One aspect of my transition that I don’t often touch upon is that of ‘passing’. In short, I don’t try! I’ve been blonde for 6 years and have been growing it all that time, and more, so I didn’t make that change to pass – in fact it’s mostly tied back! Make-up is something I very rarely use. I carry […]

Both of my “legacy” social media accounts were created some time before my transition but both had ‘Shiraz’ in the account name. One such platform (aka cesspit) reminded me that today that it’s the 12th anniversary of the account creation, so 11 years before transition, dating it to 20 March 2012. The other one dates to mid 2015 so is […]

I made a concious move to a feminine non-binary appearance in 2019 although this wasn’t a destination but rather another way-point on my journey to my eventual social & legal transition a year ago. I had known for 30+ years I needed to transition, so the outcome wasn’t in doubt. Four years of non-binary appearance meant that when I did […]

NB The following text refers to my personal experience and is not intended to suggest this is the correct way to handle transition. I’ve transitioned twice, so you could say that I detranstitioned but that’s not how I looked at it at the time. My first transition, in 2008, was a spur of the moment decision (in the kitchen next […]

Summary: My journey through the UK Gender Identity Referral process. It won’t be quick. I initially transitioned in 2008 without any support, having been refused a gatekeeper interview. That transition was short lived and ended after 6 weeks with a mental health breakdown. I next applied in 2012 and received approval, but the papers were lost. Finally in 2022 I […]

2023 is definitely a year of change I spent a large part of 2022 getting my referral to a Gender Identity Clinic under way, ten years later than originally planned (and a full decade after being authorised!) However, I didn’t feel that my GP was working with me. Scroll forward into 2023 and I hadn’t had a full response to […]