Tag Archives: santiago

Claudia, Transgender Activist/Author, Santiago, Chile

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong


photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong


photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truon

photo by Kevin Truon

Claudia, in her own words: “Ser mujer trans significa reconocerme como persona, con derechos humanos, con autodeterminación para guiar y elegir lo que yo deseo hacer, vivir, sentir. en mi vida. Es una oportunidad de vivir la diversidad y educar, señalando que ser persona trans no es ser una persona enferma y es un camino legítimo en el que a pesar de muchas dificultades, rechazos, discriminaciones, falta de leyes que nos protegan y políticas públicas, se puede disfrutar de lo simple de la vida, siempre mirándo con un sentido de resilencia y de fortaleza el camino, a pesar de discriminaciones, falta de empleo, humillaciones y cuestionamientos por elegir un género y vivirlo. Es difícil ver una forma positiva en la transexualidad cuando la sociedad en forma completa te invisibiliza y te rechaza por ser diferente, te patologiza y te encasilla en prejuicios. Pero he aprendido a no ver lo negativo que las personas ven y siempre ver que de toda dificultad, menosprecio e intolerancia, puede nacer una oportunidad y una esperanza.

El gran error a mi juicio acerca de las personas trans, es que las personas y las ciencias médicas y de la psicología y una sociedad completa ve generalmente en el ser trans, una enfermedad psiquiátrica, porque el binarismo, la heteronormatividad, el patriarcado y la medicina nos ha hecho ver siempre como enfermos, peligrosos, desestabilizadores de las normas del género, de la sexualidad. Incluso en algunas universidades se enseña que somos enfermos mentales. Y eso no es así. Es un gran error por ello luchamos día a día aquí. Incluso la organización mundial de la salud está trabajándo para despatologizar la transexualidad. Nosotros la sociedad civil del mundo estamos exigiendo que la transexualidad deje de ser considerada una enfermedad y un trastorno mental.

Primero darme cuenta o tomar razón en mi infancia a la edad de 4 años, de que mi sentir interno mi vida, mis vivencias, mi visión de las cosas y de mi entorno y mi conexión con mis sentimientos eran claramente femeninas a pesar de haber nacido con sexo genital masculino. Ello provocaba una transgresión a mi entorno, a mis padres, a la iglesia, a la escuela. Yo en la infancia me transformaba así, en una transgresión a lo establecido, a lo normativo. Luego en mi adolescencia luchar contra los cambios físicos que se producían por la naturaleza, por los cambios hormonales masculinos y luchar contra ello marcó mi vida, pero lo logré. Tener la oportunidad de poder acceder a estudiar y gracias a mi esfuerzo poder estudiar la carrera de obstetricia y transformarme en profesional de la salud, fuerón logros importántes como mujer trans. Una golpiza por parte de hombres neonazis, casi me hace perder la vida, casi me asesinaron y me dispuso esta situación la oportunidad de recuperarme y luchar por mis derechos. Por ello me transformé en activista y luchar por mi dignidad y mi identidad de género en Chile. Luego trabajar en el sistema de salud fue muy motivador, pero lo malo era que siempre vivía la discriminación por ser una mujer trans. No ha sido nada fácil superar todo aquello, pero he sobrevivido. Hace 3 años me despidieron de un empleo en un hospital y por ser una mujer trans y nadie me daba trabajo, solamente podía sobrevivir en lo que pudiese aprender. Estuve muy enferma, mi ánimo muy deprimido, muchas personas malas querían que hiciera cosas ilegales para sobrevivir. Y mi novio me ayudó a encontrar un trabajo en fast food donde pude escondida poder trabajar ya que no tenía mi cédula de identificación con mi nombre claudia y mi sexo femenino. Mediante una demanda civil, pude lograr sin exigencias de cirugías y exámenes vejatorios poder obtener mi identificación y todo ha valido la pena, me fortaleci, me transformé en una mujer luchadora e inspiradora, dando el mensaje de que en medio de la adversidad, se puede renacer como el ave fenix.

Me hice una persona pública, debido a mi historia, ya que en revistas y reportajes en televisión y radios contaban mi historia de vida y la presentaban en Chile, como algo único, impresionante, una historia de fortaleza y valor, una historia de ir contra la corriente siendo persona trans y de luchar por ser feliz sin perder la esperanza. Luego me transformé en una líder que defiende los derechos de todas las personas trans de chile y de la comunidad gay en su conjunto. Comencé a asistir a conferencias de la sociedad civil y a educar a parlamentarios y eso hago hoy. Y cuento mi vida a través de facebook en un portal que se llama el diario vivir de una mujer transexual chilena.Estoy escribiendo un libro sobre mi vida, un libro motivador a luchar y defender tus ideales, tus sueños y tu identidad.

(The gay community in Santiago) En diversa, es multicultural, es organizada, es alegre, es solidaria, nos divertimos mucho a pesar de la intolerancia y discriminaciones, por falta de leyes que nos protegan y a pesar de que se nos patologiza, a pesar de que nuestras familias no nos comprenden debido a influencias conservadoras y prejuicios que hacen daño, estamos luchándo. Aquí tenemos muchos problemas y creo que el más grave es que niños trans son invisibilizados, sufren bullyng y adolescentes gays, lesbianas, trans sufren humillaciones y no tenemos leyes que protegan a la infancia de nuestra comunidad. Pero estamos luchándo por derechos civiles, por leyes, por cambios y políticas públicas que nos permitan desarrollarnos.Somos un grupo humano muy empoderado. Nuestras marchas son pacíficas y le demostramos al mundo que en Chile somos un movimiento social que se une a la esperanza y los hechos, a fin de cambiar a una sociedad intolerante, para construir un mejor pais, libre de prejuicios, de intolerancias y humillaciones simplemente por amar, por querer casarnos, por exigir nuestros derechos humanos, por exigir una ley de identidad de género, un acuerdo de vida en pareja, poder adoptar niños y dar amor y ser felices y contribuir a la sociedad con amor.Todos trabajamos con amor por estos objetivos.

Que se mire al espejo que se pregunte si es feliz, que se vea a si mismo como una persona que puede luchar por sus sueños, que puede marchar, que puede buscar ayuda si no puede hacerlo por si misma, que puede en su comunidad ser lo que desee ser y elegir como vivir su vida. Que a pesar de muchas dificultades sea una persona que siempre vea el vaso medio lleno y que sea capaz de ser una persona que luche por sus derechos, que se una a la sociedad civil, que trabajemos juntos para lograr leyes, politicas públicas y que con su historia de vida le diga a una país como Chile que tenemos los mismos derechos que cualquier persona, que somos ciudadanos, que podemos elegir, que podemos empoderarnos, que podemos ser líderes, que podemos contribuir a hacer cambios, para construir una sociedad pluralista, donde se pueda ser libre de pensar y de decidir sobre tu propio cuerpo de amar sin restricciones ni prejuicios. Para así contribuir a ser mejores personas y erradicar las injusticias y decir que el hecho de que ser parte de la comunidad de Gays, lesbianas, trans, bisexuales, intersexuales de Chile es un orgullo y una oportunidad de educar a un país que necesita de la diversidad para avanzar y construir un país cada día mejor.”

In English:

“Being a trans woman means recognizing me as a person, recognizing my human rights, and having the self-determination to guide and choose what I want to do, live, and feel in my life. It is an opportunity to experience the diversity and education, noting that being a trans person is not to be sick person, it is a legitimate way to live in spite of many difficulties, rejection, discrimination, lack of laws that protect. We can enjoy the simplicity of life, always beheld with a sense of resilience and strength in a way, despite discrimination, unemployment, humiliation and questions of choosing a genre and life. It is difficult to see a positive effect on transsexuality when society makes you completely invisible and will reject you for being different, you and I are pigeonholed by pathologies and prejudice. But I’ve learned not to focus on what people see negatively and always to see that with every hardship, scorn and intolerance, can be born a chance and a hope.

The big mistake in my opinion people make about trans people is people and medical sciences and psychology and an entire society generally that sees being trans as a psychiatric illness, because the binary, heteronormative, patriarchy and medicine has always shown us as sick, dangerous, destabilizing of gender norms, sexuality. Even some universities are taught that we are mentally ill. And that is not so. It is a great challenge to fight for it every day here. Even the World Health Organization is working to de-pathologize transsexuality. We the civil society in the world are demanding that transsexualism no longer be considered a disease and a mental disorder.

I first realized in my childhood at the age of 4 years, my inner feeling that my life, my experiences, my view of things and my surroundings and my connection with my feelings were clearly female despite being born with male genitals. This caused a transgression of my environment, my parents, church, and school. I transformed my childhood and, in a violation of the established, to the normative. Then in my teens I had to fight the physical changes occurring in nature, for male hormonal changes and the fight marked my life, but I managed. Having the opportunity to access education and my efforts to pursue a career in obstetrics and transformative healthcare, were important achievements as trans women. A neo-Nazi beat by men, almost making ​​me lose my life. He almost killed me and I decided this situation was an opportunity to recover and fight for my rights. So I became an activist to fight for my dignity and gender identity in Chile. Working in the health system was very motivating, but the trouble was that I always lived discrimination for being a trans woman. It has not been easy to overcome everything, but I’ve survived. 3 years ago I was laid off from a job in a hospital and being a trans woman, nobody gave me a job. I could only survive in what I could learn. I was very sick, very depressed with my spirits, many bad people wanted me to do illegal things to survive. And my boyfriend helped me find a job in fast food where I hid to work because I had no ID card with my name as Claudia. Through a lawsuit, I could achieve without demands of surgeries and humiliating tests to get my ID and everything was worth it, I had strength, I became a fighter and inspiring woman, giving the message that in the midst of adversity, you can be reborn like the phoenix bird.

I became a public person, because of my history and magazines and television reports and radios had my life story and presented it to Chile, as a unique, amazing story of strength and courage, a history of going against the current being trans and striving to be a happy person without losing hope. Then I transformed into a leader who defends the rights of all persons in Chile, the trans and gay community as a whole. I started attending conferences and educating civil society and Parliamentarians to do that today. And I recount my life through Facebook in a portal called “the daily lives of a Chilean transsexual woman.” I am writing a book about my life, a motivator to fight and defend your ideals, your dreams and your identity.

(The gay community in Santiago) is diverse, multicultural, organized, cheerful, it has solidarity, we have a great time despite the intolerance and discrimination, lack of laws that protect us and although we were pathologized, even though our families do not understand us because of conservative influences and prejudices that harm, we are fighting. Here we have many problems and I think the worst part is that trans children are invisible, suffer bullying and gay teens, lesbians, trans suffer humiliations and we need laws that protect the children of our community. But we are fighting for civil rights, for law, for changes and public policies that empowered us. Our marches are peaceful and we show the world we are a social movement that binds to the hope and facts, to switch to an intolerant society, to build a better country, free of prejudice, intolerance and humiliation just in Chile to love, to want to marry, demand our human rights by demanding a law on gender identity, an agreement to form a couple, to adopt children and give love and be happy and contribute to society through work with love. These are the objectives.

(Advice I’d give to my younger self) Let the mirror be wondering if he is happy, that sees himself as a person who can pursue their dreams, they can go, you can get help if you can not do it by itself, which can be in your community. Look and be how you want to be and choose how to live your life. In spite of many difficulties be a person who always sees the glass as half full and be a person who will fight for your rights, join the civil society to work together to make laws, public policies so that your life story will tell of a country like Chile with equal rights for everyone. We are citizens, we can choose, we can empower ourselves, we can be leaders, we can help to make changes, to build a pluralistic society, where we can be free to think and decide on our own body to love without restrictions or prejudices. To contribute to better people and eradicate injustice and say that being part of the community of Gay, lesbian, trans, bisexual, intersex, Chile is an honor and an opportunity to educate a country that needs the diversity to advance and build a better country every day.”

Jorge, Writer, Santiago, Chile

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Jorge, in his own words: “Ser gay es una legítima forma de vida, cuestionada por más de un siglo por la sociedad heterosexual, lo que hizo en el pasado que los gays vivieran en una especie de realidad paralela. Una realidad ligada con la criminalización, la enfermedad y la inmoralidad.

En las últimas décadas se abrió una posibilidad de que los homosexuales viviéramos como seres normales, enfrentando finalmente nuestros sentimientos, nuestros valores y nuestras debilidades. Pero veníamos tan dañados por tanto prejuicio acumulado, por tanta negación de nosotros mismos, que este proceso de inserción en la sociedad heterosexual ha sido un proceso muy difícil. Agreguemos a eso el terrible flagelo del Sida que nos diezmó en la década del 80 y generó un nuevo estigma en contra de la comunidad gay a lo largo del mundo.

He sido toda mi vida gay. Desde adolescente tuve la película muy clara. Siempre me gustaron los hombres, me he enamorado de hombres toda mi vida. Por ello me cuesta hacer una diferencia entre lo que era mi vida en épocas más oscuras, cuando en Chile no se podía casi hablar de nuestra homosexualidad, hasta el día de hoy en que, aparentemente, todo el mundo puede salir del closet con cierta facilidad.
Por ello, no mido mis triunfos en función de mi homosexualidad. Eso estuvo ligado a toda mi actividad como ser humano. He amado, he escrito, he vivido toda mi vida en esas condiciones, por lo que, en definitivas, mis triunfos y fracasos se miden como otro ser humano más.

La comunidad gay en Santiago de Chile, es un poco como en todas partes en el Hemisferio Occidental. Se vive en guettos marcados por diferencias sociales, culturales, de edad. En los años 70 cuando yo era un muchacho, logré tener muchos amigos. Esas relaciones se fueron desgastando con el paso de la vida y ahora los miro con cierto rechazo. En esta última década surge con fuerza una generación mucho más preocupada de sus derechos, con fuerte intromisión en la vida pública, capacidad de visibilidad y atentos a sus derechos. Yo espero y ansío que estas generaciones jóvenes rompan finalmente todas las barreras y se hagan cargo de sus vidas, aprendan a convivir en parejas y a crear sus propias familias. Quizás solo en ese momento la estigmatización y la homofobia que existe fuertemente en Chile pueda comenzar a acabarse.

Mi salida del closet no tuvo nada de espectacular. Insisto. Fui gay toda mi vida. Tal vez lo interesante sea que fui capaz de tomar las riendas de mi vida desde muy jovencito. A los 22 años me enfrenté con una madre muy posesiva y dominante y dejé mi casa. Nunca más volví a vivir dentro de una familia heterosexual. He vivido solo, he vivido con pareja – una larga relación de más de 20 años – que desgraciadamente se terminó. Un consejo para los muchachos de hoy: salir de sus hogares, hacer sus propias vidas, no desaprovechar ni un solo minuto porque la vida se pasa rápido y después no sirven de nada los arrepentimientos.”

In English:

” Being gay is a legitimate lifestyle, questioned for more than a century by heterosexual society ,which he did in the past that gays live in a kind of parallel reality . A reality linked to the criminalization, disease and immorality.

In recent decades a possibility that homosexuals live as normal human beings, eventually facing our feelings, our values ​​and our weaknesses opened. But we were so damaged by both cumulative prejudice by ourselves so much denial that this process of insertion in heterosexual society has been a very difficult process. Compound this with the terrible scourge of AIDS that decimated us in the 80s and created a new stigma against the gay community throughout the world.

I have been gay all my life. Since I was very young I have clear the movie. I always liked men, I am in love with men all my life. So I find it hard to differentiate between what was my life in darker times, when in Chile there could almost speak of our homosexuality, until today that apparently everyone can come out fairly easily.

Therefore, I do not measure my success in terms of my homosexuality. That was linked to all my activity as a human being. I’ve loved, I have written, I have lived all my life in these conditions, so that in final , my triumphs and failures are measured more like another human being.

The gay community in Santiago de Chile, is a bit like everywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. We live in ghettos marked by social, cultural, age differences. In the 70s when I was a young, I managed to have many friends. These relations were wearing over life and now look with some reluctance. In the last decade a much powerful emergence of rights more concerned with strong interference in public life, visibility and capacity aware of their rights generation. I hope and look forward to these younger generations eventually break all the barriers and take charge of their lives, learn to live in pairs and create their own families. Perhaps only then stigma and homophobia that exists heavily in Chile can begin to end.

My out of the closet had nothing spectacular. I insist. I went gay all my life. Perhaps the interesting thing is that I was able to take control of my life since very young. At 22, I was faced with a very possessive and domineering mother and left home. I never again live in a heterosexual family. I lived alone, I have lived with a partner – a long relation of more than 20 years – which unfortunately ended. A tip for the boys today: leave their homes, making their own lives, not wasting a single minute because life passes quickly and then they are of no regrets.”

Cristóbal, Student, Santiago, Chile

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

photo by Kevin Truong

Cristóbal, in his own words: “Well, To be gay you need courage to face many things, like bullying from people you know or you don’t, the way they look at you. But, the most important one is to tell your parents you are gay, this one was the most difficult to me, also, being gay is to be my self, it’s not a big change, just the people you feel attracted to. Besides, being gay means to me to let the people know that you are not different between them, and make them know your point of view of the life with respect, if you are aggressive or not very kind, people won’t feel respect or anything for you. The idea is to let them know the way you are and why you chose to live being gay. In some cases, being gay is an option, but in others it is stronger than an option and most of the people or the world don’t understand.

The most challenge was to tell to my parents and my friends, but it was not as horrible as I thought, because they still love me the way I am. Also, I’m studying at the University and that was one of my challenges, continuing my studies, I almost am finishing my career which is of the most beautiful one, to be a teacher. However, being a teacher with different sexual condition is going to be a big challenge of my life, to be accepted into the educational institution, but if you are good at what you do and love it, I think it will be less challenging. Either way I will be ready to face it.

The gay community (in Santiago) Works very hard for the acceptance, also for rights that everybody has, but, gay people don’t. I think it is wonderful, because everybody moves for one cause, to be respected from the others to us. However, there exists an institution called MOVILH, which fights for this, making it happen.

When I was at high school, I realized that I was different to others. My likes were different too. But, I did not put too much attention on that changes, because I thought it was part of my growing up process. During the days, weeks, This changes were too strong, then, I began to look at the boys or my classmates with other sight. I began to like boys! Due to that I felt terrible, because I did not have a good education about gays. Also, just the things I heard, which it was not good. During those years, I had felt guilty, so I never told this to anybody, but one day, I told to my mom that I found cute a boy from another grade, she felt terrible and a little guilty too and she told me, “that feeling is going to disappear some day” . I trusted her word. Years later, something happened to me, I was working with my mom in the summer, one day I had to bring some papers to a company, and the receptionist guy started flirting with me, I was so nervous that I just did my job and tried to leave the building as soon as I could, but at the entrance he was waiting for me. He stopped me and asked for me cellphone, I gave it to him and he began to call me, and then we met each other. He was my first gay experience besides he was 7 years older than me, We decided to have meetings after that we started a kind of relationship. Next year, I met another boy, he just was a sexual experience for me, also I was the same for him. Nonetheless, I had been dating with both guys at the same time at least 2 years. In 2010 I decided to tell my sexual condition to my parents, the fist one was my mom, when I told her she cried, but she knew, but it was hard to hear it, then she hugged and kissed me and told me she will love me at the same way she did. Later that day, I told my father, he was a little strict, but he accepted to me, but as I live with him, he put some rules to me. During the time, my whole or most of my family found out I am gay, they did not have problem. Then, on 2012 I had a boyfriend, who lasted 2 years and 4 months with him, my family met him and they loved him. He was my first love, but we broke up on september 17th, we are still talking, and maybe we will back together one day, because I still loving him.

I’m proud of myself to face all this, and also being brave in this life is the only way to survive, I’m responsible, good son, good brother and I will never change the life, the family and friends I got. I say to myself, thanks for being who you are, never change and keep working hard, the success is nearer than you can imagine.”