Throughout the world, people begin to question and challenge
gender norms and sexual identity. Instead of accepting that gender and sexual
perspectives are thrown into stone when you are born, many people are becoming
more open about the right of another human being to choose how to live their
life. People who identify themselves as transgender are not comfortable with
their gender identity and believe that they were born in the wrong body. This
perspective can be difficult to understand for friends, family and members of
the general public. In January 2016, a transgender woman named Fulvia
Pellegrino of Peveragno, Italy, made headlines around the world as she
courageously approached the media to tell her story and highlight many of the
issues, challenges and expectations about people Who are struggling with a
transgender identity.
Born in Italy, Ms. Pellegrino is 57 years old and has spent
at least £ 52,000 on various operations and plastic surgery techniques to
change her body into something as close to her representation of perfection as
possible. Mrs. Pellegrino spoke openly about her tremendous difficulty in
struggling to fit in with her male friends where she "played football,
drank beer, bought American 4x4 and jumped to feel like a man." From the
age of 15, Mrs. Pellegrino realized that she was not like the other children in
school, she felt trapped.
This inner turbulence manifests itself in cross-dressing,
making up in secret and visiting gay clubs. Mrs. Pellegrino kept this side of
herself hidden from the rest of the world, even when she married his wife,
Marisa Altare. In 2000, Mrs. Pellegrino told her wife the truth and after a
tortuous and confusing period, Mrs. Altare accepted and supported the situation
of her husband and today, the couple is "nothing more than two
sisters."
For Ms. Pellegrino, the transition has been painful and
difficult. The inhabitants of the town of Peveragno openly point out to her as
if she is a circus monster. On the other hand, Pellegrino's mother and her
father condemned her for her gender identity, trying to force her into a
psychiatric facility and prevent her from attending her father's funeral. The
new appearance and decisions of Mrs. Pellegrino may seem to confront and
confuse people who do not know her, but she is sick of being treated like a
leper and a monster by people who have never known her or know the
psychological struggle that Has faced.
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