My Trans Life, Episode 2 of 2, RTÉ2, Thursday, May 24th at 9.30pm
As Lily reflects on the difficulties of growing up in small town Ireland, her Mam Miriam sees Lily’s artwork for the first time and realises that life would have been a lot easier for her child if she had been gendered female at birth.
Meanwhile Luke is moving forward and with financial help from mum Maura, he decides to go ahead with a double mastectomy.
Series Overview
My Trans Life to air May 17th and May 24th RTÉ2
In July 2015 Irish citizens were given the right to change their legal gender based on self-identification alone, without medical or state intervention, making Ireland a global leader in trans-rights and one of just five countries in the world that has legislation based on self-determination.
This legal recognition gave many Irish transgender people the courage to publicly come out and live as the gender they identify with.
Today, at least one per cent of the population or some 46,000 people, experience some form of gender variance.
Filmed over the course of two years, My Trans Life offers an intimate portrait of the lives of five young transgender people on their journey to transition.
Nicky Manning (25) from Dublin suffered from depression for years as he struggled with gender dysphoria. Gendered female at birth, Nicky came out as a lesbian in his teenage years but, within a short space of time realised that, to be true to himself, he needed to transition to live as a man. Coming from a religious background, that decision meant that he lost close people in his family and social circle, as they struggled to accept him as male. It’s a long and difficult journey – with some major surgeries and the loss of his fertility to come to terms with but his medical transition is ultimately Nicky’s path to fulfillment and self-realisation.
Leaving Cert student, Luke O’Reilly Kane, was lucky to have the support of his mother Maura from the start. “He’s my son and I’m going to support him. If people don’t like it, they don’t bother me”, says Maura. Binding his chest for up to ten hours a day since his early teens has caused Luke a permanent curvature of the spine, and he needs a double-mastectomy to resolve the problem. Although Luke knew from an early age that he was not a girl, he is only able to take the first steps towards his medical transition and surgery in sixth year, just before his Leaving Cert.
Brought up in a small village in the midlands, graphic artist and burlesque performer Lily Kelly, was unwillingly outed as bi-sexual by a friend in secondary school. Feeling she couldn’t cope with the additional scandal of coming out as trans, she suppressed her gender identity for years. It was only on moving to Galway to study at art that she felt empowered to transition to a female identity. Her mother Miriam, a taxi-driver in Mullingar, is her biggest supporter and, though some in the family don’t accepted Lily’s transition, she is been fully behind her daughter. Outspoken Miriam admits that she still grieves for the son she lost, but their close and honest relationship is a testament to the value and rewards of family support.
Jamie O’Herlihy and her sister Chloe, who is also transgender, caused a media frenzy when they came out together, very publicly, a few years ago. Now something of a YouTube celebrity, Corkonian Jamie came to prominence in the transgender community when she and her partner Harry became the first trans couple in Ireland to go public with their story. In real life, she and Harry have struggled going through transition together. Her bright and bubbly public persona didn’t stop Jamie hitting rock bottom, as hormone replacement therapy started a second puberty, causing profound changes in mood and personality.
For Dylan Clarke (21) also from Dublin, having a number of family members already out as gay, paved the way for her when going public as trans. Her mother Nicola, although supportive of her decision, had a tough time when the son she knew started to transition. In recent times Dylan has embarked on her first long-term relationship and has been pursuing her dream of undergoing a medical transition.
The largest study of transgender people in Ireland (through TENI Transgender Equality Network Ireland) showed that 40 per cent of trans people have attempted suicide at least once, 78 per cent reported thinking about ending their lives, 83 per cent suffered from stress, 82 per cent from depression and 73 per cent, anxiety. In addition, more than 80 per cent of participants avoided some public places or situations due to fear of harassment.
This two-part series explores what it is to transition in Ireland. It’s brave participants share their experiences of the depression, anxiety and mood-swings that are part of the journey, the rejection by family and friends, the fear of being ridiculed or even attacked on the streets and the dream they each have to lead a normal life.
My Trans Life documents the progress the trans community have made in recent years, as well as the struggles they are still engaged in for acceptance and understanding.