Trans Awarness - Hidden in Plain Sight

This page is the start of a trans awareness journey to help you understand trans people and that entire section of society you could describe as "Middle Gender", and perhaps enourage you to see us in a different light.

If you have a moment do watch this slide show and, if you have sound on your computer, listen to John Barrowman's wonderful rendition of "I Am What I Am" from the musical La Cage Aux Folles, one of my favourite musicals that deals so wonderfully with cross gender issues. The video clip will repeat so if you want to turn off the sound - click on the speaker symbol at the top left of the slide screen.

Trans Awareness Workshop

If you have come to this page looking for details of the Trans Awareness Workshop please click here. However, before you do, this page in intended to compliment the workshop. We will be expanding on many of the issues addressed in the workshop and providing links to enable you to further explore aspects of the topic. So if you have not yet attended a workshop, this page will provide an insight into what to expect.

Why Hidden in Plain Sight?

This is the strange dichotomy for trans people. From as far back as we have records, we know that men and women have cross dressed. There are countless records of cross gender behaviour. And still today when we take our children to the theatre at Christmas time, it will be to a Pantomime where we make a feature of men playing female roles and women playing male roles. On stage, on television and in film there are constant examples of cross gender performance.

Yet if we come off the stage and walk into the street - we are ridiculed and discriminated againt with a ferocity that beggers belief. Every year across the world dozens people are murdered simply because they are transgender. A third of transgender people will at some time attempt suicide because they cannot cope with the social rejection and with being an object of ridicule.

The reason for the Trans Awareness Workshop, and this section of the web site, is to help to stop discrimination and harrassment by raising awarness of trans people and why we are the way we are. From our research we estimate that at least 50% of people have never knowingly met and spoken to a trans person. We also know that most people, given an opportunity, have lots of questions, which is why on the workshop we devote a lot of time to enabling participants to ask questions, no matter how personal.

Although we are unabl eto answer questions identifying other people, we are providing a similar opportunity here. If you have a question, click here to go the Your Questions Answered Forum on the GenderShift Network where you can read other visitors questions and post your own. You will need to register if you are not already a member.

Trans Rights

Over the past few years laws relating to trans people have been changing bring an urgent need to raise the level of trans awareness in the workplace and the community. This workshop is designed to raise awareness in a fun and educational environment and give all delegates an opportunity to meet and speak to trans people while learning about the history and rights of trans people.

There are so many terms used to describe various members of the trans community around the world it hardly surprising that people are confused. Many trans people themselves don't understand the terms and struggle for years to come to terms with their own identity.

There are more and more trans men and women in the media and in the workplace and every year new legislation is providing increased protection from discrimination, yet most people have never knowingly met and spoken to a trans person...

This workshops is designed to change that.

In this entertaining workshop, Professional Speaker Rikki Arundel, herself a trans woman, will explore the colourful history of trans people explaining the often subtle differences between all the various identity categories, a topic she researched for her masters degree. She will also discuss the new and changing rights for trans people in the workplace including the impact of the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999, the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the Equality Act 2006 including the Gender Equality Duty and the forthcoming Discrimination Law Review incorporating the new European directive on gender.

If you have ever had a burning question about trans people - this is the place to ask it - Rikki will answer any questions, no matter how personal, to enable delegates to truly understand what transgender is all about.

Trans in the media

A Colourful History

To help develop understanding of trans history Rikki Arundel has put together a Squidoo Lens to explore Trans Awareness and Trans History