Meeting Malta's transgender community: Can they have fulfilling lives on the rock?
Accepting something ‘new’ or ‘different’ is always a tough pill to swallow for some people. It stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding of the matter in question. The transgender community in Malta is currently facing this absence of acceptance in the way they are regarded in society. Although this might seem like a far-fetched concept, since Malta is pretty advanced in LGBTQI+ rights - having introduced civil union for same-sex couples in 2014 and marriage for gay couples in 2017 - there are still a number of hangups that the community has to face.
The transgender and intersex community saw changes in the law where gender markers, legal names and surgeries have been incorporated into the rights of Maltese citizens, but, in some scenarios, there’s a lot that needs to be worked on. Such concepts are tackled and addressed in the MGRM documentary TRANSformazzjoni - an eye-opening expression of change as experienced by a number of Maltese youth. TRANSformazzjoni is a documentary that encourages support, strength but, most importantly, community and should really be watched by the entire population of Malta if there’s any hope for change in the near future.
From topics such as misgendering, trans-friendly bathrooms, the use of correct names in public settings like schools or places of work to full-on instances of harassment, as well as fear for one’s own safety and improper behaviour, TRANSformazzjoni interviewee, Alex Caruana, shares his story with us.
Alex is an activist involved with Moviment Graffitti and also works for MGRM. He starts off our conversation by sharing that, for him, the term ‘transgender’ literally means that he was born in the wrong body. “Since I was young, I wasn’t comfortable with the way I looked, with the way my body was changing during puberty and with the fact that I had compulsive eating problems to mask these changes - this bad relationship with food stopped once I started transitioning.”
Alex saw himself drawn to the ‘male’ world - and not only the stereotypical ‘male’ ideologies, but also the idea of strength, the broad shoulders, the clothing and even something as simple as facial hair - this longing is what allowed him to live his true, authentic life. But with a lack of knowledge and exposure to translife in Malta, Alex only began his process five years ago by thinking about his identity and questioning his gender entirely. This ‘coming-out’ process is quite a tough one. In fact Alex says that “it was difficult for me to tell my parents; I didn’t know how to, but, fortunately, I had a lot of supportive friends who held my hand throughout the process until eventually my family jumped on board too.”
Luckily, Alex is not the only guy out there who has experienced these complex feelings of not belonging to your own body. Philippa, a transgender woman, who has been waiving the powder blue, baby pink and white flag for 15 years now, explained the ‘experience’ as a feeling where “a person is caught in a body that doesn’t belong to the right soul.” Now if that’s not enough to fully explain the conflict faced by the transgender or intersex community, then there’s no convincing the non-believers.
Philippa works as a sales assistant but devotes most of her time developing her newly launched brand, Santos Malta - a fashion and design company. She explained that the changing of the laws in Malta are ones that really bring a smile to her face. “It’s amazing that so many people in Malta have the freedom to come out of the closet, discover their true identity and not be restricted in their access to hormone treatment, surgery and other life changing treatments.” Philippa also commented that “there are always awkward situations, and perhaps even funny ones, where I didn’t feel accepted by some people. It might be a cultural thing in Malta sometimes, but the fact is that there will always be bullies no matter where you go in the world.”
As an activist, Alex sees things from a different perspective. His opinion on the changes in the community have resulted from the people’s fight for these said changes. “We fought for self-determination. That means that we decide if we want to change our names legally, if we want hormones and/or surgeries. It's up to us to decide not the doctors. Everywhere in the world, except Malta and Ireland, transpeople need a psychological or psychiatric report. The doctors decide if the person is really trans and, through that judgement, the person is given permission to start transitioning or not. The doctors decide the future of that person and this is unacceptable.”
Although Philippa does believe that there will never be full unity and understanding of the transgender community, she did comment that, “Malta was the country that completely changed my life and also changed me as a person. I genuinely see myself growing old in this country. Malta is safer than any country I’ve experienced and I’m very proud to say that I’m happy to be part of this country’s community. I can’t wait to see what’s to come for the LGBTQI+ members here.”
All in all, we can see that there has been a whole lot of work done for the transgender community in Malta. We’ve experienced changes, updates and amendments to the law that even the most advanced countries in the world are still fighting for. There’s a whole lot more to fight for; there’s a lot of stones that need to be overturned and a huge amount of information that needs to be spread. The Rainbow Support Service is a set-up aimed at providing advice, encouragement and a venue for discussion for all those who need to understand whet they, their friends or families are going through. And the 6th of September will also feature a second public viewing of TRANSformazzjoni as part of this year's Pride celebrations.
The Dalai Lama once said, “if you think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never been to bed with a mosquito in your room.” That drop of compassion, that step into the dark and those moments of courage and encouragement can make a world of change for a fellow human being. It could revolutionise the way the majority of our population sees things, making it a safer, friendlier, happier and more inclusive Malta for all of us to live in.