A Transgender Journey: Juliet Jacques
Juliet Jacques wrote a series of posts for The Guardian newspaper about her transition journey. While everyone’s experience will be different, there may be aspects of Juliet’s path that resonate with yours.
A transgender journey: part one
In the first of a series of columns charting her gender reassignment process, Juliet Jacques describes how she gradually came to terms with her true identity
A transgender journey: ‘I was looking for a trans counter-culture’
In the second instalment of her fortnightly column, Juliet Jacques describes how she came out as transgender, entered counselling, and searched for like-minded people
‘Are you a bird or a bloke?’ Juliet Jacques begins living as a woman
Having decided to transition, Juliet Jacques begins living as woman. Here she recounts the reaction of friends, employers - and total strangers
How do you tell your family you are transgender?
Soon she would have a different body, a different voice, and a different name .... How would Juliet Jacques tell her parents that their son was becoming their daughter?
‘Confidence is the key to passing - or at least to silencing the hecklers’
When Juliet Jacques began trying to ‘pass’ as a woman, she faced transphobic comments on a bad day - and misogynistic ones on a good
‘I wanted to become a woman - but did I really want to become Juliet?’
As part of her transition, Juliet Jacques had to discard her male name and pick a female one. How would this name change affect her family and friends - and herself?
‘No wonder many transsexual people end up in sex work’
Despite the Sex Discrimination Act, transgender people often face unfair treatment in the workplace. Juliet Jacques has been luckier than most
‘I’d always hated my facial hair’
As Juliet Jacques continues on her journey of gender reassignment she says goodbye to a powerful sign of masculinity: her facial hair. It’s a process that stings, both physically and financially
‘They are the gatekeepers of my physical transition’
As Juliet Jacques continues on her journey of gender reassignment, she reaches a stage feared by many: a visit to the Gender Identity Clinic
‘I’d hoped that coming out might temper my anxiety’
Gender reassignment can take its toll on the mental health of vulnerable individuals. Juliet Jacques considers her own relationship with depression and anxiety
Searching for a transsexual community
Once her transition was under way, Juliet Jacques set out to make new friends who understood the specific challenges of transsexual life
What not to ask a transsexual
What do transsexual people and pregnant women have in common? Both cause strangers to lose all sense of propriety, says Juliet Jacques
‘Vocal restraint is constantly demanded of women’
Juliet Jacques is starting to look like a woman, but she still sounds like a man. Will speech therapy help?
‘The time when my body would match my essence seemed in sight’
Juliet Jacques returns to the Gender Identity Clinic, hopeful of a long-awaited hormone prescription. Will she get the answer she wants to hear?
‘I hated the thought of a child I’d raised struggling with my history’
As she prepares to start hormone therapy, Juliet Jacques is forced to consider if she will ever want to be a parent. Should she save sperm for the future?
‘Gender is a performance - for everyone, not just transsexuals’
Juliet Jacques had always wanted to take to the stage, and now the time finally seemed right
A transgender journey: ’Finally, slowly, my body was catching up with my mind.
For Juliet Jacques, beginning hormone replacement therapy is a vital step towards her goal. But what will it feel like to go through a second puberty?
A transgender journey: The beautiful game
How will Juliet Jacques’s transition be perceived in the macho world of football?
‘What sort of woman do I want to be?’
Learning how to live and ‘present’ as a woman can be like learning a new language, only without the concrete rules, says Juliet Jacques
‘Is this the right thing to do?’
The surgical conclusion to the gender reassignment pathway is irrevocable. But what alternative is there - and do any regret it?
‘I knew the process was going to be slow. I wasn’t wrong’ | Juliet Jacques
Juliet Jacques: The journey to gender reassignment has felt like an endurance test, more so than necessary to prove my ‘commitment’
A transgender journey: Clinical details
The hormone dose has been doubled, the verbal abuse has dwindled and surgery has been discussed - is the end finally in sight for Juliet Jacques?
A transgender journey: Making space
Juliet Jacques learned to deal with heckling in public, but hadn’t anticipated the problems with being ‘read’ as trans on a night out
A transgender journey: Are you experienced?
Juliet Jacques reports on the ‘Real Life Experience’ living as a woman required by medical professionals before she can set a date for gender reassignment surgery
Transgender journey: facing the reality of surgery
After a consultation with her gender reassignment surgeon, the reality of impending surgery dawns on Juliet Jacques. Is she doing the right thing?
Transgender journey: ‘I sit with teeth gritted, fists clenched and toes curled’
In her final consultation before sex reassignment surgery, Juliet Jacques is told exactly what will happen to her body - and what could go wrong
Transgender journey: time for sex reassignment surgery at last
The day of the operation has finally arrived. Juliet Jacques recounts the final preparations, the surgery itself and the aftermath
Transgender journey: recovering from surgery
After sex reassignment surgery, Juliet Jacques recuperates at home with her parents. An infection delays her recovery, but eventually pain gives way to pleasure
Transgender advice: the best resources online
(Very UK Centric) A list of online resources for transgender people and their family and friends. Please add your own useful links in the comments
Top 10 transgender books
The author of an ambitious new memoir about her own experiences looks at the pioneering writers who have fought to tell their often unheard stories