Canadian Lawyer 4Students

with his friends, he asked his teachers to call him by a masculine name. All of this time, his family was un- aware of what he was going through. He wore baggy clothes to hide the chest binding and sported short hair. Th e fi rst step in making them aware was telling his mother, whom he describes as "very con- servative" at the time. He says he tested the waters by leaving some pamphlets he got at the LGBTQ centre that contained information about trans people on his mother' what that stuff was doing in her house," s bed. "She was furious and asked he says. He then knew he had to tell her directly. "I sent her an e-mail from the LGBTQ centre, telling her I wanted to be a man and gave her a few days to process it. I remember just staring at the message that said it had been sent and feeling the craziest anxiety of my life. his mother tried to convince the 17-year- old that it was just a phase, or that he had a personality disorder but she did eventu- ally accept it. Th ings were much smooth- er when he told his father a year later. Th e process for beginning hormone " Vandorpe says replacement therapy varies from prov- ince to province. In Nova Scotia, because he was under 19, Vandorpe had to spend six months in therapy. At the end of it, a social worker and psychiatrist decided he could receive the gender identity disor- der diagnosis and proceed with hormone therapy. Within eight months he started on testosterone. "It was the happiest I' been in a long time. Finally my voice was dropping, and I started looking more like a male and being perceived as one. his breasts. He says he could have waited about two years for the government to fund the operation aſt er he completed rigorous counselling sessions at the Cen- tre for Addiction and Mental Health gen- der clinic. He decided against it and paid the $7,000 for the operation. "I remember thinking it was like magic. Th at I could go to sleep the way I was and wake up look- ing like I had always wanted. Th e next step was surgery to remove " sult, he says the healing process was pain- ful, and cemented the notion he never wanted to get genital surgery due to the pain factor. Vandorpe says he doesn't see a need for that surgery, as he is now per- ceived as a man and that' Although he was thrilled with the re- " s what he wants. dout_4st_Mar_11.indd 1 TORONTO MISSISSAUGA OTTAWA www.ridoutmaybee.com C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 27 2/23/11 11:03:09 AM d "I feel like I'm ready to start law school and begin making some changes," he says. Vandorpe says he feels Ontario is mov- ing in the right direction for trans rights, given the recent passing of Toby's Act, or Bill 33. "Having gender identity explicitly included in Ontario human rights legisla- tion is a huge and important step forward. Unfortunately, human rights are not the same across the country; I defi nitely don't have those same protections back in Nova Scotia. I would really like to see gender identity and gender expression included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," he says. He says he hopes to tackle federal pro- tections for trans people in his career as a lawyer. "It' think fi nally all my experience has led me to this point. I'm hopeful about the future and it' s been a long journey but I law, I'll be able to make a positive diff er- ence for those going through the same unique challenges as I faced, " he says. ■ Looking for the right fi t in intellectual property? Ridout & Maybee LLP is a long-established intellectual property boutique. Our legal expertise and real-world technical knowledge are highly recommended in independent international surveys. We are a fi rm of approximately 45 intellectual property professionals – large enough to handle the most interesting and challenging intellectual property matters while remaining small enough to provide a tight-knit and collegial work environment. s a good feeling knowing through *

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