Anne鈥檚 story
Anne Stewart is a transgender bus driver from Perth. She came out to her work colleagues a year ago and is working hard to gain the support and acceptance of her work mates and regular passengers. Anne is living and working full time as a woman in the hope that she will be approved for full gender reassignment surgery. So far, she has gained the support of her mum, sister and even the soldiers that she served with in the Black Watch Regiment before she came out as transgender.
| Fact title | Fact data |
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| Key fact |
Trans women must live and work full time as a woman for two years to prove to a psychologist they are committed to changing gender.
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My transition in the last five years has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I served in the army for 15 years but doesn't even come close to what I have had to give up and endure in my transition in order to live a relatively normal life and to be happy with myself.
I鈥檓 just a quirk of nature鈥� and all I鈥檓 doing is correcting that mistake.
I was approached by Leeze (Assistant Producer) about 2 and half years ago to help with a documentary in order to help educate people that trans women aren't perverts or freaks we are just ordinary people who just want to live in society without fear and prejudice and to help other trans women know that you can live a somewhat normal life and be happy. Leeze and I are now very good friends, She can be really bossy at times but she has to be in order to get things done which has resulted in this fantastic documentary which I think will help a lot of trans women.
My experiences in filming the documentary were emotional but very funny at times too and both Benjie (Director) and Andrew (Exec Producer) were a little bemused by the whole trans thing at first but I feel they have learned a lot about what it is we have to endure and go through in a transition. They are both very understanding and kind and they were very helpful throughout the filming.
My transition hasn't been easy but I have to admit I had the help and support from my family, friends and work colleagues which unfortunately a lot of trans women don't have. I did endure a lot of abuse and prejudice from the general public at first but as the years progressed I found they became more accepting once they got to know me. My work has to be the one thing I was more scared of in coming out but I was amazed and am humbly grateful for their support and if it weren't for the support they gave me I probably wouldn't be where I am now. Driving a bus isn't the easiest of jobs but driving and being a trans woman too was twice as hard. But like I said earlier, once the public got to know me they realised I wasn't this freak who wanted to dress like a woman but a woman who was trapped in a man's body, and doing everything she could to change that, I started to get a lot of support from the public. Sadly there are still some members of the public out there who just don't get it or understand what it is to be me hence another reason why I did this documentary.
I have come a long way in five years from this very frightened and confused individual to being a woman. My surgery was a complete success and although I still have a little ways to go I am now more confident and more at peace with myself and can now get on with my life. I have a lot of people to thank and I couldn't have done it without their help and support, and I wish any person in a similar situation to know that you have my love and support and to never give up.
Anne xxx
Larger than life Beryl, loves her new transgender bus driver
Cameras follow five different trans women at various stages of transition.
