Over the Rainbow Gender - Our children know best By Celeste de Vis Ellie’s pronouns are She/Her. Ellie is an 11yo child, one of seven people in her family. She lives with her mother, father, two brothers, her sister-in-law and their newborn baby, her nephew, Manolo. Ellie’s radiates energy in abundance. She is a natural entertainer of the arts and has a generous spirit and is a peacemaker. My favourite memories of Ellie over the years have been her singing and dancing performances to everyone at Rainbow Connections. This young lady was born for the stage and has rhythm, beat, pitch and attitude. How old were you when you transitioned? “I was six and a half years old when I transitioned into a girl.” When did you know that you were really a girl? “I was five years old when I knew that I was a girl. I loved to go through my mum’s clothes and walk around in my favourite outfits. I would wear a tee-shirt on my head and imagine that it was my beautiful, long hair.” Ellie’s Mum, Kristy added, “She would use a tee shirt as hair every day.”
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Supernal Magazine
“Many schools were ill-equipped to advocate and support transgender kids until given the knowledge base, skill set and education…” Were there any other transgender kids in your school? “There were no transgender children at my school, so my parents had to contact Safe Schools Coalition to come and speak with my teachers and the students.” Safe Schools Coalition was funded by La Trobe University and the Vic Government in supporting students who were part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s now handled by the Department of Education. One aspect of their role was to undertake professional development for school staff and assist the transition of transgender youth to be able to live authentically on the school property. Some examples of their valuable contribution include: • School staff educated to be able to understand the transgender child and support the child, which includes controlling any bullying. • The student addressed by their chosen name. Their schoolbooks, school records and any other labels changed to that name.
• The student can use the toilets of their preferred gender. • The student can sleep in accommodation of their gender at camps. • The student can play a sport of their preferred gender. Many schools were ill-equipped to advocate and support transgender kids until given the knowledge base, skill set and education from Roz, Mel, Joel and Matt. Safe Schools saves lives. Ellie said, “We got Mel from Safe Schools to talk to my teachers.” How would you describe living your old self, before transitioning? “I did not feel comfortable in my body. I did have happy memories from when I was a boy, but I would talk about really feeling that I was a girl.” Who could you talk to?“ I told my friends that I was a girl. They accepted me. I told my mum and dad that I was a girl. From the beginning, my mum was supportive. My dad became supportive after that.
