Warrnambool's Caeden McLaren shares his journey, celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility

For the now 28 year old, it was a lightbulb moment.

"I'm a transgender male and I came out when I was about 20," he said. "It's something I've always known but I didn't have the language to say it."

Mr McLaren said he had a negative perception of some of the terms associated with transgender due to media portrayals and general school yard talk.

He was part of a group of gender diverse people and supporters in Warrnambool who celebrated International Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday.

He said in the past few years, more gender diverse role models had become prominent in Hollywood, on sporting fields and in communities, but there is still a long way to go to achieve inclusiveness.

"It's about raising awareness, educating and supporting," he said. "Throughout history transgender people have always been cast as the negative trope; the abusers, rapists, psycho killers or victims of hate crimes. Now seeing real transgender people playing positive and every day real roles is so exciting to see.

"When I came out, Laverne Cox was in Orange is the New Black playing a positive character and I had never seen that. Since then, look out how Elliot Page has been received with Netflix changing his name on all his film credits; that was unheard of eight years ago. It's been so exciting to see these people and have someone I can relate to.

"Day of Visibility is about celebrating what we've come through and educating the community about the gender diverse community.

"For me, it all comes down to support and knowing there are others like me out there, especially in areas like Warrnambool where people can be closed-minded which be unsafe."

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LGBTIQ+ Health Australia reported in 2020 that 48.1 per cent of the transgender and gender diverse population aged 14 to 25 had attempted suicide in their lifetime while 74 per cent of the community would be diagnosed with depression.

While there are many contributing factors that affect a person's mental health, Mr McLaren said being unsupported by family, friends or the community can have a significant impact.

One or Mr McLaren's friends was murdered because they were transgender and he knows of many people who have found themselves losing friends or thrown out of home after disclosing their authentic self.

"I'm happy that I've been able to safely go through my journey," he said. "But knowing others who haven't, it makes you hyper aware of the negativity in the world.

"You're scared to date, find a new job and open up to new people because what if they aren't a safe person, what if they're transphobic or violent?

"I try to remind myself of the good people who are out there and who love me. Over the last eight years we have come leaps and bounds and people are more accepting, but still so much further to go."

Mr McLaren's own mental health battles have played a significant part in finding himself homeless on-and-off for over decade.

"It's been an ongoing issue since I was about 16 and it started with a lot of mental health issues I had as teenager which I now realise come down to me suppressing who I was," he said.

"My relationship with my mum wasn't great (but has now greatly improved) and I left home and since there it's been couch surfing, living with mates, in a motel or even in the car. I've only had my own rental once and now with the current climate it's more difficult than ever. But I'm still trying to find somewhere."

Mr McLaren grew up in the Lockyer Valley in Queensland and moved to Warrnambool when he was seven years old.

He first disclosed he was transgender to his two best friends.

"I sent a group message and I wasn't expecting a positive response," he said. "But they replied 'about bloody time, what's your name?'

"We spent the next hour or two researching names like Craig and Robert. Then at the same time we all wrote Caeden with various spellings and I thought that's a sign. We then spent the next hour debating the various spellings.

"The next person I told was my GP who also said 'about bloody time and I could've told you that'. I asked her why she didn't say anything and she told me it was something I had to figure out myself. I've been seeing her over 12 years and she's always been incredibly supportive in allowing me to take the time to choose what I want to do with hormones and surgery.

"I was incredibly supported but I know so many people who didn't have that, it almost feel like a survivors guilt."

Throughout his life, Mr McLaren said he's been able to find work as a farm hand and has found dealing with government forms and police checks fairly reasonable. But what has continually been difficult, is accessing healthcare outside of his GP's office.

"There's been a few times where I've had to go to the emergency room and it's started off really well," he said. "But as soon as they see I'm transgender it completely explodes.

"I've been told I and faking my reason for being there and that I can just go home. If my GP has ordered scans or tests, the people there will ask me all these questions they don't need to know as it doesn't pertain to what I'm there for.

"I never end up getting the help I need.

"For me it comes from a lack of education and support for gender diverse people. It's coming from personal curiosities and biases and these people haven't received the training to know what it is to be transgender or how to best support a gender diverse person.

"Names and pronouns are a huge issue especially for those who may be early in their journey and haven't yet legally changed their name or haven't accessed hormone treatment because they don't feel the need or are just starting the often difficult process of accessing treatment.

"There needs to be more training done and policy changes. The police have come so far and have all these policies, but when you look at healthcare, nothing has changed. The way it is at the moment it sucks and makes you not want to go to the hospital."

Mr McLaren has been involved in Yumcha, Spark Cafe and other gender diverse initiatives within the Warrnambool community. For him, it's about meeting like-minded people as well as supporting others and finding support.

"We're finally starting to see positive change and transgender people are no longer something to laugh at," he said. "It's really exciting to see this shift but there's still a long way to go."

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