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Channel 4, Thursday 20th.

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  • Hi Girls,

    Just wanted to bring to your attention a programme on Channel 4 (UK), on Thursdy night at 9pm, entitled "Sex Change Soldier".

    The "blurb" about it says ...............................

    "This intriguing Cutting Edge documentary tells the remarkable story of Ian Hamilton, the first officer in the British armed forces to undergo a sex-change operation."

    The reviewer in my listings, gives it a 4 Star rating (Very Good), so, hopefully, it'll be worth watching, and will treat the subject constructively, and without "tabloid sensationalism."

    Thought I'd pass on the info, in case you didn't notice it yourselves.

    Hugs,
    Angela. xx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      March 17, 2008 11:58 PM GMT
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  • Hi Angela, thanks for that, i saw the article about his trans in the Mail on Suday about six months ago and i was quite supprised just how much he changed during the trans i should be a very good prog

    Hugs Sammi x
      March 18, 2008 12:33 AM GMT
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  • Hi girls,

    Just a bit more info about this programme ....................................

    Although it's being shown on Channel 4 in the UK (and can be watched on Cable/Satellite in Ireland, anyone from anywhere else can watch it (a few days later, by logging on to www.channel4.com and clicking Watch on Line, then going to Cutting Edge. A few days after transmission on Thursday, the Cutting Edge documentary "replay" can then be watched on-line.

    Hope this is helpful to any of you outside UK & Ireland who would be interested in seeing it.

    Hugs,
    Angela. xx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      March 18, 2008 10:55 PM GMT
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  • 734
    Hey!

    Yep, spotted it in the TV listings and am looking forward to it. However, in case you miss the ads for it its now, apparently, at 10pm.

    Much love

    Rae xx
    www.raekelcou.com
      March 19, 2008 9:52 PM GMT
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  • Thanks for the info Angela......i'll certainly be tuning in!


    Lol xxxxxxx
    Anna-Marie
    "When the world gets in my face i say HAVE A NICE DAY"
      March 19, 2008 9:58 PM GMT
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  • I have to admit I wasn't going to view it last night and only did so because it coincided with the conclusion of the movie I was watching. I've seen similar programmes before and found them to have a strong voyeuristic aspect to them. The girls in them often come over as unsympathetic and are treated as little more than a freak show. Also they tend to go into great detail about the operation itself and worse from my point of view, show it. That's something I simply won't watch, but as someone pointed out in another post, I can be a tad prudish. Last nights programme, however, was excellent. I mean that in the sense that it showed a real person. It portrayed transsexualism in a truly positive light. Jan is a very intelligent, sensitive woman who seems to have few illusions and understands what transsexualism is. It is also a story tinged with great sadness. I'm considering all this from my own perspective and I'm certainly not second-guessing Jan on anything. But some very interesting issues emerged. Is there anything more painful than feeling you have let down those you love. The reaction of her parents is hurtful beyond measure and is something she will have to live with for the rest of her life. There was something ugly in the response of her ex-wife and girlfriend. When she said something like, I just want to love and to be loved, I don't want to be alone. That struck a chord so deep I almost cried. Sadly she is quite right when she says she will always be the transsexual paratrooper. She will always be that in the eyes of straight society. She can escape her gender at birth but she cannot escape her transsexualism. She can expect and will receive love and understanding in the gay community. Somewhere Jan will be accepted for who she is and her transsexualism will not be an issue. The two friends she met in the cafe, were they gay, I don't know. She takes pride in her previous life and so she should, we should never be ashamed of who we are. I admit I don't understand how someone like her could choose the most masculine of lives. I'm not sure that it was to prove herself, in her masculine role, as she suggests. I think it probably goes deeper than that but then maybe she doesn't really understand it herself. I have the greatest admiration for her and think she was very brave. I don't doubt that I would have been in pieces if I had had to go through all that. Perhaps, that military discipline helps. Anyway she is very beautiful and feminine and I hope she will be happy in her new life and find love. However, I do feel there will always be a sadness there. It hurts when you cause pain to others when all you want to be is yourself.
    Porscha
      March 21, 2008 4:24 PM GMT
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  • Hi Girls,
    I've been away since the programme, so this is my first chance to make a comment about it, but Porscha has said just about everything I was going to, so, I'll just agree with her eloquent comments, rather than re-stating them in another way.

    One thing, Porscha, that I do disagree with you on though, is your comment about Jan going into the Para's to try to "prove" her masculinity. You think that this may not really have been the case.
    True, it may not be, but, speaking from my own, personal, history, I too, did something similar in my teens and early 20's.
    For me, as a musician, my work was Non-gender specific, but my pastimes were probably as "male" as I could find. My main "participation" sport was Rugby, with all the macho/male aggression inherent in probably the most physical contact sport around!
    For myself, I know that my reasons for playing rugby, were purely to try to deny, to myself, that I wasn't the "macho-male" people expected me to be!

    But, apart from that slight disagreement, I can only, whole-heartedly, echo your comments!

    Hugs,
    Angela. xxx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      March 24, 2008 10:10 AM GMT
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  • Thanks Angela, I struggle to understand the need to prove your masculinity when you are in fact feminine. I can understand the desire to do so if you are a man trying to test your manhood. In relation to Jan, for someone who is so obviously female to choose the most overtly masculine, and indeed, hazardous profession is difficult to comprehend. Perhaps, wanting to serve and a sense of duty, peer pressure, wanting acceptance as a part of a team, needing a closed and disciplined enviroment to find an inner-strength also all played a role, I don't know. I used to play football when I was younger and loved it, I still do. But what I did hate was the crude machismo of the dressing room before and after. It is that being surrounded by the rawest and most distasteful aspects of masculinity, and being able to accept and live with it, that I find difficult. I was also forced to play rugby, against my will, where I used to freeze out on the wing and pray nobody gave me the ball. It seemed to me just another excuse for much larger boys to bully me, as if they needed one.
    Porscha
      March 24, 2008 5:29 PM GMT
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  • Porscha,
    Again, very well stated, but, for myself ........... and I can only speak for me, ................. my "reasons" for playing rugby were not, as you suggest, a need to prove my masculinity, but an attempt to deny my femininity. A subtle, but important difference!

    But, as I later "saw sense", I came to realise that I couldn't deny my true self any longer, and am now allowing myself to live "truthfully" as Angela.

    But, yet again, I find myself, in the main, agreeing with all that you've said!
    (At 5ft 1in, I too was that one freezing out on the wing!!!).

    Hugs,
    Angela. xx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      March 25, 2008 4:10 PM GMT
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  • You're quite right, Angela. That is a subtle but very significant difference. I can certainly understand the denial of one's femininity something, I'm sure, most of us have done at sometime in our lives if only briefly. It was certainly lonely out there on that wing but then perhaps you tackled people, something I studiously avoided lol
    Porscha
      March 25, 2008 4:49 PM GMT
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  • ...Not wishing to re-direct the thread topic, but sympathising with both Porscha and Angela. It would appear that school games teachers have a highly developed ability to identify which pupils are special.. (Left-wing - often left shivering due to the inadequacies of others to distribute and share play, generally relied upon to tackle anything the other's daren't touch)
    a girl at heart and a proper person too
      March 25, 2008 4:53 PM GMT
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  • Hi Girls,

    I'm resurrecting this thread, to bring you an up-date on Jan's story.

    Jan (Ian Hamilton), recently took the British Army/Ministry of Defence, to a labour tribunal, claiming "constructive" dismissal!

    Her claim rested on the fact that she had been called for a medical, by her Regiment, but had been ordered that she MUST attend in uniform (in her male personna)!
    When she explained that that would both be unfair, and uncomfortable for her to do, she was informed that, unless she complied, she could face dismissal from the Service!

    As she continued to refuse to attend in full male uniform, she was subsequently dismissed!

    Since then, she has taken the "constructive dismissal" case to the Tribunal, where, last week, she was awarded £250,000 compensation!

    Just thought you'd like to hear that, although Jan has lost her career because of her GRS, she has, at least, had some sort of (financial) revenge !

    Hugs,
    Angela. xx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      May 28, 2008 5:00 PM BST
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  • Thanks for the update angela.....Well done HER for standing up to these kn*bheads in the british army & in her former regt too. Good to see she got a Decent compensation amount too......that'll show em!


    Lol xxxxxxxx
    Anna-Marie
    "When the world gets in my face i say HAVE A NICE DAY"
      May 28, 2008 10:38 PM BST
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  • 734
    Thanks for the update Angela :)

    Typically, I'd planned to watch it and somehow missed it completely!

    I think she won an award she justly deserves. [I also hope she's somehow aware of the support she has here - and passes a couple of quid to TW...]

    Much love

    Rae xx
    www.raekelcou.com
      May 28, 2008 10:47 PM BST
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  • Okay, this may upset a few but I can see this from both sides of the fence.

    Firstly, if she is ordered to attend in uniform then she should have, this isn't civvy street we're talking about here it's the army and they have rules and regulations. However I am assuming that they meant dress uniform and not just combat fatigues which is the same for both genders. I'm sure she wouldn't have had a problem with that.

    Secondly, if she is in the Paras, I can understand them wanting her out. It's wrong, but they will look at the damage it would cause to their tough image.

    So, although I can see both sides, my support is completely and totally behind her 100%, and I can appreciate first hand just how hard it is to transition in a military enviroment.

    Nikki
    Every woman is beautiful, some show it with their faces, others show it with their hearts.
      May 29, 2008 8:29 AM BST
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  • Nikki,

    I can only agree with your points (in general), about army discipline, etc. However, as I understand it, it was No.1 Dress Uniform that was required!

    Also, this was after Jan's GRS, so should, at least, have been given the option of wearing Female Officer's No.1 Dress Uniform, which I believe, was not offered.

    However, there's nothing to feel that you "may upset a few"!
    Your comments are totally correct.

    Hugs,
    Angela. xx.
    What matter if I stand alone? I wait with joy the coming years; My heart shall reap where it has sown, And garner up it's fruit of tears.
      May 29, 2008 9:15 AM BST
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