Jennifer_1
Forum Replies Created
-
Liz, you’ve done it again. This is something that has been on my mind for ages. The whole question of sexuality has been bugging me for a long time. First off on the question of gender, I am somewhere on the female side of the spectrum and now live and dress accordingly. Sexuality, I have no idea.
Until I started transitioning I saw myself as a heterosexual male. Now I believe that it is the person aand not their sex, or perceived sex, that would attract me. Where that leaves me I don’t know. How much of my upbringing revolved around the unspoken messages of, “” your a male so you like females” is difficult to tell. I did meet someone and we were married for 32 wonderful years aand we had 3 terrific children. My partner died nearly 8 years ago and about a year after that I started transitioning,. I found at that time my views/beliefs on on what was acceptable and what is not had changed. ! I have never been a a particularly sexual person and I do not pursue relationships, but I find that now I am more open to relationships regardless of the sex of the person. I think the personality of the person is much more interesting.
-
Well done Abbie,
The hardest thing that I found when I started shopping aJennifer was getting over the nerves. I have only found one person in the last four or five years who was less than helpful. Always remember, you are the customer. They are there to help you not you help them.
-
To be honest, until there is a federal position on same-sex marriage I think it muddies the situation rather than making things better.
Hi Amanda, I fully agree with you the the Federal Government has made some significant changes in allowing people to live in the gender they need to live in. However for some, myself included, there is a need to affirm our true gender as fully as possible. Hence the problem of the birth certificate. Only some want or need to go down this path, but it is important to those of us who do.
The marriage equality question is something that needs to be addressed. I know of one couple in particular where they were married and had one child. After the marriage the husband underwent gender affirmation surgery and is now female. They are still together as a loving couple raising a wonderful child. However the trans partner has a choice, remain married but still officially a male or be divorced and obtain the sought after gender marker of Female on a revised birth certificate. This bureaucratic rule is unfair and needs to be changed.
I do apologise for getting off the original topic of France, still I think the whole issue is relevant,
-
I am not sure but I believe that the ACT is the only State/Territory in Australia that allows you to change your gender on your Birth Certificate without undergoing gender surgery (sterilisation). NSW definitely still requires you to undergo gender surgery, http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/Pages/amend-certificate/change-of-sex.aspx The B D & M site refers to sex affirmation surgery which is essentially sterilisation.
The other point of interest is that you cannot be married when you change your gender on your birth certificate, when I changed my birth cert. I had to provide proof that my wife had died and I was no longer married. Just imagine what would happen if you were allowed to change your gender while still married, you would have a same sex marriage, no doubt this would result in civilisation as we know it ceasing to exist, economic ruin and chaos, or so we are led to believe by very conservative members of our society. All of this because of the needs of a bureaucratic rule that has no impact on anybody apart from the individuals concerned.
Sorry for the rant, but it is something that I find to be a human rights abuse and incredibly discriminatory. Well done France for getting up to date with their laws.
-
Hi Abi, one of the few things about being trans* is that you gt to choose whatever name you feel you want or like. Usually our parents give us a name that they like and that’s it. Make the most of it.
-
Hi Carol,
I’m in a similar situation to the one you were in. I’v been using Sandrena Gel for a number of years now, and yes it is messy, but I have been using it for the same reasons, age and to avoid liver damage.
I would like to add that if anyone is thinking about commencing HRT please do not self medicate. It is very dangerous, as I found out, (nearly ended up with kidney damage). Oestrogen is very easy to obtain on line, do not be tempted, it’s not worth it. Find a Doctor you are comfortable/compatible with and make sure you have your hormone levels checked regularly.
-
I have just finished reading Bob Brown’s speech. WOW, great speech. I was never a fan of Browns, but maybe I should have been.
In the speech he quotes the PM as saying things such as, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but……” I have found that when the “but” word is invoked the speaker means the exact opposite.
Also, how big was the sample of people who were “overwhelmingly” in support of the 2004 legislation? The speech quotes 44 to 38, was 82 people the sample for this survey. If so that is a very sad reflection on the decision making ability of Parliament. -
Sara asks a very good question, “Are we going to take action on this issue and if so how?”
I am not a political activist nor am I in a relationship, so as such, the issue is not directly relevant to me. However I do know some people who are currently being affected by this law. I believe that if I do not support my friends and all the others who are being discriminated against, I would be failing in my duty to them. So the question is, what, as a group, can we do or should we do if this unfair and discriminatory plebiscite takes place?I will be doing whatever I can as an individual, however there is strength in numbers. Should TGR be involved in this form of political activity? Personally I say Yes, however it is a decision that needs to be made as a group.
-
The Lakeline interview was very interesting. It sounds as though the Plebiscite on marriage equality here in Australia would follow a similar path to the Referendum in Ireland. The campaign brought out some extreme views and beliefs which caused a lot of anguish for the LGBTI Community. I only hope that the Plebiscite is quashed and common sense prevails, (although common sense is not all that common).
One thing that I picked up on was in relation to the question of the Safe Schools program, Panti stated that children are taught what to accept and what to reject, that children are very accepting to start with. I agree with what she said. On a number of occasions I have had relatives say to me, don’t say anything to the children about being Jennifer, it will upset and confuse them. It’s not the kids who get upset, it’s the parents, but they feel justified in blaming their feelings and beliefs on their children. A few years ago my next door neighbours granddaughter, (about 5 years old), approached me and asked, “Jenn, are you a boy or a girl? ” I said, “I’m a girl.” She said, “Right!” And that was it, question answered, all clarified. If only all encounters were that straight forward.
Anyway, the interview did provoke a lot of thoughts and emotions with me, great interview.
-
This is great news. I have been through the process of changing my birth certificate in NSW and it is very time consuming and expensive, still it had to be done, (for me).
However, I am wondering if the Federal Government, or the ultra conservatives in the Government, will challenge the Victorian legislation on the grounds that recognising the gender change of one partner in a marriage will lead to same sex marriages. I’m sure that they will try to convince us that if this happens we will all be doomed and that civilisation as we know it will end. Regardless of the fact that there are couples that are living in relationships such as this but are being denied the ability to affirm their true gender. It will be interesting to see which way this goes.
-
Hi Catherine,
I agree with what you are saying. If I spend all my time worrying about whether or not everyone is going to accept me and trying to meet some mythical standard of what it is to be a woman then I will not be me, I will be trying to be some other person. I cannot be everything to everyone. So if somebody has a problem with who I am, then that is their problem not mine. So I will continue to be Jennifer the best way I can and be happy just being me. It’s worked for me so far.
Cheers Jenn
-
I have thought about this question for some time now and I thank Liz for raising it. I am neither happy or sad, proud or ashamed of being Trans*, I just am. For years I lived with the shame and self doubt of being “different” without really knowing what I was experiencing. Today I am at a spot where I feel normal. I don’t identify as male or fully female but somewhere on the female side of the spectrum. I live full time as a female and have changed the relevant documentation to show that but do not try to pass as a woman. I am Jennifer, I feel normal and I am accepted by most people as such. I do feel happy living my life as Jennifer, to me being Jennifer is to be genuine and complete. The question of being happy being Trans-gendered is irrelevant, I see labels such as Trans-gendered tend to confuse and cloud the issue of who we are.
Be true to yourselves. We may all be travelling in the same general direction but our paths are unique to ourselves.
I hope this does not cloud the issue, but it has been something that I have been mulling over for a considerable time.
Cheers Jenn
-
I have three children, one accepts me, one has some issues and one does not speak to me. This song talks to my heart. I had to change but change is unpredictable and hard.
-
That does look like fun. How many people were there to help. Not the sort of thing you would do every day.
-
Hi Liz,
I did the same thing and found Windows 10 to be rubbish. If you installed it within the last month you can still uninstall it. I did this about two or three weeks ago. Good luck.
Cheers Jenn
