Jessie's Story
I was 5 when I realized I identified as a girl, but I did not come out to my parents until I was 12. They reacted badly, responding with physical and verbal abuse designed to make me conform — to make me a boy. Their ridicule of my gender identity at that impressionable age caused me a lot of mental trauma. Although my family was not accepting in any way, fortunately, my teacher at school was very supportive. Her name is Jessy Aurora, and because of her kindness, I eventually renamed myself after her. At 14, I left home and stayed at my classmate’s house, where I worked to complete my schooling until I turned 18.
The transgender and intersex community — who are collectively known as hijra in India — accept people who have been abandoned by their family and society and take them under their wing. They help by providing basic needs and teaching them about traditional hijra culture and safety. Belonging to this community is essential; on their own, many have no support, either from society or from their family and friends. Without a thriving hijra community in every city serving as a surrogate family for all transgender and intersex people, many would have ended their lives. It is like finding a new home when you do not have one. Transgender elders become mothers and sisters to newcomers and protect them like their own children.
One of the greatest misconceptions in India about hijra is that we beg and become sex workers because we are incapable of anything else. This false assumption is perpetuated because the hijra community faces heavy discrimination, and we are seldom given opportunities to prove our worth. The community is working hard to break this taboo, with education and advocacy designed to help trans people find jobs besides begging and sex work. However, we face many obstacles in the struggle against the social and cultural stigma that excludes us from employment equality and full participation in society.
In the future, I would like to see all trans children treated equally at school, supported by their teachers and parents. The trans community should be able to live with respect and dignity just as the cis community does, free from discrimination and stereotyping.
My message: transgender people do not want pity; all we want is to be treated as fellow humans and allowed the opportunities to live as safe and happy a life as anyone else.
For more about Jessie, follow her on Instagram.
Artist Notes
“Jessie is featured with a garland, representing the changes she wishes to see in India. The birds symbolize trans people abandoned by society, now supported by a new family tree.”
Published Mar 18, 2021
Updated Sep 1, 2023
Published in Issue IX: Community