Sinabi ng Miss Transsexual Australia 2019 winner, youth advocacy leader at registered nurse na si Vienna Salvo na ang pagpalit ng kaasarian ay hindi naging madali para sa kanya. Higit pa dito, ang pag-amin sa pamilya at mga kaibigan na siya ay transsexual ay naging mas mahirap.
Ang 23 taong gulang na si Ms Salvo ay matapang lamang na lumabas bilang isang transgender noong siya ay nasa second year ng nursing, at umamin na siya ay magpapalit ng kasarian pagkatapos ng isang taon.
“I only recently came out as transgender on my second year of nursing so I actually went through my first year closeted and the rest of my life before that."
Hindi nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob si Ms Salvo na magsalita ng maaga dahil natakot siyang hindi tanggapin ng mga mahal sa buhay.
"I was afraid of rejection or people voicing out their opinion so before I came out, I prepared myself for rejection. I told myself it’s okay, the opinion of others are a reflection of themselves so that’s what got me through coming out to others and vocalising my transition because I thought okay this is my journey, I know my story more than others.”
(R) Vienna Salvo graduates from Bachelor of Nursing at the Australian catholic University (R) Vienna Salvo getting ready for her work shift at Mercy Hospital Source: Vienna Salvo
Sa maagang edad na tatlong taong gulang, akala ni Ms Salvo na siya ay isang babae.
“Growing up like maybe 3 years old, I always thought I was a girl, I played with other girls and all my interests were similar to a girl but the only thing different was externally.”
Sa kabila ng pagsasabi ng pamilya na siya ay isang lalaki, pakiramdam ni Ms Salvo sa loob at isipan na siya ay isang babae.
"People were telling me to play with boys and my family would tell me I should behave in ways that’s normal for a boy, and for me, it felt wrong and then that’s when I started realising is there something wrong with me?”
Habang naghahanap siya ng mga kasagutan at pagtanggap mula sa mga tao, nalaman ni Ms Salvo ang tungkol sa komunidad LGBTIQ+ nang ipinakilala siya ng kanyang pinsan sa isang grupo ng mga transgender. Naramdaman niyang 'at home' siya sa kanilang kanlungan.
"I didn’t know about trans people until I was 16 years old. This was the first time I knew about the Miss Transsexual Australia and then I looked up what transsexual meant. I watched the pageant to know more about [these] girls and to know if this is the journey that I’m in or similar, that’s when I found out that most of them are in their final stages of transitioning but at the beginning they were going through the struggles that I went through."
Paglaban sa mga hamon ng pagpapalit ng kasarian
Born in Kaligari, Leyte, Philippines, Vienna Salvo migrated to Australia in 2004. At the age of 3, she already thought that she was a girl. Source: Vienna Salvo
Ibinahagi ni Ms Salvo na bagaman ang pagpapalit ng kasarian sa unang pagkakataon ay nagdala ng tuwa, ito din ay isang sandali kung saan dumating siya sa pinakamababang punto ng kanyang buhay at naging kalaban ang kanyang sarili.
“I didn't really receive negativity from others, it was myself. I became so anxious and it actually got worse. I remember spending four months by myself staying at home and avoiding people."
Bukod sa pagdaan sa isang yugto ng self-isolation, nakadama din siya ng pagkawasak sa tuwing nakakatanggap ng mga panghalip na panlalaki.
"When I received pronouns that were 'male or he' it struck me and went straight to my heart. I’m thinking about negative scenarios of people hating me because that was the time I looked ambiguous. I remember working in an indoor skate centre and I have customers referring to me as either male or female and that hurts because I was in the middle at that time.”
Pagkatapos dumaan sa tinatawag niyang self-education sa loob ng apat na buwan, isang araw ay nagdesisyon siyang tanggapin ang sarili sa pamamagitan ng tulong nga kanyang mga kaibigang LGBTIQ+ at ilang mga espesyalista.
“Over time as I spent a lot of time by myself, I became more accepting towards myself and so I went to see a psychologist, speech pathologist and gender specialist once a month, they became my best friends.”
Dagdag ni Ms Salvo na ang malakas na suporta sa mga transgender sa Australya ay nagbigay inspirasyon sa kanya upang magpatuloy.
“Here in Australia they really want you to be open, they’re accepting, just put your hand up and say I’m struggling and I need support.”
Nang tuluyang matanggap ang sarili, humarap na naman si Ms Salvo sa isang pagsubok- ang pagsasabi sa kanyang 65 taong gulang na ina na siya ay magpapalit ng kasarian.
Sinabi ni Ms Salvo habang parang naluluha, na ang pinaka-huling tao na kanyang sinabihan ng mga plano ay ang ina dahil natakot siyang mawala ito.
"The very last person I told was my mum . She was one of the last people because I was very scared of losing her. To tell her about me going from one gender to the other physically was a very big challenge."
Inamin ni Ms Salvo na hindi naging masaya ang kanyang ina sa desisyon at nakapagsabi ito ng mga masasakit na salita laban sa kanya dahil sa pagkagulat.
"She said some harmful words because she didn't want people to hurt me. She didn’t want me to feel different. She was afraid of my future. So I reminded her in this time now there’s so much support."
Alam din ni Ms Salvo na kailangan ng kanyang pamilya ang oras at panahon upang maproseso muna ang buong sitwasyon.
"Once you begin the process of transition, it takes time for the people around you to process and change with you. My mum went from tolerance, to supporting me then acceptance, she started accepting my journey and then she embraced it."
Bilang bahagi ng kanyang pagpapalit ng kasarian, isinasagawa ni Ms Salvo ang isang vocal therapy, mga medical test at hormonal therapy kung saan kabilang ang mga medikasyong estrogen at anti-androgen.
(L) Vienna Salvo with her family, (R) Vienna Salvo is joined by her good friends Source: Vienna Salvo
Pagtulong sa komunidad bilang isang transekswal na youth leader at nurse
Humugis kay Ms Salvo ang naranasang kahirapan sa Pilipinas upang pagsilbihan ang kanyang komunidad bilang isang dating youth leader ng youth advocacy program ng Wyhdham City.
"For 3 years during my nursing, I joined a youth advocacy program, it's called Wyndham Youth Taskforce. We are the voice of our local community. We hold up activities and create projects so that we can help our youth flourish. We create activities like arts festivals, sports festival, anti-bullying projects."
Inamin ni Ms Salvo na bagaman naging mahirap ang kanyang buhay sa Kaligari, Leyte noong siya ay bata pa, nagpapasalamat naman siya sa karanasan dahil nagturo ito sa kanyang pahalagahan ang kanyang buhay ngayon sa Australya.
"I grew up in poverty in a small village near an ocean. We had no electricity, no source of water as in taps at home. I remember days when we had to carry jugs and then fill it up with water and then using lanterns as a form of light source for our family. But, I’m so glad I went from Philippines to here because I was able to really value everything I have now."
Kasalukuyan, si Ms Salvo ay isang surgical ward nurse sa Weribee Mercy Hospital.
“Starting nursing I thought okay if this is my goal I want to reflect it on my everyday life. I don’t want to just do this for work. I mean it’s a bonus being paid to look out for people and doing good for others but I wanted to do it outside of work also.”
Naging surpresa man para kay Ms Salvo ang pagkapanalo niya bilang Miss Transsexual International Australia 2019, ngunit sinabi niya na ang titulo ay nagbibigay sa kanya ng mas malaking plataporma upang tulungan ang mga taong nasa proseso ng pagpapalit ng kasarian.
"I wanted to join so I could share my story to other people who went through the same journey that I did and currently going through, I thought if I could just influence at least one person then I’m doing the job right."
Hinihikayat ni Ms Salvo ang mga taong dumadaan sa mga hamong pangkasarian na maghanap ng matatag na tulong suporta.
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