Under the common banner of LGBT, the first 3 categories are about sexual orientation, whereas the T is about gender identity. This difference has far reaching implications as does the diversity of identities and expressions cohabiting as transgender.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
A fraught assumption
Out walking I had a long conversation with someone about gender.… Read more
Seeing girls singing in St Georges’ Chapel choir during the broadcast of the King’s Christmas speech awakened long-forgotten longings…
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Screenshot from the BBC broadcast of the King’s Christmas message
Girls singing in the choir
It may have gone unnoticed by many, but what moved me most about the King Charles’ first Christmas addresswas the presence of girls in the choir of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, very close to where I went to school as a teenager.… Read more
“Real freedom is being free to be who we really are” says Épicène quoting Don Miguel Ruiz. But who are you? And are you free to be that person in public?
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Real freedom
The transgender association Épicènehas chosen to highlight a quote from the Mexican author, Don Miguel Ruiz, who says (my translation), “Real freedom is being free to be who we really are.” … Read more
At the heart of the trans identity is a conviction that they have a right to assert and be recognised for a gender that does not correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth. What is the nature of this conviction and how does it stand up to being challenged?… Read more
The division between boy and girl is not as immutable as many would have us believe. Yet, in the rigid adherence to their beliefs such people can inflict great harm as this extract from Colourful People illustrates.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
The division between boy and girl may seem self-evident, biologically speaking.… Read more
Crossdressing is a widespread practice that is little understood. The male-to-female crossdresser, who differs from a transgender woman, has a palette of roles to chose from. But what impact does this playing with apearences have on our relationship to reality?
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Playing roles
You could say we are all playing roles in our lives, if only by unconsciously limiting our behaviour and dress to conform with the expectations that go with a profession or a role as husband, wife, parent or whatever… But for some people the roles they play and how they dress for them are more consciously and deliberately fashioned and acted out.… Read more
The diversity of the stories I tell is too complex to be shunted into convenient, saleable categories, but there are identifiable underlying forces that characterise what I write…
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Diversity born of a fountain of story fragments
Each of my novels is born of the fountain of story fragments that are constantly bubbling up inside me.… Read more