TransActual
A stigma is a mark, a way to see or treat a person in a negative way because of their identity, their experiences or a health condition. HIV stigma is when a person is treated badly because they are HIV positive or are thought to be HIV positive.
I act for a living. That would make sense, what with going to drama school. It’s tough – brutal at times – but I love it. And I love being trans, in every capacity. Simply knowing myself to be ‘trans’ makes me feel whole. And being both trans and an actor makes me a ‘trans actor’ – I love that, too. But, prior to this year, I was stuck in a habit of forgetting who I am.
PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) is a drug designed to reduce the chances of getting HIV for people who are at a higher risk of exposure, including men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users, and sex workers. Thanks to the efforts of HIV activist groups, over the past few years, PrEP has become available on the NHS in the UK. Those who meet certain criteria can access it through a sexual health clinic. As a queer trans man, I felt that it was important for my health and peace of mind to get on PrEP. Moreover, studies have shown that the drug is safe for transgender people to take, and does not interfere with HRT.
I sit here with so much more knowledge about my culture and my religion. Hinduism has a wide and varied history and mythology full of queer figures. This is a religion of genderflipping deities and queer heroes. It is a religion which recognises that people aren’t always male or female; there is a ‘tritiya prakriti’, a third nature. Which then begs the question, where did all that pressure to conform to normative society come from? What caused my self-hatred and denial and hurt for all those years? Why did I have this idea that I couldn’t be Hindu and queer?
I don’t want to become another statistic because someone thinks that they have the right to treat me however they see fit – whether that’s because I’m transgender or because I’m a woman.
This is a particularly important anniversary because it reveals one of the most pernicious lies about trans people, a lie spread widely by both the anti-trans hate groups as well as by the media. That lie is that cis women will be less safe in women’s spaces if trans women are allowed to use them.