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A transgender journey

Juliet Jacques charts the progress of her gender reassignment process. This column was longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2011 in the Blogs category
  • Transgender advice: the best resources online

  • Woman at computer

    Transgender journey: the last post

  • Woman in bed in pajamas

    Transgender journey: recovering from surgery

    After sex reassignment surgery, Juliet Jacques recuperates at home with her parents. An infection delays her recovery, but eventually pain gives way to pleasure

  • Charing Cross hospital, London

    Transgender journey: time for sex reassignment surgery at last

    The day of the operation has finally arrived. Juliet Jacques recounts the final preparations, the surgery itself and the aftermath

  • Support staff prepares surgical tools in an operating theater prior to a kidney transplant operation

    Transgender journey: 'I sit with teeth gritted, fists clenched and toes curled'

    In her final consultation before sex reassignment surgery, Juliet Jacques is told exactly what will happen to her body - and what could go wrong

  • Surgeon in an operating room

    Transgender journey: facing the reality of surgery

    After a consultation with her gender reassignment surgeon, the reality of impending surgery dawns on Juliet Jacques. Is she doing the right thing?

  • Two women chat around a watercooler

    A transgender journey: Are you experienced?

    Juliet Jacques reports on the 'Real Life Experience' living as a woman required by medical professionals before she can set a date for gender reassignment surgery

  • Raising the bar ... female friends pointed out my naivety when dealing with sexual interest

    A transgender journey: Making space

    Juliet Jacques learned to deal with heckling in public, but hadn't anticipated the problems with being 'read' as trans on a night out

  • Light at the end of the tunnel

    A transgender journey: Clinical details

    The hormone dose has been doubled, the verbal abuse has dwindled and surgery has been discussed - is the end finally in sight for Juliet Jacques?

  • Calendar

    'I knew the process was going to be slow. I wasn't wrong'

    Juliet Jacques: The journey to gender reassignment has felt like an endurance test, more so than necessary to prove my 'commitment'

  • Transgender journey, a fork in the road

    'Is this the right thing to do?'

    The surgical conclusion to the gender reassignment pathway is irrevocable. But what alternative is there - and do any regret it?

  • Woman having make up applied

    'What sort of woman do I want to be?'

    Learning how to live and 'present' as a woman can be like learning a new language, only without the concrete rules, says Juliet Jacques

  • Football fan masculinity: A transgender journey

    A transgender journey: The beautiful game

    How will Juliet Jacques's transition be perceived in the macho world of football?

  • HRT tablets, Transgender journey

    'Finally, slowly, my body was catching up with my mind.'

    For Juliet Jacques, beginning hormone replacement therapy is a vital step towards her goal. But what will it feel like to go through a second puberty?

  • A Stage With A Spotlight And Drawn Curtains

    'Gender is a performance - for everyone, not just transsexuals'

    Juliet Jacques had always wanted to take to the stage, and now the time finally seemed right

  • child holding mothers hand - trangender journey

    'I hated the thought of a child I'd raised struggling with my history'

    As she prepares to start hormone therapy, Juliet Jacques is forced to consider if she will ever want to be a parent. Should she save sperm for the future?

  • Transgender journey: sperm

    'The time when my body would match my essence seemed in sight'

    Juliet Jacques returns to the Gender Identity Clinic, hopeful of a long-awaited hormone prescription. Will she get the answer she wants to hear?

  • Human heads

    'Vocal restraint is constantly demanded of women'

    Juliet Jacques is starting to look like a woman, but she still sounds like a man. Will speech therapy help?

  • Question mark in a forest

    What not to ask a transsexual

    What do transsexual people and pregnant women have in common? Both cause strangers to lose all sense of propriety, says Juliet Jacques

  • Drinking outside a pub

    Searching for a transsexual community

    Once her transition was under way, Juliet Jacques set out to make new friends who understood the specific challenges of transsexual life

About 30 results for A transgender journey
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