A growing number of transgender people are now living openly, but the struggle for equality is far from over. Violence, harassment and discrimination are regularly part of their lives. Here, five Torontonians tell their stories. A year-old hotel concierge, athlete and actor who lives in St.
Sports became my escape. I started playing baseball when I was eight and continued through my teens. I spent the rest of my free time holed up in my bedroom, watching reruns of Friends and Seinfeld , and wishing I could trade places with the characters onscreen.
I moved to Toronto when I was 22, without a job lined up or a place to live. It was an act of desperation: I needed to transition from male to female, and I thought it might be easier in a big city. I spent a lonely week in a dingy hotel near the airport, then broke down in tears and called my mother. She just looked sad and confused.
A few days later, she returned home. And I got on my feet. At night, I tried to muster the courage to go out in public wearing makeup and a dress. Most evenings, I stayed glued to my couch. I was trapped in my apartment and in a body I despised. After a few years of trying, I lost the will to transition. I found a bachelor apartment at Carlton and Jarvis, and got a job working the front desk at a nearby hotel.
I was pleasant but distant with my colleagues, never venturing beyond small talk. I spent the better part of the next decade going through the motions: I had no friends, no joy, no reason to care if I woke up the next day.
