Mia pulled on her school dress on Monday morning just like any other girl at Carrum Downs Secondary College. Wearing it felt normal, the 17-year-old says, but admits she experienced a flutter of nerves as she walked through the gates of her school.

Mia was raised a boy, but her internal sense of gender is female, and wearing a dress to school this week represented another step in her plan, supported by her mother, Donna, to express herself as a young woman.﻿

Mia was born a boy but internally felt like a girl. She now lives as a girl and has been supported by her family and school, Carrum Downs Secondary College. Credit:Justin McManus

Support and advocacy organisation Ygender says conservative estimates suggest 1.5 per cent of the population are transgender, transsexual or gender diverse, but up to 8 per cent of Australians may fall into these categories.

The terms vary in meaning but all refer to people whose sense of gender identity differs from expectations generated by their body at birth. Many, like Mia, experience a strong sense of relief when they begin living in a way that is right for them.