Cheryl
Cheryl is a trans woman currently living in the UK. She talks about the struggle of being trans in the 70s and 80s and her expectation that she would lose her family, her friends and her job when she transitioned. Cheryl found acceptance in the Sci-Fi community and has won four Hugo awards for her fanzine. She is also involved in trans-activism and provides trans awareness training with The Diversity Trust. https://www.diversitytrust.org.uk/
Cheryl’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference in 2018, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria. The MTHF conference graciously allowed onmyplanet.ca to record stories on site during the conference. onmyplanet.ca also recorded stories at the MTHF 2014 and 2016 conferences.
Jade
Jade came out as trans in the early 2000s. From their teenage experiences in Ottawa, Jade felt there was a lack of acceptance and understanding for trans youth in the LGBTQ community. Ultimately this inspired them to create Trans Youth Ottawa – the first trans youth support group in the city. Jade speaks about the excitement of starting the group and the continued challenge of keeping the group’s history alive.
Jade’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference in 2018, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria. The MTHF conference graciously allowed onmyplanet.ca to record stories on site during the conference. onmyplanet.ca also recorded stories at the MTHF 2014 and 2016 conferences.
Erica
Erica is a trans woman who talks about her personal struggle with gender identity and internalized transphobia. After denying her gender for many years she began transition in her early 50’s. As a successful business woman in Minneapolis, she feels it is important to give back to her community and support others. Since transitioning she has become involved with many charitable organizations.
Erica’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Abby
Abby is a young trans woman who recounts the handful of things that contributed to her transition. Abby considers gender and sexuality, keeping in mind the recent social and political developments that allowed her to pick and choose her various options around transition. Her choices extend way beyond the binary of male and female. Abby expresses her gratitude for being trans at this point in history. She talks about being criticized for not being “trans enough” and considers what signals might have brought her gender issues forward somewhat sooner. Ultimately though, it’s the idea of ‘being yourself’ that resonates with her.
Abby’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Velvet
Velvet is an activist and an early pioneer in getting the BC Medical Services Plan (MSP) to pay for transition (corrective) surgeries. She is a fetish sex worker in Vancouver, and has been an activist for sex workers for years (esp. prior to the investigation of the Picton murders) in BC and across Canada. She was a founder of Westenders Against Violence Everywhere (WEAV) in Vancouver and lobbied extensively to challenge the prostitution laws in Canada.
You can find Velvet online at: velvetsteele.com/
Velvet’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Symposium, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016.The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Maria
Maria has been a pioneering trans activist in Sweden and around the world for many years. She talks about some of her more challenging moments growing up and going on to spearhead some of the ground breaking shifts in human rights for trans people.
Maria’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
(Early in the video Maria likens a Swedish psychologist that she saw as a child to prominent Canadian psychologist Ken Zuker (Psychologist-in-Chief, and Head of the Gender Identity Service at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for many years) who was of the opinion that gender non-conforming children should wait till the age of 18 to make a decision about their gender – forcing them to live as their assigned gender until then.)
Lily, Part 3
Lily talks about her two month trip to Bangladesh to meet her family for the first time as a woman. She talks about her apprehensions around going through an international airport, her expectations, and the bumps in the road to acceptance. She also talks about being on the Asexual spectrum. This is the third video that Lily has done with onmyplanet.ca. You can see the first one here, and the second here.
Lily’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans History Forward Symposium, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2016. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Kelly
Kelly, a trans woman, came through quite a lot to recognize herself and come out. She talks about some of the more dramatic and sometimes violent parts of her process and her eventual transition. This video was recorded in 2014 – lately things have been looking up for Kelly; she’s engaged, has opened a new sewing and upholstery business in Winnipeg; Trans Canada Sewing and Upholstery and is a partner in a hot rod car shop: The Low Co Garage
Kelly’s story is one in a series of videos recorded in conjunction with Out Saskatoon, in 2014. Heart felt thanks goes to the sponsors of this series: media-net.bc.ca in Victoria, BC and Out Saskatoon in Saskatoon, SK. Special thanks to Liz Senecal at Out Saskatoon.
Miki
Miki is a visual artist that began to dance in 2005. She talks about her ongoing transformation as an artist and as a trans woman. Miki dances with a number of modern dance companies in Saskatoon and maintains her own website at: mikimappin.com/.
Miki’s story is one in a series of videos recorded in conjunction with Out Saskatoon, in 2014. Heart felt thanks to the sponsors of this series: media-net.bc.ca in Victoria, BC and Out Saskatoon in Saskatoon, SK. Special thanks to Liz Senecal at Out Saskatoon.
Glynne
Glynne recounts her personal progression toward her eventual transition later in life.
Glyyne’s story is one of a series of stories collected at the Moving Trans* History Forward Conference, put on by the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria in March of 2014. The MTHF conference provided onmyplanet.ca with a space to record stories on site during the conferences of 2014, 2016 and 2018.