If there was one thing you think society should talk more about, what would it be?

“The conflict that’s occurring between gender roles at the moment. As a trans gender male, I have a different perspective on gender to many and see the world through multiple lenses.”

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Today I’m talking with a lovely friend of mine, Andrew Guy who is a transgender male that educates others on Trans issues & advocacy. When I first met Andy, more than 20 years ago, he was known as Anna. We both worked in Tourism and whilst I knew him reasonably well, I had no idea the internal battle he was going through. Andrew shared quite openly his journey of the emotional, physical and often psychological challenges that he faced through his transition. I was in awe of the openness and bravery of someone to share something so personal but it gave me such a deeper understanding of gender dysphoria.

Andrew is an actor and presenter and was recently in Still Point Turning at Sydney Theatre Company. Andrew is a script adviser and advocate for trans representation in film, TV and radio and was the first transgender presenter on Channel 10’s The Project. Andrew has spoken at many corporate functions on gender identity, diversity and inclusion. Having received two successive nominations for Australia’s LGBTI awards, this year Andrew was invited to be a judge. 

Andy is incredibly approachable and a highly experienced speaker advocate and I was thrilled when he agreed to come chat to me about a topic many of us need to understand more fully. This is a fascinating conversation and I learnt so much about a topic I feel I still need to learn more. Please enjoy this wonderful conversation with Andrew Guy.

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For more information about Andrew, check out these places;-

Instagram: @andygeey

Linkedin: Andrew Guy

Andrew suggested the ACON Foundation if you’re looking for more information on any topics we covered in today’s interview;-

https://www.acon.org.au/

Under ACON’s Trans & Gender Diverse section, it provides some information that may be helpful to understand more about our conversation today:-.

The umbrella term ‘trans and gender diverse’ describes a population of people whose gender is different to what was presumed for them at birth.

We recognise and celebrate the diversity of the TGD experience, so when we use the term ‘trans and gender diverse’, ‘trans’ and ‘transgender’ we mean all people who are not cisgender. Cisgender is a term used to describe people whose gender is the same as that was presumed for them at birth (male or female). ‘Cis’ is a Latin term meaning ‘on the same side as’.

Trans people may position ‘being trans’ as a history or experience, rather than an identity, and consider their gender identity as simply being female, male or a non-binary identity. Some trans people connect strongly with their trans experience, whereas others do not. The processes of transition may or may not be part of a trans or gender diverse person’s life.

They also have a great section on understanding pronouns. 

Pronouns are a special part of the English language as they are often used to indicate a person’s gender. For many trans people, having people know and use correct and affirming pronouns is an important and validating part of their gender affirmation.

https://www.transhub.org.au/pronouns

And this is a great article and short film from TIME that I found in my research that’s worth a watch & read if you’re interested to learn more about the topic:-  

https://time.com/transgender-men-sexism/

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AND, if you have a burning topic you’d love society to talk more about, or know someone who’d be great to come on the One Question podcast, drop me a line at hello@michellejcox.com