Candace’s Story: Systemic Cultural Oppression

Abstract

Born in the UK, Candace emigrated to Canada in the early 80s. She transitioned gender in her seventies and continues to live with her wife, to whom she has been married for many years. A victim of early abuse by her peers and unwanted sexual advances by men for much of her working life, she reported great fear of being identified as gay, and consequently “supressed anything in that direction.” At the same time, she was depressed and thought of suicide many times. Emboldened by a sympathetic friend and by positive representations of GSM people in contemporary media, Candace finally reached out for support to QMUNITY, where she became involved in The Indigo Project. Though she was not specifically abused because of her GSM identifications, Candace’s story has much to tell us about the lasting impact of cultural normativity.