Trans Travel: Invisible in Rome – Daily Beast

trans travel

I usually get butterflies in my stomach before a big adventure, and my 2016 study abroad trip to Rome is no exception. Most of it is the usual mix of nerves and excitement—I wouldn’t travel if I didn’t love it—but there’s another element as well.

This would be the first time I am outside the country as a transgender person.

When you do a quick Google search of “trans travel,” you tend to end up with a list of things that could go wrong: getting held up at the airport, harassed by strangers, more airport horror stories, getting killed. And these are things I know I should be aware of, but none of this is new information. What I’m worried about is the unknown. What is Rome’s queer community like? Are transgender people on their radar? Should I tone down my femininity? Google doesn’t say.

The flight goes about as well as it can—thankfully no horror stories here—and before I know it I find myself in my university’s Rome Center, filling out my Declaration of Presence. Nome? Noah. Sesso? Female.

From there I make my way down the narrow cobbled streets to find my apartment, the wheels on my suitcase getting trapped between the stones (sanpietrini) when they aren’t clattering embarrassingly loudly in the quiet residential area. By the time I reach my vine-covered apartment I’ve worked up a good sweat in the humid June heat of the city. I’ve also realized that it’s going to be impossible to wear my chest binder here. I’m not supposed to wear it more than eight hours, certainly not while exerting myself in the heat, and I already know I will probably walk more than I have in my life.

By Noah Deans-Gravlee – Full Story at The Daily Beast

Rome Gay Travel Resources

 

Trans Travel Blogger Aaron Edwards – Nomadic Boys

Aaron Edwards

We are very proud of our gay travel blogging community. It’s quite a diverse family with some of the most talented and kind hearted people we’ve ever met.

The trans side of our LGBTQ family is quite underrepresented, so it was with great delight when we came across Aaron Edwards, a FTM trans traveller, blogging about his travels with his girlfriend. Continuing on from our trans gay stories with ladyboy Regina from Bangkok and trans man Finn from Berlin, Aaron gave us this interview of what it’s like travelling as a trans man.

Hey there Aaron, introduce yourself!

Hi boys, my name is Aaron and I am originally from Chicago, USA. I am a transman and have been with my girlfriend Emily for over 3 years. We met in a gender inclusive/co-ed honours fraternity on campus at Illinois State University. My roommate and I invited her over to hang out and play card games, and since then she has never really left. We’ve been together for over 3 years and have been having a great time together!

Emily and I recently moved to Ukraine temporarily for work and decided that this was a great time for us to finally start a blog to document all our stories.

How do you identify when travelling?

I am male and have changed my passport to reflect this. In the States it takes a lot of time, energy, and hoop jumping but you can change your sex on your driving license and passport. After a certain point in your transition, it looks more strange if you keep the old gender marker that doesn’t look anything like you.

Thankfully at airports I’ve never had any major issues, other than confusion with my syringes and needles for my injectable medication – they always sets off the metal detector, but other than a bit of delay caused by this, I’ve had no issues.

By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys

Trans Pride Takes Over Brighton

Trans Pride Brighton

This weekend, Trans Pride took place in Brighton. Now in its fifth year, the event is run by a committee of volunteers.

Take a look below at the amazing march taking over the streets, and the beautiful people in it.

Trans Pride Brighton

Trans Pride Brighton

Many More Photos at Gay Star News

Sussex Gay Travel Resources