conscientious of mental and physical barriers, in both our systems and our architecture. I dream of cultural awareness surrounding systemic biases against minoritised groups and I dream of doctors being trained on how to address them. I dream of people looking beyond prejudice and treating trans people as people, rather than misguided children and insidious threats. I dream of happiness, so we can all uplift each other. That way, as we challenge a transphobic society around us, we can make our small corner of the world just a little bit better."
Trans Network Seminar Series
Throughout this term the Trans Network led by our Trans Officer, Harper, ran a series of lectures and seminars from trans, non-binary and gender variant global speakers and academics.
The first talk was around LGBTQ+ Equity in STEM. The invited speaker, Dr Sarah Eddy (they/them) spoke on the narratives present in biology education on sex, gender and the impact on trans students as well as comments on how we change the current narratives.
The second seminar, hosted by Dr Sofia Forsland, discussed the effect of hormone therapy on gut microbiomes.
The third session was on the role of drag in breaking gender boundaries by Nick Cherryman (they/them). They are currently working on their PhD looking at drag performance, using auto/theory, auto/ethnography, and queer theory as a way of exploring the potential/transformative power in drag performance.
The fourth seminar focused on the supporting queer refugees. The talk on 28 February 2023 led by Pliny Soocoormanee focused on the about the trials and tribulations, the additional hurdles, hoops and hassles LGBT+ people have to endure to be able to gain refuge in the UK.
The following week, in collaboration with the Student Lead Project Trans Healthcare Now, Alison Berner and Stuart O’Callaghan discussed the masculinising/feminising medical journey.
The sixth event explored the Trans identity in Poetry and Literature, Aleks Jagielski presented his recent paper which aims to enhance and advance the understanding of trans poetics and thematics, as well as shed light on a hitherto unpublished literary piece of trans history.
The final seminar was held by Jayne Flowers (they/them), our own Equity and Inclusion Co-ordinator, on the production of transphobia. They spoke about the use of concepts such as cisgenderism, transnormativity and the production of ignorance.
A huge thank you to Harper and the Trans Network for organising this series of seminars, especially with the majority taking place during LGBTQ+ History Month. To keep up to date with the Trans Network check them on Insta @ucltrans.
Advice & Support
The (Gender Expression) fund was really accessible to complete, email communication was efficient and the money allowed me to buy a binder which in the current cost of living crisis I would have otherwise been unable to do so. Wearing a binder has reduced feelings of anxiety and dysphoria and radically improved my mental health. (...) I was nervous about accessing the fund - was I trans enough? But everyone's experience is valid and deserves support.
Testimonial from a student who accessed our Gender Expression Fund
Last year we launched the Gender Expression Fund to provide financial assistance for students to purchase items that will make them more comfortable with their gender presentation and, we hope, improve their wellbeing. We've also published a students' guide to changing your gender which has a lot of useful advice.
The Trans Network's Welfare Officer is there to point you in the right direction if you have a trans-related issue or want some guidance.
Gendered Intelligence - a charity increasing understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people
Galop – a charity supporting LGBT+ people who have faced abuse, assault and violence
Mermaids - a charity helping gender-diverse youth and their families
Switchboard - LGBT+ phone line
