A lovely thing happened on Friday night… I was awarded the East Midlands Outstanding Female LGBTQIA+ Champion 2023 at the Women’s Awards.
It’s been the most amazing year for me, as in the last 12 months I have won the British Diversity Awards Hero of the Year 2023, the Trans in the City Trans Community Champion Award 2022 and the This is Us Awards Training & Development Award 2023. Also, I was listed on the DIVA Power List 2023, I was a DIVA Awards Unsung Hero of the Year Finalist 2023 and I was named as a LinkedIn Top Voice as well as becoming a co-presenter of BBC Sounds series “Time for some LGBTea”.
I don’t do my trans awareness training, inspirational speaking, presenting and media appearances for accolades though. As you can hear in my acceptance speech, I do it to counter all the hate and misinformation about trans people in the media and in politics. Trans people are not a threat to anyone. We are just boringly ordinary people who have had extraordinary journeys to be happy. That’s all. I also do what I do to show other trans people who may be struggling, that it’s OK to be trans. Because it is. In fact, it’s more that OK, it’s blooming amazing! I love my life as the real me. I tried to be the man that others wanted me to be for 48 years, but now I am living my truth, I couldn’t be happier.
I was brought crashing down to earth after this glamorous evening though. While I received many compliments about my chocolate brown and gold evening dress, when my 12-year-old daughter saw it, she simply asked me “Why did you go dressed as a poo?” Kids!
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