I was only a little child when I sneaked into my mum’s bedroom, and I put on her dress and lipstick. At this young age was the first time my mum tried to scare the woman out of me.
It took me several years to face the world and honestly show them who I am. I am the little girl whose school psychologist warned me against being myself. My dad shaved my hair off, so I would look more like a boy, and I used Rock and Metal music as an excuse to grow my hair the way I wanted.
I wasn’t ever planning to let anyone down. In an attempt to be the man my family and other people wanted me to be, I joined the military only to see clearly I didn’t fit into people’s expectations.
At the age of 25, I finally decided to embrace who I am. Ariadne is the name I chose for myself, and that’s why I love it and I’m so proud of it. I have lost the support of my parents on the way, but I have myself and my loving wife.
It might all sound like a happy end, but the journey is long for a trans woman like me. The path is paved with a lot of harassment on the street, at work and in life in general. I’ve had people showing me porn videos at work to see my reaction, some proposing to have sex with me, people making jokes about “shemales”, and the list goes on.
And all of these are things I can deal with. There are other things though for which I need your support.
The next step in my journey is a life-saving sex reassignment surgery; the cost of which is rapidly rising as there is only one doctor in Greece that can provide it. I have managed to save about half of the money I need with the support of my partner. I need your help to gather the rest before the cost rises again. If you are able to contribute or share my story, I would be most grateful.
With love,
Ariadni
