Q&A: Transgender Lawyer Comes Out in Protest
13 September 2013 | Issue 5212
By Ian Bateson
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/qa-transgender-lawQ: Masha, why did you decide to come out now, and in such a public way, particularly at a time when the situation for the LGBT community seems to be getting worse and worse?
A: There were three reasons for my decision. First, it would have been very difficult for me personally not to come out. Second, having represented people in the Manezh Square, Primorsky partisans, and Bolotnaya cases, when those finished up I finally had the opportunity to come out. Third, my coming out was a protest against what is going on in Russia today. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing.
Q: What made you transgender?
A: There are people who actively choose their gender, and there are people who don't think about it, or they try and avoid questioning it because of their religious beliefs or other reasons. Those who choose to decide their own gender because their internal gender doesn't match their external appearance are called transgender, especially when they take visible steps to make their external gender match their internal gender. I don't think of myself as transgender though — I just think of myself as a woman. I do, however, consider myself part of the LGBT community because we are all in the minority.
