The Living Proud Gender Diversity Forum kicked off with huge numbers last month at the Northbridge Piazza, with a panel of six gender diverse speakers discussing their experiences, as well as answering questions from the community.

The two hour event served as the first instalment of the Living Proud initiative, which stands as part of the One Life Suicide Prevention Program. 

The six panellists spoke candidly about their experiences, covering topics including coming to terms with their gender, dealing with dysphoria, coming out to family and friends, and the process they undertook of changing genders.

Lex Randolph kicked off the personal perspective stories for the evening – ‘I used to feel my gender was somewhat performative.  Things got really bad and at one point, I started to feel a sense of dysphoria and not feeling right in my body. That’s when I started to take steps to change that.’

The panel consisted of differing age groups and gender identities, oldest member Leece Johnson spoke of how her transition didn’t start until later in life –

‘I didn’t know I was transsexual until my 40’s, yeah there are a few of us like that out there. I didn’t have a clue I was in the wrong body when I was very young.’

Generating healthy discussion and questions, the panel covered questions regarding hormone side effects, and dealing with your sexuality when transitioning.