In The South
Okay, so I have a phobia. I’m not the only person either. Around 6-8% of people in the West suffer from the excruciatingly debilitating hold of a phobia. Previously we established the unrelenting pain and suffocating effect an intense fear can have on its victim, and I think it’s only fair that the
Features
Within almost a month of meeting my then boyfriend, now husband, he became an uncle for the first time. I remember receiving the text from him, which screamed in capital letters; I AM AN UNCLE. My automatic, and I concede extremely unattractive response, was one of searing jealousy. I had, until thi
In The South
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
In The South
Craig Hanlon-Smith responds to the Facebook rant by Richard Wolstencroft, festival director of the Melbourne underground film festival following the positive vote for gay marriage in Australia.
In The South
As the skeletons of sexual misconduct began to pour out of Harvey Weinstein’s closet and unlock the gates of the palace of Westminster, a quiet yet uncomfortable thought slipped into my thoughts that ‘it won’t be long before one of those skeletons comes along waving a rainbow flag’.
Community News
In the August edition of this magazine, I shared at length an experience, a hate-crime of sorts and the debacle that followed at the hands of the criminal justice system. I have no intention of recounting here, either the incident itself or the ensuing overall affair, it is a chapter I am closing.
Features
As a youngster, I assumed the day would come when I would know all there was to know about life, love and happiness. The reflecting, the neglecting, the mistaking, the breaking, the betting, the fretting, the yearning, the learning would all eventually subside, and after the maelstrom of tortured y
Features
Last month I wrote about my Pride experiences over the last 20 years and how I never quite felt like I fitted in. I was always troubled with poor trans representation. I surmised by hoping that trans folk, and the less represented minorities of the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, would be better respected and re
Features
My first experience of a Pride event was back in 1997, some 20 years ago. A fresh-faced 16-year-old kid, who knew she was trans but only in her wildest dreams did she think she could transition, made her way to Clapham Common for Pride London. I was absolutely terrified as I made my way there with m
In The South
“Isn’t it great that Pride feels like a national celebration now?”, my husband exclaims as we wander around London for some last minute holiday shopping. And as I look around at every other shop, wall, skyward banner and lamppost, adorned with some manifestation of the rainbow, I cannot help but agr
Features
Those 6 words. Those 6 words that I have heard over and over again in many different guises since I began transition feed into a cis narrative in which I neither belong, nor wish to. The OED defines ‘lady’ as ‘a polite or formal way of referring to a woman’. Well, I am a woman, so therefore, I am a
Features
Today sees me one week post op of my fourth, and hopefully last, hair transplant surgery. Back in late February I headed to Latvia after a long search for a surgeon who would take on my hair restoration case. A tricky one due to the very advanced state of my balding. In April’s Gscene I covered the