Internet Reaction to Olympic Swimmer Ian Thorpe Coming out as Gay

Today saw Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe come out as gay.  I for one am always glad to hear of someone coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.  Sometimes these comings out are just statements that are released via their PR people, through their Twitter or the news.  Other times they’re deeply persona and inspirational such as Ellen Paige’s recent coming out. 

However the person chooses to come out the event is something that should be celebrated.  Someone has finally chosen to be their true selves.  No matter the reason for them having hidden an aspect of themselves, be it fear of prejudice, loss of status or the fear of rejection from friends and family, coming out should be something that is celebrated.

It’s a shame though that so many people choose someone’s coming out as a chance to attack other people and express their own hatred and prejudice.

Unfortunately Ian Thorpe is one of these individuals, having already received dozens of foul and hateful messages on the social networking site Twitter.  

Fortunately there are also a lot of people out there that have shown him some support.

I myself just want to wish Ian all the best in the world and congratulate him on finding the strength to be himself and enjoy his life as the person he is meant to be.

I really hope that one day there will come a point where people won’t have to ‘come out’ and they can just be themselves.  But more than anything I hope that there comes a time when people don’t feel the need to spread vile crap about people based upon who they love.

Amy.

xx

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Playing On My Mind

I’ve had some bad experiences lately with people giving me some very transphobic comments, both people I know and complete strangers on the internet.  Whilst these accounts might actually be able to fill a blog post in itself that’s not what I’m going to be looking at here.  Instead it’s a few of the things that were said and how they’ve been playing on my mind, on my fears, since in a way that I wasn’t expecting.

One of the things that happened recently, and unfortunately not for the first time, was that I was messaged on Facebook by someone that saw I’m transgender and felt the need to make sexual advances towards me.  I’m sure that I’m not alone in this, and whilst my cisgender friends will have probably experiences this I know for a fat that a lot of transgender people have gone through the same experience.  Someone who has a fetish for transgender women sees that you’re trans and immediately sends you horribly graphic sexual messages.

I don’t know what it is about these certain internet ‘chasers’ (as the community calls them) but it appears that because they see trans women in nothing but a sexual way they assume that trans women must be obsessed with sex themselves, that we will respond positively to pictures of their genitals or messages like ‘Hey sexy, I’d love to suck your sweet tranny cock’ (a direct quote from one of the messages I’ve been sent).  The worst part, however, is when you turn around to these people and tell them to leave you alone, that you’re not interested in their sexual advances and they respond with a slew of filth.

I’ve had ranging from ‘fuck you’ to ‘you’re just a cock teasing fag’ all the way up to ‘go and fucking die’.  The latest response I received was this;

                ‘I was only trying to be nice to you [this was in response to him sending me a picture

                of his erect penis and the message ‘wanna ride?’] why are you being such a bitch?’

I responded by telling him that sending people you don’t know pictures like that is hardly being nice and that I’m in no way interested.  He then hit back with this;

                ‘You’re not going to get any better offers.  No one would want to have more than just

                sex with you.  You think you’re going to find some nice guy and live happy?  People like

     you are just sluts.  Go and kill yourself.  Fucking tranny.’

Like I said, not the first time I’ve had something like this so I’m normally used to just shrugging it off.  This time however something stuck in my head.  Something that has been there at the back of my mind for a while and if truth be told has worried me. 

I’ve been finding it hard lately.  My transition (in my opinion) isn’t going well.  Or at least not as well and as fast as I want.  I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot of things by having to live a life that’s not really mine, and that each and every day that I’m forced to continue doing so (I’m not full time yet and mainly present as male) I’m losing more and more.  And one of the things I feel like I’m missing out on, one of the things I genuinely fear I might never have, is a relationship.

That’s what that guy said to me and stuck with me.  Am I going to find someone and get to be happy?  I know that it’s probably not the be all and end all of life, that I can be happy whilst being single, but I don’t want to be single.  Someday I do want to find someone, be happy and maybe if I’m lucky somehow have a family.  Usually I don’t worry about such things and just think ‘oh well, it’ll happen someday’.

The thing is, I think I’m developing feelings for someone.  Actually forget that, I know I’m developing feelings for someone.  Now this person knows that I’m transgender, as pretty much everyone who knows me does so at least that’s all out in the open.  I’ve had growing feelings about this person for a while now, and we both get on really well with each other.  We’ve got a lot in common and we have some really personal conversations and some great laughs together.  I know from conversations that we both want similar things in life as a whole too.  During one conversation too they described the kind of partner they want.  They described me.  They described my personality, my interests, everything about me.  All accept one thing.  They described a female.

As far as I know this person is only attracted to cis-women (I’m also aware that by this point I’ve not brought up this persons gender or sexual orientation, this is to leave it vague enough that if they end up reading this they won’t be able to know that it’s them).

If I was a cis-woman I’d ask this person out in a second, and from what I’ve learnt about them I’m confident that I’d have something of a chance.  Maybe something would even have happened naturally by now if I was cis.  I like this person, really like them.  But I’m scared that they’ve got no interest in a trans-woman.  I’d like to think, I’d hope, that maybe I’d have a shot with them.  But how can that happen, especially when they know me pre-transition?

Even if someone was open minded enough to be attracted to trans women, could that extend to me when presenting as male?  If when I finally go through the transition I’m the perfect partner for this person just like they said, would they ever be interested in me knowing the person I was before?

The truth is I’m scared of being alone.  I’m lonely and it hurts and I’m afraid it won’t ever go away.  Can anyone actually care about me or will people just look at me as a fetish, as their ‘kinky sexual desire’? 

I need to transition in order to be happy in my own body, but every time that I have doubts about it or the fears take over one of the things that goes through my mind the most is that I’m always going to be alone.  Sometimes I want to give up on transitioning and just pretend to be male because I think that at least then I can have the chance of finding someone to be with, that I could have a family.  I’m just terrified that I’m always going to have my heart broken and that I’m always going to be alone.

Amy.

xx

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Game of Thrones Finale Predictions

We’re fast approaching the final episode of season four of Game of Thrones and its set to be the best finale yet.  With the last two episodes having been absolute stunners, with Tyrion’s trial by combat taking a dramatic turn and the Wildling attack on the wall and Castle Black the final episode has a lot to do to deliver on the shows claims that it’s going to be the best yet.

So what can we be expecting in this ‘greatest finale yet’?  Here are my best guesses based on publicity material and my own deductions.

Should be obvious to say but this will contain spoilers!

Brans Journey

The home of the tree-eyed raven.

Bran and his little band of followers have been travelling beyond the Wall for the whole of season four and apart from a brief stop at Craster’s Keep he hasn’t really done that much.  Plus we haven’t even seen him for more than two episodes now.  Seeing Bran in the finale is a foregone conclusion.  But what’s he going to be doing?

I believe that we’ll see Bran reach his destination and find the large weirwood tree where the three-eyed-raven can be found.  Hopefully we will get to see the Children of the Forest and Lord Brynden (the three-eyed-raven) that will set up the next stage of Brans journey for season five.

Aryas Destiny

Aryas destiny awaits in Bravos.

Having just found out that Lysa Arryn is dead Arya and the Hound have been left with their main goal stolen away from them.  They’ve spent months travelling across Westeros, becoming begrudging allies, only to find out that the thing that has kept them together no longer exists.  So what will they do next?

I doubt that the Hound will just abandon Arya now that he cannot ransom her, instead I think that she’ll convince him to let her stay with him.  However, as readers of the books will know the Hounds injury he sustained in episode seven is a little more serious that anyone might think. 

I think that before this episode ends Arya will make the decision to travel to Bravos and train to become a Faceless Man.  Whether this is a conclusion she comes to and decides to leave the Hound or if the Hound will be dead before the credits roll I’m not sure.  But I do believe that we will see Arya finding her new purpose and setting out to leave Westeros and her old like behind.

Daenerys and her Children

Daenerys' dragons grow wilder every day.

The title of the episode ‘The Children’ seem to me to be a hint at the dragons.  We’ve had hints over the last nine episodes of Daenerys’ dragons becoming more and more wild and unruly.  I think that this will be the episode where one of the dragons is responsible for the death of a human. 

With Daenerys having just banished her best friend Jorah Mormont from her new kingdom she’s in a dark place already.  Now would be the perfect time to have her face the harsh reality that perhaps her ‘children’ are not what she would like them to be but wild monsters.

I would also not be surprised if we see the creation of the Sons of the Harpy and their terrorist war on Daenerys in the streets of Meereen.  Something else that connects to the episode title.

The Battle for the North

The Baratheon army comes to the Night Watch's aid.

The last episode gave us a spectacular battle at the Wall that put season two’s Battle for Blackwater Bay to shame.  Ending with a scene that I’m sure had many people shouting at the screen Jon Snow leaves the safety of the Wall, unarmed, and heads out to confront Mance Rayder and stop the attack on the wall.

How’s he going to do it?  Will he succeed or die in the attempt?  Well as you’re reading this I’m sure that you’ve either read the books or don’t care about spoilers so I’m going to say what happens. 

I think that without a doubt we will see Stannis Baratheon arrive at the wall with his new army and defeat the Wildlings.  We’ve seen small hints of this in the series trailers before the first episode even aired with Baratheon knights on horseback in the snow.

Tyrions Fate

Tyrion finds Shae in his fathers bed.

Episode eight saw Tyrion Lannister at his absolute worst.  With Prince Oberyn killed by the Mountain during Tyrions trial by combat his fate has been sealed.  He has been deemed guilty by both gods and men and faces execution for the murder of King Joffrey.  So what’s going to happen to him in the finale?

I believe that this episode will see Tyrion escaping from Kings Landing and the clutches of his father with the help of Jamie and Varys.  What I am hoping we see is Tyrions confrontation with  Shea and Tywin.  After the emotion fuelled trial where Shea turned on Tyrion and we got one of the best pieces of acting from Peter Dinklage we’ve had yet.

However, there is a potential for this episode to outshine the trial, especially if we get to see Tyrion confront and kill Shea and his father.

Lady Stoneheart

Fake or real, when Lady Stoneheart makes her entrance I'll be excited.

The biggest and most exciting thing about the season finale is the introduction of Lady Stoneheart.  I’ve been waiting for her to make an appearance since the end of season three and it looks like it might actually come to pass in the end of this episode.  I’m guessing that if she is in the episode it will be as the final scene to leave the audience going ‘WHAT THE HELL?!’ as the credits roll.

The main thing that makes me think she will be in the episode are some apparently leaked images of her from the episode.  Now, I know that the chances of these being real aren’t 100%, they could easily be photo shopped, but she has to make an appearance some time so why not now?

So there you go, my predictions for what we’re going to be seeing in the season four finale of Game of Thrones.  I hope I turn out to be right.

Amy.

xx

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Days of Sequels Past

My comic book reading has taken something of a back seat lately, and even when I do it’s rarely something new.  I haven’t read anything Marvel or DC in months, well nothing DC really, Marvel is another matter.  Despite the fact that I grew up as a fan of Marvel Saturday morning cartoons I never really warmed to their books, preferring the world and the characters of the DC Universe.

Whenever I do read Marvel, however, the only titles I actually acre about are the X-Men books.  It might be because I enjoyed the 90’s cartoon series, it might be because of the great range and selection of female characters they have on offer.  Or perhaps I, like many others, identitfy with the mutants and their plight due to being part of a minority.  Especially one that is often at the centre of hate crime, political debate and media attention.

Whatever the reasoning I’m an X-Men fan, and like other X-Men fans and comic book readers in general I eagerly looked forward to each new instalment of the mutant franchise.  I really enjoyed the first two films, and even managed to find some things in the terrible third film I actually liked.  Kelsey Grammer as Beast being the main one.  ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ was so dire though that I thought that my beloved franchise had gone and imploded like so many film series seem to inevitably do.

The X-Men fight for their lives like never before.

Then ‘X-Men First Class’ came out and blew me away.  Not only was their now a good X-Men film that explored the origins of the franchise, it also gave us some brilliant characters that had not had the chance to take centre stage before.  Plus it was just a damn good movie!  I challenge anyone to watch the scene where Magneto confronts a pair of former Nazi’s in a south American bar without saying it’s a great scene.

So as soon as ‘Days of Future Past’ was announced I was very, very excited.  We were about to be given a film directed by series legend Brian Singer.  It was going to be based upon one of the most famous comic book stories of all time.  The cast from the original trilogy and First Class would appear.  Plus a whole load of new characters such as Bishop and Blink appear.  This film was set up to be nothing short of amazing.  And you know what?  It delivered.

Opening with an action sequence set in the nightmarish future timeline that not only showed just how high the stakes were for our heroes but also gave the X-Men a chance to really show off their powers in a way that the other films in the series have only dreamed of.

Old favourites return to fight alongside new characters like Blink.

With the Sentinel controlled future firmly established the film shifts both tone and style rather dramatically as we’re taken into the past and end up in the 1970’s.  The film works brilliantly in this time period, especially with Hugh Jackman bombing around in the 70’s style shirt and wolverine hair.  Jennifer Lawrence in particular looks stunning in her period clothing, lighting up the screen whenever she’s around.

What follows is a fun romp through the past with enough comedy and heartbreak to feel genuine and realistic without becoming a parody of itself or the time it’s set in.  Each cast member is given their own moment to shine, not an easy feat with such a large cast of characters and actors to juggle. 

Despite being a time travel film that could have very easily fallen into the ‘none of it happened/counts’ trap that similar films have fallen into in the past, but this time ‘Days of Future Past’ dodges that particular trap to deliver a well thought out and emotionally driven piece that gives the audience a satisfying conclusion.  With some surprise character appearances and some knowing nods the conclusion of the film not only sets an exciting stage for 2016’s ‘X-Men Apocalypse’ but gives a sweet farewell to the original trilogy cast that fans will love.

Amy.

xx

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First Time Out As Amy

I’m always going to remember last night.  Not because I hung out with my friends, not because I went to an awesome book launch and not because I saw an amazing film for the first time.  I’m going to remember last night because it was the first time out in public as the real me.  Last night I went out presenting as Amy, in public, for the best part of twelve hours.

Yesterday my friends and I attended the book launch for David Flint’s new book ‘Sheer Filth’, a book I m very much looking forward to cracking open.  The launch was held in Nottingham at the Broadway Cinema, where their would be a showing of the new Jake West documentary ‘Video Nasties 2: Draconian Days’, followed by a Q&A with the film makers and David Flint.  It was a great night, a brilliant film and interesting and different experience.

David Flint's book 'Sheer Flith!'

I’m not sure what it was that made me decide that last night was going to be ‘The Night’ but something in me said ‘now’s the time’.  So I got home from work early, spent the best part of two hours getting ready then started to panic.

As soon as I was done with my prep and was waiting to get picked up the fear kicked in.  I guess it’s because I had nothing to do to occupy my mind but I started to really freak out about the prospect of going outside, into the ‘real world’ as me for the first time.  I began to hyperventilate, my hands were shaking, I felt sick and the only thing stopping me from crying a little was the knowledge that it would fuck up my mascara.

Luckily for me I’ve got some awesome friends and they quickly rallied around me to calm me down, reassuring me that nothing was going to happen to me and that they were their for me.  So we all jumped into the car, me still thinking that this was going to be a terrible idea, but I was in the middle seat so it’s not like I could jump out and escape.

We reached Nottingham and then came the next hurdle, actually getting out of the safe confines of the car.  It seemed like every time I got over one irrational fear another would rear its head!  Walking through the city centre felt like a minefield, my eyes were constantly scanning the crowd.  Was anyone looking at me?  Why are those people over their laughing, is it me?  Is anyone saying anything?  Does anyone look like they want to hurt me?  I was also massively conscious of my body language the whole way, concentrating so hard on moving femininely it was giving me a fucking headache.

Nottingham City Centre Nightlife.

As we neared our destination though I began to relax a little.  No one was laughing or pointing or calling me names.  No one was even looking twice.  ‘Hey’, I thought, ‘maybe this isn’t so bad after all’.  As soon as we got to the cinema though I realised that their were a couple of little hurdles that I’d forgotten about and was suddenly getting worked up over once again.

The first was the fact that I needed to pee.  Now, normally I’m presenting as male, so I go into the male toilets, pee and leave, no problems whatsoever.  This night though I was going to have to use the women’s toilets.  What if other people were in their?  What if they could tell I’m trans when I walk in?  what if they start to freak out or make a fuss or get nasty?  If it wasn’t for the fact that I would have to hold it for another five hours and that my friend also needed to go I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have even gone in their.  But once again, I did it and their were no problems at all.

The second thing that threw me once I was in the cinema was ordering snacks and my drink.  ‘Fuck, my voice is going to give me away!’  I thought to myself.  I’ve only had one speech therapy session so far and my work schedule has made it hard for me to keep up my vocal practice so I’m going to get clocked for sure.  So I tried altering my pitch, kept my voice quiet and talked as little as possible.  I’m sure that some of the people I spoke to suspected but at least they didn’t say anything.

Later in the night, once the film had finished and we went up to the bar area to meet the author and get a copy of the book, I did notice a few people that seemed to be giving me longer than normal looks, and even had one guy squeeze past me and say ‘excuse me sir’.  Not the best thing to happen no, but it was far from the worst.

Yep, that's me....taking a damn 'selfie'.  God I hate myself for that.

Last night was one of the most frightening experiences I’ve ever had, but I’m glad I did it.  Thanks to hormones I’m starting to be able to see a female when I look into the mirror rather than a ‘tranny in a bad wig’.  Last night helped me to reaffirm those thoughts, I mean maybe others were seeing me as female too.  Those people in the bar would have been looking over at me because of the fact that I’m quite tall.  It could have been because of any number of reasons that had nothing to do with figuring out what I am.  Maybe I even misheard the ‘sir’ comment as it was in a quite loud room.

With a lot of the horror stories I’d heard about bad experiences trans women have had in going out in public and my own irrational fears I was absolutely petrified of what I did last night.  But I’m damn glad I did it.  I’m not in a massive hurry to do it again and theirs no fucking way I’m doing it on my own but I’m glad its done and that it will be easier next time too.

The Broadway Cinema, my place of triumph :P

For anyone reading this that isn’t at that stage yet and is worried about their first time out, well yeah, be scared.  It is fucking scary.  But its also not as bad as your mind will tell you its going to be.  Surround yourself with people you love and people you trust and it will make it a whole lot easier too.

I owe my friends big time for last night.  They helped to keep me strong, stopped me from freaking out or just outright refusing to go.  Even if they didn’t realise they were doing it, just by being their with me, being themselves and treating me like nothing was wrong and it was an ordinary night was just what I needed.  Thank  you Hannah, Jake, Lehen and Mario.  I love you guys for what you did last night.

Amy.
xx

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