Early attempts A cat peeking out through the stained glass – or is it? Although I didn’t know the term ‘impostor syndrome’ back then, I think one of my earliest memories of feeling that I didn’t quite deserve to be where I was was when I played my flute in a residential music summer school.… Continue reading Confessions of a serial impostor
Category: Trans life
From a place of fear: responding to Leya
Subversion of the Aristotelian chain of being (source: Metropolitan Museum of Art; public domain) In Bella Caledonia’s promised six-part series on ‘the debate around trans issues, identity, feminism and solidarity aimed at building understanding and in a spirit of open dialogue’, three articles have appeared so far. The first, by Jennie Kermode, debunks some of the prevailing myths… Continue reading From a place of fear: responding to Leya
GRA reform in Scotland – the rest in one go
This post addresses Parts 4, 5 and 7 of the Scottish government’s consultation document on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. I’m throwing everything into this final post, because there are only two weeks left until the consultation closes and I want to get the important points across.
Throwing off the shackles of masculinity
Corporate rainbow-washing in a local bank window A sudden sense of liberation. I was just walking along the street on my way back from buying bread in a local deli when I became aware of it. I don’t know whether the sensation was hormone-related (I’ve been on HRT a little over four months) or just… Continue reading Throwing off the shackles of masculinity
Our Tribe: coming out
This afternoon – 11 February 2018 – I had the pleasure of taking part in the relaunch of the monthly LGBT gathering Our Tribe at Augustine United Church in Edinburgh. Held during LGBT History Month, the service took ‘coming out’ as its theme. I was one of four people asked to speak briefly about my… Continue reading Our Tribe: coming out
Whistling for dogs (transphobic ones)
Trans rights now! Vociferous transphobia has become endemic to parts of the UK media in recent months. (I’d love to know why, but I won’t speculate about that here.) Some of the articles that appear in the right-wing press, especially the tabloids, are so obviously full of hate that there’s no escaping the intent of… Continue reading Whistling for dogs (transphobic ones)
GRA reform in Scotland – 3: the need for change
This post addresses Part 3 of the Scottish government’s consultation document on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Recognising that the GRA has become dated and is no longer in accordance with international thinking on transgender rights, the government has proposed a review of the legislation.
Another month on HRT (a whole third of a year!)
So many things I should be doing. Stuff just seems to keep coming at me – even though I’m not working at the moment. Since I ought to have tons of free time, I thought it would be easy to write a little blog series on GRA reforms. But all that legal stuff is so… Continue reading Another month on HRT (a whole third of a year!)
GRA reform in Scotland – 2: the 2004 Act
This post addresses Part 2 of the Scottish government’s consultation document on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This part of the consultation document sets out what the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) is and how it applies in Scotland.
GRA reform in Scotland – overview
The UK’s Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) was introduced in response to a 2002 European Court of Human Rights ruling against the UK (Christine Goodwin v. the United Kingdom). It legislated against some practices that were seen as potentially discriminatory against trans people. On 9 November 2017, the Scottish government launched a consultation (open until 1… Continue reading GRA reform in Scotland – overview