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- Thea by Gallier
- BBC 3
Growing up in a small place (like a village) can be difficult for any teenager, as there will often not be many things they will do and commit to, and any kind of departure from what is considered the norm. will be considered a deviation from the norm in such a location.
The feeling of this may be amplified for a transgender teenager, as Lili, who is currently 20, explains in a new documentary airing on BBC3, titled “Lily: A Tale of Transsexuals”, which deals with the history of her. life, experience and journey as a transsexual. .
“Growing up in a small town was difficult,” says Lily, “I think I knew, since I was much younger, that I was not fit to live in this community, and even before I started the process of transsexualism. I didn’t have a lot of friends, unfortunately. “There is a lot of ignorance in small towns, and the same is true of any minority. When I started to convert, I had a good group of friends around me and that really got me. helped, because it took me away from all the negative people. “
Lily’s parents were a source of great support for her as well, and they appeared in the documentary alongside her, but another big thing that helped her realize was the internet.
“For the first time in my life, I saw a transgender person on YouTube.”
“When I was about 10, I discovered my first transsexual person on YouTube,” says Lily of Aberystwyth. Lily has also created her own YouTube channel, through which she talks candidly and openly about her crossing, (but she admitted that she hasn’t posted any new videos in a while and prefers the networking site social, Instagram these days).
“I think she was one of the YouTube users I followed before she even announced her crossing,” she explains.
She adds, “I didn’t really care what that meant, as long as my father raised me in a holistic way that accepts everyone and away from all fanaticism. He made me have a very open mind, but I, maybe after a few weeks, found that the idea was still with me and that it did not leave me. It was for me. It’s like, “It gives my life a lot of meaning, I’ve had feelings like this all my life and I didn’t know what they were. Now I’ve learned that not everyone feels this way. and that it might mean something different. ” This is how I discovered, at the beginning, a large part of My personality “.
Lily began to experience social crossovers in school, and she began to refer to her gender as a woman, using pronouns and costumes appropriate to her situation.
She says: “It is true that I have suffered from ‘barbaric comments’, but a group of friends have been a source of support for me.”
One of his reasons for producing a documentary was to introduce other transgender teens to the fact that there are people like them, in the hopes that the film would show those who don’t know what people are. transgender or even prejudiced against them, that she’s just a normal girl with a normal life.
“I hope and pray for the day when I see the possibility that a child will transform easily and easily without being judged, especially by his classmates. But that’s the reality, ”she said.
Published image, Reuters
Paige starred in the 2007 movie “Juno”
Although transgender people are becoming more visible and accepted in many areas, (Many members of the LGBT community have praised actor Elliot Page after recently announcing to the public that he is transgender. The United States recently elected Sarah McBride to become the first transgender. You are elected to the United States Senate, but there is also a lot of inevitable reporting and talk online targeting transgender people, as well as debates over whether their fundamental rights affect women.
Of course, Lily’s story is her own, and each trans person’s experience may be different from the other, but Lili says she sometimes feels pressured to stand up for herself and other people she crosses over. Internet.
“As a transsexual person, getting up everyday and leaving the house is a political situation,” says Lily, “but whether you have a platform for expression, big or small, you follow it, you have to speak up and fight for what you believe in. I will always stand up for myself and my community. And I will never allow another member of my community to be weakened by anyone. I don’t think the battle for transsexuals will end anytime soon.
‘It’s hard to see the distinction’
“It’s hard to wake up one day to see another person on TV or the Internet giving verdicts against transgender people,” Lilly continues. “It’s stressful … We talk about it a lot, my friend and I, and he always says to me, ‘If he can These people meet you and see how a normal person you are who just wants to live your life without affecting anyone, I think they will change their mind. “
Adam, Lily’s friend, also appears in the documentary, as the two moved in with Lily’s father during the general lockdown due to the coronavirus, and he was there with her, with her parents, to support her when the date for sex reassignment surgery has been postponed due to the outbreak.
The couple met in Birmingham, where Lilly had moved before the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.
She remembers laughing at the long conversation that took place between them when she told him that she was a transsexual.
She said, “I think he found out himself! He found a video on the internet and watched it without telling me. It was funny, I think I just sat there one day and I said to him, ‘Adam, I want to tell you something, and the answer was like he said yes, I know what You mean. “
And she adds, “I’m very lucky to have such an open and supportive friend. Sometimes in conversations like this things can go against the grain. It’s scary to have that conversation when you meet someone. that you really like, you don’t want a word to change someone’s perspective. ” What’s up to you Some people may be shocked by this and start implicitly blaming themselves and repeating phrases like: If their partner is transgender does that mean he’s gay, but it wasn’t the case with Adam, he just wanted to know me as I am ”.
This is the kind of response Lily hopes to get from people watching the documentary.
“The main reason I agree to share my story with everyone is that I just want to show young people who are going through a similar experience, that I am living my life better and better,” she says. “I like the idea of someone watching the movie that could be closed to the transgender community and walk away after they finish watching it. He has a different vision. I’m really glad everyone is watching it. “
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