In a short clip entitled, “You are beautiful.” How this transgender woman found the courage to transition” featuring Maya Henry and found on CBC Docs, we meet Maya, a young woman who talks about what it felt like before and after her transition. Here are some key quotes:
“I always knew I was different. I just didn’t know how to describe it.”
“It felt like I could be who I wanted to be at home. With my sisters, I was one person, but then going to school, I had to be another person.”
“Everyone wants to be accepted. Everyone wants to feel like they are a part of the community.”
“The feeling of being other, of being isolated, of being different, made me hate myself.”
Listening to Maya’s experience before she made the decision to transition, reminds us that her statements, which reflect her inner experience, are actually quite universal to anyone who feels different, who struggles to feel accepted. We are a relationship species, which includes the families and communities we belong to. Maya makes the decision to transition after attending a Pride parade, where she noted that someone was able to look into her eyes and see who she really was – that acceptance became a piece of her courage. After transitioning, Maya states:
“I don’t want the most interesting thing about me to be that I am transgender. We just need society to reach a place where its no longer a spectacle.”
“I almost can’t remember that feeling of isolation. I feel like life now is so much better.”
Another lovely universal statement that reflects the sentiment of so many people who reach their truth and begin to live it.
To watch the 5 minute segment: https://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/docs/how-this-transgender-teen-found-the-courage-to-transition
To subscribe to Maya Henry’s you tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf0CRezZYOUcvqrdMmozowQ
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Photo credit: http://Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash