COFFEE BRE AK
people lost their jobs or were denied access to their children, but recently the community has said enough is enough and that there are laws to protect us. When we band together we become powerful; trans people are proud of who they are and no longer willing to hide. Has this strength been fortified by the years of adversity? It’s incredibly empowering to decide that what people see isn’t quite what you are, and make changes to address that. Subsequently, there has been a further kickback against our fight, and people want to question whether we can be ‘real women’, but I won’t go there anymore – there is more important work to be done, like ensuring people are living safe, aspirational lives. I’m not having the argument about whether I should exist anymore. You’ve lived a quarter of a century with HIV, Juno, that’s an incredible achievement. I know, I should be presented with some kind of medal, or a nice hand bag. When I was told I was HIV positive, I had a partner who was extremely ill. I was given a form, which said I was expected to live six months and entitled to death benefits. It was a time when there were no HIV clinics, just rooms at the end of long corridors. There were no nurses willing to take your blood, because they didn’t want to go near you. That’s unbelievable. People thought we were the scum of the earth. You couldn’t even get a dentist. When I did find one, it was the last appointment of the day and he would literally cover the entire dental surgery in cling film. Even friends would check which glass I was using and people like Edwina Curry were saying that no morally upright person needed to worry about AIDS. The stigma was colossal, but I’m still here, and as entitled as anyone to have dreams and laughter in my life. In a way, it made me who I am today. How on earth did you survive? I started to set myself goals. I was in the first year of university when I was diagnosed and they wanted me to leave, but I thought ‘If I’m going to die, I’m going to die with a degree certificate in my hand’. I lived long enough to get my Masters and, by that time, I thought ‘Actually, I don’t want to die’. Then the new drugs started to come out, which we could
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“I am a positive person, and love being alive.
When did you decide to become a trans woman? I had made the decision years ago, but because I was HIV positive GPs and PCTs would turn me away and no one would fund the procedure. Then one day I was accepted and had the surgery. It’s incredibly liberating to feel like you’re truly being yourself. Most of our lives are segmented, blocked and labelled, but I won’t be in any kind of closet.
THE WORLD IS A WONDERFUL PLACE
You must be proud of your part in the trans revolution. Whenever there is a group of people that are marginalised, eventually they come together and mobilise. When the abuse stops hurting, you start to fight back and build structures that look after you, because no one will do it for you. Hopefully, through my work, it’s beginning to happen with trans people and HIV.
trial, and the years started to clock up. I am a positive person, and love being alive, and was like that even before my diagnosis. The world is a wonderful place and I wanted more of it. I have continued to challenge myself, like moving to Spain among the mountains, in the middle of nowhere.
What record would you choose for the soundtrack of your life? This sounds completely corny, but it would have to be ‘Changes’ by David Bowie. One of my dearest friends, who was among the first to die of AIDS, in the late eighties, introduced me to Bowie. I don’t miss many people, but I miss that friend’s joy for life and what they would have brought to the world.
and I wanted more of it”
What prejudice are you encountering in 2017? I wrote a series of pieces that studied online dating, so I joined Tinder. As an experiment, I started by only putting an image of me on the site. As a result, I got lots of comments, mainly from younger men, who said they ‘liked older women’. I thought, ‘Bugger off’, but at least it was supposed to be complimentary. Then I added that I was a transwoman, and still received a lot of interest. Finally, I revealed I was a transwoman living with HIV, and was bombarded with anger, aggression, threats and ignorance. Instantly I became a bad person. The stigma is still there. What treatments have you been on over the years? In the early days, I went through a whole gamut of new drugs, with all sorts of extreme side-effects. Now, it’s easy to adhere. I’ve been on Truvada and Nevirapine for years, and been undetectable and well for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been very motivated to be on top of my own care – asking questions and making sure I was comfortable with the medication I was on, and able to thrive on it.
It’s your last supper, what are you having? My homemade mushroom risotto, with lots of good parmesan. Sounds delicious. Goodbye, Juno. Bye John.
MAKE THAT CHANGE If you are a transgender person, thinking of transitioning or want more information about subgroups within the trans community there are several very useful online platforms providing advice, support and inclusivity. Trans adults: gires.org.uk Advice and support: transgenderni.com Self-help and social: beaumontsociety.org.uk Trans law: pfc.org.uk If you’re working in pharma, and you think your company could be doing more in this area, why not visit cliniQ, the pioneering sexual health centre for trans people. Head to Dean Street in Soho or visit cliniq.org.uk