The Beauty Myth

Thing about beauty is that it isn’t a meritocracy. I don’t believe that we get to be gorgeous because of selfless deeds extended in previous lives (sorry reincarnationists!). Our appearances are nothing more than accidental collisions of…

THE YEAR OF LIVING INWARDLY

I’m writing this on March 11th, 2021, almost exactly one year after the UK – and much of the rest of the world – was introduced to the term ‘Lockdown’. I mean, we knew the word before, right? But not as a way of life!   I…

Changing Rooms

I’ve stepped into this minefield before, but given that I have the time and that my opinion on this like so many other matters these days is continuing to evolve, I thought I’d return for another hop, skip and ka-boom! In a report published…

WHERE WAS I..?

Where Was I..?   You know, I almost forgot I had a website. Not through any lack of interest, but simply because with the passing of my mum, relocation to the south-east of England and the busiest couple of years of work I’ve ever had,…

TABOO

Even the word seems not to belong: Taboo. It has neither an Anglo-Germanic feel, nor spelling – and that’s because we owe it to the kingdom of Tonga. The word came back from faraway lands with Captain Cook in the 18th century and quickly…

PEOPLE IN GLASS OFFICES

Happy New Year, everyone! The great post-Christmas return to work prompted me to to run this piece that I uploaded recently to my LinkedIn profile. You can find me there at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimerincowley/ My gender transition…

In and Out

Since I was officially diagnosed almost 25 years ago, the way that I have communicated my trans status to those around me has taken three very distinct turns. Stage 1:  Terrified Silence to Thrill of the Case I always knew of course, but…

Let’s Talk About Camp

LET’S TALK ABOUT CAMP As I grew up in a small, English market town in the 1970’s, I didn’t encounter much beyond a very traditional norm. Everyone was straight and almost without exception, white. Personal expression seemed a rare thing,…

Fluidity

FLUIDITY The movie cliché of a dream sequence traditionally begins with a watery wash. Still images become fluid and then form again in a new time and/or place. Fluidity has become a term much-adopted by academics and gender commentators…

The Big Idea

Changing sex is an incredibly personal experience. It was always tricky to relate - not least because for a long time, it didn’t even have a settled language or terminology. For those of us whose transition belongs to the 20th century,…