France Bleu Gascogne gives this Monday, January 17 the floor to a high school student from Mont-de-Marsan (Landes). Léon, 17 and a half, is transgender. He was born a girl but feels like a boy deep down and has therefore changed his first name. Soon to be of age, he wants to continue his transition, but it is not obvious. He tells us about this obstacle course.
Difficult beginnings
“My gender assigned at birth is not the gender I identify with. My assigned gender is female and the gender I identify with is male”, summarizes Leon. A simple idea on paper, but which is much more complex to live on a daily basis, at least at the beginning: “It was complicated because of the eyes of others, and for people in my class. And to have my first name accepted by the establishment, it was necessary to go through the CPE, the headmaster, class councils which were a little hectic. “ On the side of his family, some have accepted and support him, others have not.
Today, Léon assures him, his identity is well accepted by his comrades, even if he still faces difficulties when he has to choose in which “box” to put himself. For example, he had to be excused from sports because he couldn’t go to the boys’ locker room as he wanted, and could not participate in a school trip because he had to sleep with the girls, although he defines himself as a boy. “The school could put me in the room I want, but it does not do it and the director tells me about possible sexual assaults or problems with the parents of students, it is his choice”. Thus, despite the understanding of his comrades, there are still blockages.
The continuation of his transition
“I still feel like I’m not exactly like the others”, describes Leon. “When you’re a teenager, being in a group is important and I feel like I’m being pushed aside.” He hopes that his “physical” transition will allow him to be better accepted as a boy. This involves hormonal treatment, which he will begin in a few months, to have “an average boy’s puberty”.
Then come the possible surgeries. “Personally, I want to do them all”, said Leon. A course framed by many appointments with psychologists and a lot of waiting. “I know that at some point I will get there, so it reassures me, but it’s not easy”, says the young man.