Understanding the story of a trans woman…

I met Katie Neeves early in 2022, and my interview with her came as a result of that meeting. There’s a lot of misinformation on being trans & I asked if she would share her story and her insights with me and my listeners – and to my delight, she said ‘yes’! Our conversation in this podcast ranges from Gender Dysmorphia to a discussion about loos and urinals, how transphobic some of the mainstream media are, to the old stereotype around female trans sportswomen having an advantage. Katie puts things straight in her own words. Katie has two main missions in life; to reach out to other trans people, to let them know they are not alone, and that it is ok to be trans. The second, to educate society to recognise that trans people, like everyone else, just want to be happy in life. She talks about her first memories of trying on her sister’s clothes, her mother’s negative reaction, and how that one incident stayed with her for her whole life. It was many years later that she realised she had gender dysmorphia. Katie has been a photographer and filmmaker for 35 years, and four years ago, she bravely came out publicly about being transgender. She shares how scary that decision was, and how she had to balance the impact the changes in her personal life made on her professional one; a brand that had been established for 22 years. In her case, the response was overwhelmingly positive and supportive though since then Katie has experienced some terrible trolling and transphobic behaviour – especially online. Katie also explains the difference, very clearly, between sex and gender, which most of us don’t understand. Katies describes herself as a ‘gobby trans woman’ yet I’d call her a strong, resilient trans woman who is happy to open up to people about herself, and wants to educate society to change their mindset around trans people. I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I did!Here are all of the places you can find Katie:Https://www.cool2btrans.co.ukInstagram: @cool2btransLinkedin: linkedin.com/in/katie-neevesFacebook: facebook.com/katieneevesFacebook.com/cool2btrans