Why I had to tell my wife I was a woman
IT'S taken a long time for Carol Robson to find her true self.
Back in the 1950s when men earned the bread and women baked it, it was hard to be different in South Yorkshire.
Men were men, working down the pit or in the giant steelworks that belched fumes that laced the landscape with a coating of true grit.
And when a young teenager was discovering himself, he found that fulfilling the macho stereotype would be harder than for most.
The young man finally became a joiner, settled down, married and had two beautiful daughters. To the outside world he was a typically happy workman, father and husband.
But the turmoil churned him up inside.
One day, aged in his 50s, he decided to open the door of his own private prison. He gathered up courage to tell his wife and daughters: "I am a woman in a man's body."
Carol, who does not want to reveal her previous name as a man, said: "I stopped living a lie and started living as my true self in 2001, and had my realignment surgery in 2005.
"Between those years I attended Sheffield University, where I started to teach on transexuality, using a lot of material from my own experiences.
"I feel it's important to educate the world that transwomen and men can and do lead authentic and fulfilling lives, having previously suffered years of anguish."
Today, Carol's leadership in helping others like herself was praised by Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, for "helping the UK create a fairer and more equal society in the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All".
Having had her gender reassignment late in her life, Carol is keen that those who are unhappy with their gender have as much help and information as possible.
She runs seminars and workshops on gender identity disorder for students and professionals, and has advised organisations such as the NHS and the Department for Education and Skills.
She also works with Age Concern and is a founder member of Rotherham Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Network, with a particular interest in the older LGBT community.
Carol, who lives between Sheffield and Rotherham, remembers: "I decided I could go on no longer at the time I told my family. It was like a bereavement for my wife, but thankfully it got better. We are divorced but remain friends and my daughters have been very supportive."
Carol, now 59, has a new birth certificate as a woman.
She is a trustee and regional representative for the national Gender Trust and said: "There are a surprising number of people in our situation out there and they need support.
"A lot of people are now getting treated as young as 18 which is great.
"I don't want them to go through the same as I and many others have done."
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Weather for Sheffield
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
