An Evening with Georgina Beyer

[Shana A]

An Evening with Georgina Beyer

http://kaitlinburnett.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/an-evening-with-georgina-beyer/

Last night I had the honour of hearing Georgina Beyer, former New Zealand MP and the first openly trans elected politician at the national level in the world. It was an amazing evening; Georgina Beyer is a very inspiring person, and fills the room with her presence. She was funny, smart, and angry. She regaled the audience with stories of her entry into politics – first running for local election, then being the first openly transsexual mayor in the world, then finally being elected Member of Parliament. She also told stories about her early life, including her inability to get welfare because she wouldn't be the man she was supposed to be, and the five years she spent as a prostitute in order to pay for SRS. As she so memorably put it, "I sold my a-- to get my c---."