From the 24th- 30th October, Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) hosts TRANSforming Lives – their first National Trans Mental Health Week. As part of this week we have a few members of our community tell there stories and experience of being Trans in Ireland.
Yasmine Young shares her YouTube blog below, in which she speaks out about her experience of being trans in Dublin.
As part of the blog she speaks out about how societal attitudes towards the transgender community in Dublin has pushed her away from home to go and live in London a year ago, where transitioning and transgenders are more socially accepted. She feels more accepted there although her family and friends in Dublin are very supportive.
She has experienced negative societal attitude towards the transgender community within the LGBT community and the general public in Dublin which has affected her both emotionally and mentally, it has hurt her and made her feel insecure when at home in Dublin.
Negative attitude she has encountered in Dublin include men waving and laughing at her in town, bumping into old friends who are too embarrassed to acknowledge her with friends and ignore her or let on they don’t know her, men texting her on grinder saying ‘hello Robert’ and asking her personal questions like how she was gay and now she’s a girl, who claim she is copying off other people within the LGBT community transitioning as if it’s a phase or as easy as waking up and deciding she’s a girl, as a result of this negativity she has felt the need to wear her brother’s clothes when going out in Dublin, covering up her nails etc., whereas, in London she feels people don’t even bat an eyelid at her or invade in her privacy asking questions like whether she will have a sex change operation, how was she gay and now a girl etc all of which are personal questions which she does not need to explain to anyone.
She explains how hard it is transitioning and how facing negative attitudes has affected her both emotionally and mentally.
She goes on to say while transitioning she will stay in London because since moving to London she can be herself, she can walk down the street as a woman without feeling insecure, where she can sleep and be happy in herself. She says maybe when she’s fully transitioned she can come home to Dublin as a women without anyone questioning her and accepting her for who she is. She also says Ireland has legalised same sex marriage last year which she is very proud of and she hopes that people will be become more accepting of the transgender community as they have with the gay community.
Check out the rest of Yasmine’s youtube channel
Read Heads Up: Trans Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing here http://www.transforminglives.ie/mental-health-guide/
Check out the website for the TRANSforming Lives mental health campaign: www.transforminglives.ie