‘Becoming who we were meant to be’

There’s a long stretch between Easter and Victoria Day without a holiday — unless you’re part of Vancouver’s lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered community.
Yesterday was the city’s first Happy Tranny Day, held at Heritage Hall on Main Street.
The event offered booths, info sessions and workshops focused on the trans lifestyle, like how to build or hide breasts, followed by a drag show at night.
Roz Shakespeare transitioned to female at 45 while a Vancouver police detective.
“Ten per cent of the organization was openly hostile,” she said.
That’s why she started Vibrant Group, a diversity-training group to demystify the LGBT community.
“I prepare (workplaces) for trans folk who are preparing to go into full-time living,” she said.
Shakespeare said maintaining the transitioned body gets easier with time because hormone therapy slowly inhibits, or promotes, hair growth.
But you have to do exercises to adjust your voice and up to 400 hours of electrolysis for women to get rid of their beard.
“(But) finally becoming who … we were meant to be brings joy to us,” she said.
-kristen.thompson@metronews.ca