ALL CHANGE

Christine Mimnagh has struggled with her gender identity since childhood. She speaks to Jackie Rankin about being a transgender woman, and her ambitions for a new dedicated service to help people like her get the help they need.

GP Christine Mimnagh walked into her room at Wingate Medical Centre Kirkby to find a mug, a gift from a well wishing patient – it read ‘soon to be Mrs’.

It made her smile. Not because she was getting married, but that she’d announced to her patients that she was going to be changing her gender.

The brightly coloured mug symbolised acceptance.

Christine had previously presented in the practice as male. She’d known from childhood that she didn’t feel and think like society thought she should, but as a little boy she’d watch her family laugh at TV programmes in which men who dressed in female clothes were comedy figures.

“I quickly realised that people like me were the butt of jokes. As I got older I did a deal with the world, the Almighty and myself that I was going to try to fit in with society’s expectations.”

I went to medical school and did crazy things...but I was missing what I really needed.

Like many transgender women she chose a lifestyle to cope with the feeling. “If you can’t be yourself, then be the best version of you and take the focus away from the problem. I went to medical school and did crazy things like building a car and going coast to coast across Scotland by dog power. But I was missing what I really needed.”

Christine was married and had three children. She’s still close to her family and feels lucky. Two thirds of relationships don’t survive when the person transitions.

Transphobia is the last justifiable bigotry, says Christine. She’d dearly love to see the stigma shaken off in the same way it has been with homophobia.

“It’s hard to believe that in the 1980s it was illegal to have a gay relationship when we look at attitudes today. Until the 2010 Equality Act people could be sacked for transitioning. A year ago being transgender was considered a mental illness.”

I love wearing nice clothes and makeup, but I risk it being seen as a fetish.

She wants society to be more accepting, and to bust the myths that surround gender incongruence.

“A classic misrepresentation is that transgender people are a threat, or even paedophiles. There’s been a media manufactured panic over access to toilets which results in many trans people developing kidney problems because people fear the comments in public toilets.

“It’s even been said that we do it because it’s new or cool. Since the dawn of time across civilisation there’ve been groups who don’t fit the gender stereotypes. Sumeria in 3000 BC had a caste of priests who dressed as women and were very influential. Native Americans had two spirited people. We’ve been here since the dawn of time, but social media makes us more visible.

“Trans women sometimes face criticism that they are either trying too hard or not enough, the reality is we’re all different in our expression of gender whether you are trans or cis (the technical term for non transgender) and that can include rejection of stereotypical gender as in the case of non binary people.”

GP Christine Mimnagh

HAVE THINGS IMPROVED?

“Yes. In the 1970s the advice if you transitioned was to run away and start a new life. Research studies have found that 85 percent of today’s teenagers would support a friend who came out as trans. The options for transition are so much better too, with psychology, hormones, surgery or a combination. Previously the only option was surgery. If the doctor thought you wouldn’t make a ‘full transition’ (look and live like the opposite sex) you would be refused help.”

Christine is Clinical Advisor to Mersey Care’s new specialist gender incongruence service, CMAGIC, which works on improving the provision for transgender and non binary patients. The service brings together clinicians, community groups, and NHS services to provide a community based approach that supports people who are exploring their gender.

People need different levels of support, there’s no one way to be transgender.

WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL THE NEW SERVICE MAKE?

“We’ve started from a bottom up approach, to see what’s needed before we designed the service, “says Christine. “People need different levels of support, there’s no one way to be transgender. Some, like me, may want hormones and psychotherapy, but not feel the need or be able to have surgery. Others may simply need support.

“We want people to know there’s a service that’s accessible, that’s for people like them, that delivers on where they need to be, not where we think they need to be.”

We want people to know there’s a service that’s for people like them.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Adult Gender Identity Collaborative (CMAGIC)

The Cheshire and Merseyside Adult Gender Identity Collaborative (CMAGIC) is a partnership of clinicians, commissioners, providers and service users involved in the support and care of transgender and non binary people within Cheshire and Merseyside.

CMAGIC gender identity clinics offer a flexible range of tailored support options. To register you must be:

• Aged 17 or over and registered with a GP in England

• On a waiting list for an established NHS gender incongruence service and have not yet attended your first appointment.

For more information go to: Cmagic.merseycare@nhs.net or call 0151 317 8581.

You can also find out more at merseycare.nhs.uk and searching 'CMAGIC'.