I always knew I was a bit different
and not necessarily in a queer way.
I think I was quite
the spectacle at school.
I think I turn a lot of heads just in the way I looked.
Generally, the reception of my gender has been quite positive.
Though, I think there are a few people who are still quite uncertain about it all.
And I think because I view gender as a, kind of, malleable
mallable, playful thing,
and I think a lot of people in our society
still view it as something quite concrete.
I'm very proud of my identity and I would gladly speak about my non-binary journey
and who I am as a person, because I love the progress that I've made.
However, I think recently it's
become, I don’t know, I guess, the responsibility of trans people to educate other people.
And actually it's the duty of cis-gendered
people not in the queer community to educate themselves.
It's not our job to do so and we're not
walking resources that you can just pick at.
I think we're human beings
trying to survive in a society that won't accept us.
My, kind of, relationship with my body
has fluctuated quite a bit since coming out as non-binary
I think I experienced is a lot of, kind of, body dysmorphia in the sense,
I think largely due to lack of representation.
I've been so, kind of,
indoctrinated to believe what all these genders should wear.
And I think sometimes it's hard for my own mind or my own misogyny to get past it.
And, yeah, I do get quite frustrated
when, I think, men in particular try to put me in a box. For example,
they'll ask, “Oh, are you going to get sex reassignment surgery?”
And it's quite frustrating because actually
surgery is very important for some people, for some trans people,
but actually, it isn't the end goal for everyone.
And some people, like myself, currently are just happy being themselves.
And I think the beauty of our community
is the fact that we are all different
and we all come in different shapes and sizes.
And yeah, that makes us all beautiful and powerful.
My favourite part of my body would be my hands.
And ironically, they used to be something I hated.
When I was younger, I had a lot of, kind of, issues with the way
I looked and my deformities and my femininity and my, kind of, skinnyness.
Whereas now, I actually love all those things,
and all of those things, like I was saying before,
about as an adolescent,
are now what makes me an individual
and what makes me strong as a non-binary femme-presenting person.
My hands are what, I think, carry my gender.
They allow me to articulate my- how I feel how femme I am.
Ever since I was small, I, kind of, had-
I always knew I was a bit different
and not necessarily in a queer way.
I think I was quite
the spectacle at school.
I think I turned a lot of heads just in the way I looked.
And I guess it-
for a lot of my life, it really stopped me from doing things.
It stopped me from interacting with other people.
It stopped me from going to clubs.
And I really- it was a real block
of, kind of, finding my identity.
And I think when I was about 17, I, kind of, got to a situation in my life
where, or point in my life, where I was just so unhappy.
And I thought, I just, I need to turn it around
and I need to do what's going to make me happy.
And that's, that would be coming out as non-binary.
And I think now when people look at me, I think, well,
if they're going to stare and at least give them something beautiful to look at.
What's quite frustrating for me, and particularly on,
kind of, queer dating apps is the really strong
fetishisation of our bodies.
it frustrates me because actually I'm a human being.
And all trans people deserve the same respect as any human being.
And get we deserve to be loved.
We're not an experiment to be played with.
We are people.
It's totally OK to want to have
casual get togethers,
but it's the, kind of, gross elevation of our bodies.
And I think it's
a, kind of, very extreme form
of complimenting to the point it's actually almost too much.
And, I don’t know, a bit- almost a bit offensive.
It is- I think it's so, so, so important
and so imperative to have a good circle of people around you who
don't question the integrity
of who you are and who love
and embrace your gender and who you are
and adore to watch you grow.
I think that's so important.
I'm very blessed that I've - I interact with a lot of my queer people and I have a really
beautiful group of friends who love me for who I am,
and I'm very fortunate.