ENCORE: Transgender Canadians discuss acceptance in 2016
So for the people out there wondering what this is all about ... It's about what happens from here. It's not just about one person. It's about all of us... accepting one another. We are all different. That's not a bad thing.- Excerpt from Caitlyn Jenner's speech at the ESPY awards
What a difference a year or two can make. Thanks in part to high profile people such as Laverne Cox, Janet Mock, and — yes — Caitlyn Jenner, transgender people are more visible in today's world than they've ever been before.
But, as Caitlyn Jenner alluded, there's still plenty of confusion and ignorance — people wondering what it really means, to be trans.
Today we wanted to do our part to help answer some of those questions today. Hosted by Lara Rae, The Current brings you a panel of transgender people to talk about their experiences, misconceptions they'd like to see corrected, and the questions they wish people would just stop asking.
- Meryn Cadell is a writer, educator, and a friend of Lara Rae's.
- Alex Abramovich is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
- "Ella" works in the fashion industry in Toronto. She's asked us to keep her name private.
A year has passed since Rae came out as a transwoman and she says the last eight months have been the most challenging time of her life, and she is now fearful of leaving Canada to travel. But she also shared some happy news — Rae says she was recently accepted on the waitlist for gender confirmation surgery, which leaves her, "electric with excitement."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins and Julian Uzielli.