Some recent pictures

Here are a few pictures from recent Surrey Swans meetings, kindly provided by Beaux.

Sunday January 28 2018

The first meeting of 2018 was great with several new people coming along. Here are a few pictures:

Sunday 10th December 2017

This was the evening of the pre-Christmas buffet.
Here are a few pictures of the evening:

Corinthian Spa

At the meeting on September 3rd we had a visit from Esteller  and Stacey from Corinthian Spa.

Where a stunning complement of therapeutic and rejuvenating face and body care treatments, using only the best products with the finest ingredients awaits you…. If you are looking for amazing results, pure indulgence and total relaxation, Corinthian Spa can provide you with a haven where you will find the most incredible unique sensations, and result driven treatments.

There were close on twenty girls who got to see Esteller prepare the faces of Hannah and Rachel ready for Stacey to provide the makeover.

There were lots of hints and tips on both skin care and how to apply makeup and everyone was really appreciative. I enjoyed the evening a lot.

Esteller and Stacey stayed around to chat and offer advice throughout the evening.

Co-incidentally there was a special offer of a makeover lesson with Stacey at Corinthian Spa not long after the meeting. I, and a few others, went along  to this.

Personally speaking I found it really helpful and it’s had a positive effect upon the makeup that I use and how I apply it. SO it was really worthwhile for me.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate the event:

Hair In.x.s

At the end of June Debbie and Gill from Hair In.X.s visited us to tell us about what they do. It was great to meet them both and really interesting and informative.

Debbie is on the left, Gill on the right.

And here’s a few of the people that were there on the night.

And myself with Debbie.

February 2017 and Who We Are

The meeting on February 26th was, as always, a really lovely time. It was a chance to meet up with long-standing friends and also some newer ones.

It was especially good to begin to get to know six newcomers and one person that had been along just once before several years ago.

Towards the end of last year a friend asked me if I could write something about Surrey Swans for her web site, The Imagination Acts.

The article has been published here: http://theimaginationacts.co.uk/stories/ – it’s the story with the title: Who We Are.

This is what it says:

Who We Are

One day social norms will no longer result in people feeling ashamed or guilty about the way that they dress, and we’ll understand that a person is more than the clothing that they choose to wear.

In 2003 a group of people began to meet at the function room of the Lion Brewery in Ash, Surrey. They adopted the name Surrey Swans. People have met there 11 or 12 times a year since then.

Those that come long are transgender or the friends or partners of people that are transgender.

I first went along in 2007 and began organising the meetings in 2011.

Why did the meetings begin? And why do they continue?

For me, the story runs something like this.

I was born a boy in the 1950’s. As a teenager, and then as I grew older, I occasionally dressed in clothing that’s generally classified as being ladies.

It was a secret. It resulted in mixed feelings. Pleasure. Guilt. Shame. Sometimes I would buy things. Other times I would throw them away.

In the nineties and noughties things were changing. Trans-related issues began to be discussed openly on WEB sites.

In 2007 I booked a makeover. It felt a bit like meeting myself for the first time. In a way, Andrea was born.

And then Surrey Swans began to make a big difference in my life. To be more precise, people at Surrey Swans made a big difference.

No longer alone. No longer a total secret. Guilt and shame giving way to self-acceptance, wellbeing and healing.

So began a journey.

Today, Surrey Swans matters to me because of the people.

It’s a place where I spend time with friends.

It’s also a place of safety, acceptance and friendship where people who are in the process of discovering themselves can meet other people that are travelling in a similar direction. People who are able to pay attention, to listen, to care, to take seriously and to empathise.

I believe that love is a kind of giving of attention, and of listening. And so, in its way, Surrey Swans is a place where people receive love.

It may be that one day there will be no need of places like Surrey Swans. That our perceived social norms will no longer result in people feeling ashamed or guilty about the way that they dress. That we won’t jump to conclusions about who people are based on stereotyped images projected by the media. We’ll understand that a person is more than the clothing that they choose to wear.

As transgendered people are empowered and encouraged by each other they are more able to go about their daily lives in a way that better reflects who they really are. Able to celebrate rather than self-recriminate.

As people and groups of people that once stigmatised, chastised and criticised learn to tolerate the transgendered. And then to accept them simply as people. And to welcome them.

Until one day, no one even notices.

And little by little this is happening. Right at this very moment.

And some footnotes:

The term transgender is broad. It conjures up other words like transsexual, transvestite and crossdresser. And more modern terms such as genderqueer, gender dysphoric and non-binary.

The same word can mean different things to different people. Different things in different countries. A word that one transgendered person identifies with can sometimes profoundly offend another person.

Here isn’t the place to discuss the precise meaning of these terms. If you’re interested in the meaning you could try here as a beginning: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Transhealth/Pages/Transhealthhome.aspx

In truth, as with many collective nouns, the words are open to stereotypical abuse.

The only way to begin to find out what the term means to a particular trans person is to spend some time talking with and listening to that particular person. Everyone has a unique and special story. And not everyone fits into a specially predefined category.

Having said that, of the people that I know, each in our own uniqueness, we all agree that our trans-ness isn’t about any label that tries to attach itself to us. Really, it’s just who we are.

andrea.wright@hotmail.co.uk

http://surreyswans.blogspot.co.uk/p/introducing-surrey-swans.html

Pre-Christmas Swans

The Surrey Swans pre-Christmas buffet happened last night. We had a really nice time. Always good to see people and catch up with what’s happening in their lives.

From the top left we have:

Emma, Laura, Adele, Clara, Mia, Chelle, Gina
Vickie, Tina, Adrienne, Rachel, Chloe, Susan, Chloe
Andrea, Sally