Page 37 - Fyne Times Spring 2014

37
Putting the ‘T’ back in LGBT
There are so many debates when it comes
to transgender issues. Some sectors of the
LGBT community choose to lose the ‘T’
and consider it a separate issue. But at
Fyne Times we have always felt the links
between being gay and being trans are too
strong to ignore. While we have covered
transgender issues constantly in the
magazine, we have never devoted a whole
section to the subject. So here for the first
time is a collection of articles dedicated
to transgender issues.
Gender is so specific to each person that
it is hard to encompass everything for
everybody. So in a sense, you can never
be right. For example, some people prefer
to be called ‘trans’, others ‘transexual’ or
‘transgender’. Others prefer not to have
a label at all. Trends are also changing
minute by minute. A word or concept
that was okay last week can be outdated
and offensive the next.
To put this section together, we have
consulted the experts…you! We have
asked, you have answered and all the
voices of the people in these pages offer
their truthful and heartfelt account of
their journey towards feeling happy about
their gender. But we are open to learning
and if you feel we have got something
wrong, let us know.