‘When I watched Scooby Doo, I always wanted to be Fred, not Daphne’ (Picture: )

When I came out as transgender, one of the first things my grandmother said to me was ‘I always knew you were different’.

Looking back it should have all been so obvious*…

When I watched Scooby-Doo do I wanted to be Fred, not Daphne.

I was also seriously envious of Captain Caveman but I think that was because he ran around with all those beautiful women and less to do with him being covered from head to foot in hair.


Zorro, Superman, Batman, check, check, check.

I thought about being Wonder Woman once. That was not a comfortable time.

When my dad took me swimming he sent me into the women’s changing room to get ready.



I came out wearing only my bikini bottoms because that’s how he dressed (well, not that he was wearing bikini bottoms).

It never dawned on me to try and be like my mum or any of the women around.

What’s all the fuss? (Picture: Getty, posed by model)

I was fascinated with the genitals on dolls, why didn’t my Barbie (urgh) have the same non-genitals as my friend’s Action Man?

Why didn’t I have an Action Man?

Even this would have been better than Barbie (Picture:AP)

The fascination with penises didn’t end there.

An avid football sticker collector, I used to draw penises on my spares.

You didn’t?

Why wouldn’t you draw penises on stickers? (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Getting me into a dress or any sort of girly clothing was a constant battle, the most famous of which took place when I was six. It was my sister’s christening.

I screamed blue murder to be allowed to put on shorts to go play football with the boys.

I played farmer while other girls played house.

My grandparents were my cattle.

This is not my grandmother (Picture: Getty)

I used to think about what it would be like to be my friend’s boyfriend.

I later thought that was because I was a lesbian and just fancied them.

Nope.

This could have been me (Picture: shironosov, posed by models)

Puberty came, girls around me got excited. I cried.

I worked out that there was no Santa because he never brought me the cool boys’ toys I always secretly asked him for.

Big fake (Picture: Getty)

I detested my name.

Not unusual, but it wasn’t because I just hated the name but because it was a girl’s name and I constantly tried to find ways to change it to a gender-neutral name while dreaming of being called something masculine without even realising what I was doing.

Don’t make me say it (Picture: miflippo)

Of course, many of these things could just point to a tomboy, but when taken with everything else I’ve learned about myself and how I feel about my body, the answer is clear.

*Disclaimer – many people feel/experience some of these things without being transgender.

If you think you might be, ask your GP for a referral to your local gender clinic. Charities including Mermaids, The Beaumont Society and The Gender Trust can also offer advice and support.

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