2014-9-17 Transgender model Andreja Pejic opens up✍

At the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring’ 11 Couture show./Getty images

Those are the forthright words of a woman who as a child had to deal with the daily emotional stress of “fighting everything that comes naturally 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.

出自於一位女性的直率話語,從她還是孩子時就必須面對日常生活間的精神壓力"對抗一切好順其自然的度過一天24小時,一周7天的生活。"

At age 13, Pejic, whose family moved from the Balkans to Australia, searched the internet to find out why the so-called “passing phase” of wearing skirts and wanting long hair wasn’t going away. At 14, she even went to a doctor who explained that she was too young to begin the transitioning process.

For the time being, Pejic, who is signed to Storm Model Management, was forced to escape reality and the occasional childish taunt of “poofter” through her imagination: “I would dream about going to the store with my mum or dating the cutest boy at school – quite mundane things actually but for me they were the biggest dreams.”

已跟家人從巴爾幹半島移民到澳大利亞的Pejic,在13歲時透過網路想找出對於穿著裙子和留長髮的所謂"過渡階段"的原因。14歲時她會面了醫生,但跨性的階段對她現在來說還太早,因為她還太年輕。

後來,Pejic簽進了Storm模特公司,was forced to escape reality and the occasional childish taunt of “poofter” through her imagination: "我夢想跟媽媽逛街和全校最可愛的男孩約會-這些事情很平凡,但對我來說是很大的夢想。"

(英文的部份我不知道該怎麼用中文通順表達,大概是說,開始當了模特有些事情要暫時緩一緩。而"poofter" <澳洲俚語>脂粉氣的男子,搞同性戀的男子。算是當時對自己的夢想跟實際情況的一種嘲諷)

Pejic says that she was “lucky to have an early intervention” from both professionals and an understanding mother but admits that had this not been the case, she, like many of the trans community, might have suffered from depression and contemplated suicide.

Pejic說,她很幸運"能有早期干預",透過專業人士和理解她的母親,但也承認這種情況並非常態,她,也像許多跨性者一樣,也可能經歷罹患憂鬱症和想自殺的情況。

Indeed, it’s a group of society that often suffers in silence due to social ignorance and social distrust. “I don’t think that we’re at a level where the media completely understands it: they need to focus more on the emotional aspects of transition rather than the physical. At least now transgender people can talk back to the media, which before they have been denied.”

事實上,這個社會族群往往默默的承受社會的忽視和不信任。"我不認為我們身處在同一個媒體水平:他們應該更加關注跨性者的情感面更勝於生理面。但至少現在跨性者比已往更能向媒體發聲。"

The 23-year-old continues: “You should perceive people as they say they are and feel, instead of judging them on their body. We don’t look down at our body to determine who we are.”

23歲的她說道:'你們應該體認對方他們所說的自己和感受,而不是只用身體來評斷對方。我們不該只用生理來決定我們是誰。"

The sense of misunderstanding amongst the public also permeates into the fashion world. It’s an institution that has been slow to embrace diversity, in any sense of the word. “The problem is that it’s very conservative, market-driven and there’s discrimination, too,” says the model.

這種公眾的誤解感也蔓延在時尚界裡。It’s an institution that has been slow to embrace diversity, in any sense of the word."問題是一切還是很保守,市場的走向還有著歧視,這位模特說。

Fashion, or more specifically, its commercial side such as cosmetics isn’t ready to take the perceived risk of a trans model to front a potentially multi-billion dollar campaign.

時尚或更具體來說,涉及商業方面,如化妝品廣告仍就未準備好採用跨性模特去拍攝一個潛在數十億美元的廣告的風險。

But there are signs now that the industry is beginning to awaken to the transgender spectrum with the rise of Givenchy muse Lea T, while May Simon and Stav Strashko are doing the rounds at the ongoing fashion weeks. “I think society is ready but fashion needs to get with it – it’s happening,” argues Pejic.

但仍有跡象可以看到這產業開始出現了跨性者的光譜如Givenchy的繆斯Lea T,May Simon和Stav Strashko都持續的在時裝週出現 。"我覺得社會已經準備好了,而時尚界該留心這點-這正在發生了。"Pejic指出這點。

They’re the words of an activist who is spreading awareness through an autobiographical book, which will be published through Penguin in Australia early next year, and a documentary of her sex reassignment surgery.

Although Pejic was originally unsure about filming her transition, her filmmaker friend Eric Miclette encouraged her, saying, “You need to capture this, you’ll regret it if you don’t. It’s a unique story and it can help a lot of young people.” The film, entitled “Andrej(a)", is looking to raise $200,000 on crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter.

這些積極的意識正在蔓延著,透過澳大利亞的Penguin,個人自傳將有可能在明年初出版以及關於性別轉換的紀錄片。

最初Pejic並不打算進行拍攝,但電影製片友人 Eric Miclette的話改變了她的想法.他說,"妳應該要捕捉這段歷程,如果不這麼做以後妳可能會後悔。這是個獨特故事而且能夠幫助許多年輕人。"  已Andrej(a)為命名的紀錄片正透過Kickstarter的平台進行20萬美元的集資。

Pejic is proud of what she has achieved to-date and is keen to stress that the SRS is part of “an evolution and not a transformation”. It’s a process that she now feels is complete. “I feel 100 percent confident,” she chirps.

Pejic為她迄今為止的成就感到驕傲也強調SRS是"一種進化而非改變(變質)。"透過這個過程,她也感覺自己的完整。"我覺得自己有了百分百的自信心。" she chirps.

On the question of whether her love life is better as a woman, she coyly giggles, “I’m single at the moment but it’s definitely more fun when you’re comfortable with yourself.” Pejic adds:  “I’ve been off the dating scene for a while but I’m open to love. I used to think that love wasn’t something I was deserving of, but now I have enough pride to say that it’s exactly what I deserve.”

問及她的感情生活是否因為成為女性而更加順遂。她害羞的笑著說,"我此刻單身.而當你對自己感到舒適時,這肯定更加不一樣。Pejic補充:我有一段時間沒有約會,但我對愛情保持開放。過去我認為愛情是我得不到的東西,但現在我有足夠的自信說這是我應得的。"

來源 metro