今日吃瓜

AROUND聽Australia young people are changing the face of gender and challenging how we think about it.

Georgie Stone, 17, is a young trans woman who has already achieved a tremendous amount as an activist.

Georgie is currently lobbying the government to remove its requirement for trans teenagers to go through the lengthy and expensive process of getting court approval to take hormones. Six years ago she was granted access to puberty blockers by the court, and has since successfully fought to have this legal requirement scrapped.

An increasingly well-known name in trans politics, Georgie was awarded Person of the Year at last year鈥檚 GLOBE Awards in Melbourne for her activism.

鈥淲hen I started advocacy and set out to make a change, I didn鈥檛 really think that I would really become a spokesperson for the young trans community, but I know that we need people to speak out,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e need our issues heard, from law reform to birth certificates.

鈥淚鈥檓 really glad that I鈥檝e been able to get our voices heard and get our story out there, it鈥檚 a good feeling. But then again I just feel like I鈥檓 doing what I can, as many kids and families are.鈥�

Georgie believes kids her age think differently about gender than their older counterparts.

鈥淔or us it鈥檚 not as definitive,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e more aware of other people feeling different things, and that there鈥檚 a space where people might not fit in with male and female. The people around me are very accepting and understanding of that.鈥�

Georgie thinks the greater representation of trans folks in the media is a major reason people are becoming more aware.

鈥淭he massive worldwide conversation we鈥檙e having about LGBTI people and issues is the reason people are more knowledgeable, aware, and accepting of the LGBTI community,鈥� she said.

Georgie鈥檚 classmates and friends treat her like any other girl at school. She says people who are aware of her trans status are good about it鈥攕ometimes to a fault.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e hyper aware, and often I can see people trying to say the right thing because they鈥檙e trying to be sensitive,鈥� she said.

鈥淟ike in science last year we talked about the chromosomes that decide if you鈥檙e male or female. After class I was taken aside by the teacher and she said, 鈥業 hope it was okay to talk about that, because we know there鈥檚 more to gender than biology鈥�.鈥�

Georgie speaks a lot with politicians about the law reforms that are needed for young trans people. She recently delivered to federal parliament a petition with more than 15,000 signatures calling for the abolition of the family court requirement for teenagers to transition.

In Georgie鈥檚 lifetime, she鈥檚 already seen trans rights and the services available for trans kids come a long way.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of support, and if you think about what was out there ten years ago, this is incredible,鈥� she said.

鈥淗owever, I do think there needs to be more support, especially in schools. There are trans kids who feel isolated at school, they don鈥檛 feel they have the support.

鈥淪chool is so gendered. Male and female toilets, male and female uniforms. In the school production there鈥檚 male and female roles. It can be a very scary place for people who don鈥檛 feel comfortable to be out, or to transition, or to tell anyone at all.鈥�

Georgie says the help that鈥檚 required for young trans people ranges from family support to access to transition treatment. Support for trans youth in regional areas is also an emerging need.

鈥淲e鈥檝e come a long way, but there鈥檚 still a long way to go,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e have come so far and there鈥檚 a lot of conversation about it. The support that trans kids are getting from the community鈥攊t鈥檚 a really positive thing that鈥檚 happening at the moment.鈥�

Rory Blundell, 21, is non-binary and transmasculine. He鈥檚 a third-year criminology student hoping to get into law, and he spends a lot of time working to improve inclusivity and understanding of LGBTI folks in the community.

鈥淚 think young people, and people in general, are starting to be a bit more critical of the way gender is constructed,鈥� he said.

鈥淲hen you start to break down how we think about gender roles, stereotypes, and binary gender itself and why we think that way, it becomes pretty apparent that these ideas don鈥檛 necessarily fit everyone and we shouldn鈥檛 have to adhere to them.鈥�

People tend to think of transgender and gender fluidity as being a new phenomenon, but Rory points out this isn鈥檛 true.

鈥淚 think for older generations, it鈥檚 not necessarily something they鈥檝e encountered before,鈥� he said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 the perception that it鈥檚 a 鈥榥ew鈥� thing, which if you look throughout history and across many different cultures, is most definitely not the case. There are so many examples of genders outside the binary of male and female.鈥�

Rory credits communication technology with the increased awareness these days of diverse genders.

鈥淚 think young people through the internet and social media are generally more exposed to these ideas and have a greater awareness of different identities,鈥� he said.

Rory works with Minus18 and Drummond Street Services to give a voice to young people and create LGBTI-inclusive environments. He says despite more progressive attitudes around, transphobia is still an issue.

鈥淭ransphobia is multi-layered,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t can appear through bullying, misgendering, rejection, being treated as different.

鈥淚t can also appear on a structural level in schools through uniform policy, not having inclusive sex ed, and preventing students from using the toilets they want to use. These are just a few examples and all of them can have an enormous impact on trans students, making them feel alienated, worsening their mental health, or making them want to leave school.鈥�

Rory says that while he鈥檚 鈥渙ut and proud鈥�, he can be selective about who he comes out to, especially since many don鈥檛 understand what non-binary means.

鈥淚 find it a lot easier to come out to young people,鈥� he said.

鈥淢ost of them are very accepting of LGBTI people and are willing to know more about identities they may not fully understand.鈥�