OPINION: Sugar Swan – How she sees it! At the very start of transition I felt that I was forced to perform femininity to be taken seriously as a woman. I felt that I had to wear feminine coded clothes, wigs and a lot of make up, more make up than any one woman should wear, before I was able to leave the house. Should I not wear prostheti By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – Trans Positive Healthcare First, before I get on my pedestal for the month, I have to convey my sincere apologies to my regular readers for my recent hiatus. You may well remember that this time last year I spent a month in India having some surgeries; well, with nine months to allow myself to heal, I have just spent the las By Ms Sugar Swan • 6 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – Going Stealth and being outed Transitioning with Sugar – Going Stealth and being outed, by Ms Sugar Swan. When asked why I waited until my mid-30s to transition I tell people a myriad of lies; “It wasn’t the right time”, “I couldn’t afford it”, “I wanted to get X, Y and Z out-of-the-way first”. By Ms Sugar Swan • 5 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar: Trans healthcare and the Gender Recognition Act Sugar, still in the midst of surgical recovery, asks, is it all worth it? As I sit at my desk on a hot mid-June’s day, already five days behind deadline (oops, sorry ed and design), feeling somewhat overwhelmed with my scar management and post-operative care, I’ve spent the last week plagued by wri By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! The Munchkins, a good witch, a wicked witch, and ruby slippers. A yellow brick road, a paradise, an all-seeing entity that can grant us that which we are lacking. We all know the story, we can all relate. As a lifelong ‘friend of Dorothy’ I have always felt close to this story, and in this month’s ‘ By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – Drugs and the Trans Community Ms Sugar Swan looks at drug use and asks if trans people are overlooked as an at-risk group within the LGBT+ communities. PARTY drugs are a problem, they always have been, and whilst I think some members of our umbrella communities are well looked after and catered to when it comes to party drugs an By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar: www.ilovetheinternet.trans Ms Sugar Swan explains what the internet means to her. I love the internet. It has saved my life. Quite literally. Without the internet, I would be dead. I remember being in my early teens when we got a PC at home. I was one of the first of my friends to have one and therefore was suddenly very popu By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
Community News OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar: Ms Sugar Swan asks what the LGBTQIA community means to her This month’s Gscene theme is community and having lived, worked and volunteered within the local queer community for the last 17 years I have very mixed feelings about the community and what it means to me. By Ms Sugar Swan • 5 min read
Features & Longread OPINION: Transitioning with Sugar – TNG – The Next Generation Firstly, I need to apologise to my regular readers. I’m sorry there was no January column from me, I’ll be open and honest as to why. A lot of people look up to me and I get a lot of positive feedback from my work, other trans people are glad to see trans representation in Gscene and strangers get i By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
Features & Longread FEATURE: Transitioning with Sugar – A year in her life This year has been one of the toughest of my life, and I’m no stranger to tough years. December marks the first year of being without the best and most consistent person I’ve been lucky enough to have had in my life, having lost them after 17 years together. Next month also marks the 20th anniversar By Ms Sugar Swan • 4 min read
In The South OPINION: Grindr diversifies and the gay men are scared! Ms. Sugar Swan tries out the latest update from the (until recently) gay hook up app for men, Grindr. When people ask me, “Do you miss anything from your old life?” the only answer I ever have for them is simply, “Grindr”. Now that may sound odd asking a trans woman if she misses anything that she h By Ms Sugar Swan • 7 min read
Features & Longread FEATURE: Transitioning with Sugar – HIV & Me I’ve been HIV+ for the majority of my adult life. I was diagnosed in my early 20s shortly after the death of my mother. I didn’t take her death very well and ran away to Europe for three months where I undertook some risky sexual practice as I was in a dark depression. Most traumatically I was gang By Ms Sugar Swan • 6 min read
