Our Neighbours: Indigo
What it’s like to be trans in Fredericton?
Firstly I should say that I haven’t actually been trans anywhere BUT Fredericton, so it’s hard for me to say what it’s like here compared to other places, but so far it’s been…Complicated? On the one hand, I have met a lot of people who are extremely cool about it and nice, both cis and trans or non-binary people, which is obviously wonderful. My workplace has been extremely supportive too, which is great because a lot of places aren’t.
On the other hand, I do get a fair amount of dirty or uncomfortable looks when I go out. The worst tend to come from, uh, old men, for the most part. Some of them have actually scared me, just the way their eyes look when they stare at me. I’ve been catcalled a few times by people passing by in cars but I think that’s more of a “being a woman in Fredericton” thing than a “being trans in Fredericton” thing… I dunno, I’ve been really lucky, I think, in that most people in my life have been understanding and supportive. Some people, maybe even most, not sure, have it a lot harder than I do.
What you could do to make my day better?
Hmm… Maybe don’t assume somebody’s pronouns or gender identity just by looking at them. Like, for example, I present as very feminine but I actually prefer “they” pronouns (though she is also perfectly fine). And, like, take time to educate yourself on trans issues and don’t leave it all up to trans people to teach you. We live in an age where we have access to almost an infinite amount of information whenever we want, so if something is important to you there really isn’t an excuse not to at least do SOME research, in my opinion.
We live in a richly diverse community, but we sometimes don’t see the unique and beautiful individuals and families who live in Fredericton South. Many members of our community are overlooked, some are invisible, and sometimes they are Othered. In the coming months, I want to introduce you to some of our neighbours. They are us. You’ll find our Profiles series on our website starting with this one profiling members of our LGBTQ community and continuing with distinct communities each season.