Changing gender in Ireland... the reality

YOUNG Irish transgender people reveal the highs and lows of going through hormone treatments and irreversible surgery in a new RTÉ documentary series.

Filmed over two years, My Trans Life shows the reality of changing to another gender through the eyes of five young people. The cameras follow them as they go through treatments such as hormone blocking and the very final process of surgery to physically alter their bodies permanently.

In one compelling scene, Dubliner Nicky Manning is seen being wheeled into theatre for a final liposuction surgery to give him the male chest he desires.

The 22-year-old, who suffered from social anxiety and depression since he was a teenager, went through a hysterectomy and a double mastectomy in his transition from female to male. He said: ‘I knew the choices I was making were the right ones for me. I’m over the moon with the results. The main thing is I haven’t been mispronounced. I have been accepted into male society.’

After a year on testosterone, Nicky decided to opt for sexual reassignment surgical procedures to complete his transition from female to male.

‘I only get one life and I might as well live it myself and be the happiest I can be,’ he added. ‘I’m becoming the person I always knew I could be and it’s very powerful. It’s like, “Wow, you’re awake.”’