“Confidence is a choice, not an emotion. You have to wake up every day and say ‘“I exist out of the social norms & I’m going to do that boldly. Loud. Empathetically’”.

Stephanie Lynnette (she/her), my guest for my Trans+ Awareness Week episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ is ON FIRE during this conversation and I am here for it! Stephanie is the Events Director for London Trans Pride (the largest in the world don’t ya know which this year saw a groundbreaking 100K+ attendees) as well as being a content creator & activist. She’s also has just taken an unexpected career shift into Trans healthcare as a patient champion & peer support worker - a move we dive into that has undoubtedly been shaped by Stephanie’s own 10 year transition journey.

Little Stephanie felt a mismatch in her gender identity at a young age and took the brave step to start her transition during secondary school in rural Cornwall the day before her thirteenth birthday. She was very aware of the doubt from her family & medical teams and so she knew she had to ‘hit the ground running at 110%’ to be taken seriously & prove that this was what she wanted. Her stubbornness as she calls it borne a confidence that has served her well. We dive into the topic of safeguarding children a fair bit from both a medical & healthcare perspective and the tendency for parents to project their insecurities onto Trans+ kids. Stephanie also shares how she refers to her pre-transition self as her little brother who exists as a separate entity.

In her teenage years, Stephanie became a self-confessed attention seeker & trouble maker as she shares “my extensions were long. My hems were short”. It was starting college and a 1.5 hour commute that alleviated this and brought with it a freedom to carve out her identity free from shame. It’s a journey she’s rightly proud of. & she isn’t going back.

We cover Stephanie’s career from retail to the arts & now healthcare, being outed during colleague, moving from insecurity to assurance and her polished public-facing influencer persona on socials vs. day-to-day reality. The topic of palatability comes up a fair bit too which is super interesting as Stephanie embarks on more focused content around body positivity & taking up space - and urging others to do the same. We bond over our mutual love of Kesha AND a very mutual loathing of our home towns too… Honestly, there’s so much in this episode - LISTEN IT & ENJOY!

Follow Stephanie on Insta @supersizedsteph or catch her content on YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/stephanielynnette.

PLEASE NOTE | This episode contains talk around mental health and sexual & physical assault so please take care of yourself whilst listening.