A mature transition
“Age has nothing to do with it”
An insightful and in-depth article by The Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff, on the experiences of three older people taking the plunge and becoming transsexual – Ruth transitioned at 81, Ramses in his late 40s, and Bethan, at 57, who is about to have surgery. A must-read for anyone interested in exploring what gender means to them.
Early in October, Ruth Rose went on holiday to Corfu with a group of female friends she had known for years. They swam in the sea every day, making the most of the late summer sunshine. On the last morning before flying home to England, the women took one last swim and skinny-dipped so as not to have to pack their costumes away wet. Such adventures would once have been unthinkable for Rose. But the surgery she underwent at the age of 81 has opened doors she would never have thought possible. “In some ways it’s like having new hips after being told you would be condemned to arthritis for the rest of your life,” she says. “You do it, and life begins again. And that’s what happened to me. Age has nothing to do with it. When we read about people transitioning gender, the focus is often on teenagers; in an emotive debate about access to school changing rooms and Guides camping trips, older trans people are rendered almost invisible.
No longer …