Two Photos From Today That Make Me Happy

[clovehitched]

This morning I went to an event hosted by Cambridgeshire LINk, a quango which oversees health and social care provision and is charged with encouraging public participation. The event was a presentation and discussion forum for people involved in healthcare provisioning and usage in Cambridgeshire about hospital discharge and the welfare of patients beyond discharge.

I am a member of Cambridgeshire LINk, but I wasn't there in that capacity - I was there as a member of the Cambridgeshire Adult Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel - a statutory body to which I was appointed by Cambridge City Council.

At the meeting, part of the information pack we were given included a survey form to be given to hospital patients to collect feedback about their discharge experience. As with many such forms, it includes a diversity monitoring section.

Last week, one of the LINk co-ordinators called me and asked what to do about the gender section of the monitoring form, knowing I had an interest. This is the result:



Notice how there's a space next to "other" to do a write-in. I'm quite pleased with that.

The second photo comes from this afternoon, and is of me in the hat that I bought on spec, because I think it suits me. I think this photo gives me a playfully androgynous look, coming amusingly close to cross-dressing - something I never dreamt I would ever be comfortable with "from this end", as it were, only a few short years ago. How things change:



I noticed that I was getting a lot of "is it a girl or is it a boy?" stares, which I've not had for years and which initially made me uncomfortable, but after a bit I actually started to enjoy it, because it was on my terms (and I could end it just by taking the hat off - it made that much difference).

Also posted at http://auntysarah.dreamwidth.org/243568.html - you can comment here or there.

Comments

[utterlystrange.livejournal.com]

Adorable! The photo looks to me like a British person trying and failing to imitate an American cowboy, but ends up a British cowboy? Did that make sense?

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

It does, but cowboy was definitely not what I was going for :-)

[mstevens.livejournal.com]

detective!

[notinventedhere.livejournal.com]

That is, indeed, a Rather Good Hat!

:-)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

A most pleasing find!

[rjw76]

Which reminds me...

Today I saw your face in a window, which surprised me.

More accurately, I had to go and hand a form in at Mandela House, and there were portraits of all the city councillors on a poster in the window. I thought "they can't have updated that already" but they had, and there you were (top right) :D

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Yay!

[techiebabe.livejournal.com]

I think that look quite suits you - particularly the sultry smile. ;-)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice! I don't get a cowboy vibe at all, for what it's worth. To my eyes, you look a bit cheeky, cute, and decidedly female. A bit of a Victorian music hall drag king effect.

[kaberett.livejournal.com]

Yes! Agreed. And it suits you!

Also I am thrilled at the first photo. Thank you so much for putting the work in and making this stuff happen (... because I'm still struggling to work out how to do anything useful in this area, among other things, and having the model helps!).

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I guess my own approach is to cultivate my reputation, do stuff, meet people, dip fingers in multiple pies and see what works for me, push things that do, and eventually I find myself in a position where I've got a bit of influence in some situation or other, or am in contact with the right person at the right time.

I guess a lot of it is relying on luck, but also making my own where I can.

[kerrypolka.livejournal.com]

Yes, me too!

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

:-)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

I can totally work with that :-D

[viesti.livejournal.com]

I like! That is a very fun and playful and confident look for you :)

You should see me in a vest! I'd swear I've been going for a full-on genderqueer look more and more lately. (I'll try and dig up some photos)

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'd like to see that!

[quentinwrites.livejournal.com]

Damn, you look cute. I love androgynous-looking women and you pull it off beautifully. :D

[auntysarah.livejournal.com]

Oh hai! :-D

[scattermoon.livejournal.com]

Oooh, yay for actually making a positive change! 'tis a far cry from all those forms out there which have 'trans' as a sexuality option.

Also, awesome hat. It's a pretty good sign you're willing to play with other's gender perceptions like that now :)

[blazingrowan.livejournal.com]

That whole form seems excellent. And yay, hat! You look awesome :D

[andrajames.livejournal.com]

Yay for the 'Male / Female / Other' option, nice work.

As for the photo, wow hot :p

[aumentou.livejournal.com]

I don't know what it is about that photo, but somehow it makes you look very young. Early twenties young, to my eyes.

Maybe it's the "happy" around the eyes?

[pplfichi.livejournal.com]

Form: Awesomes! :D

Hat: It works. Looking at the photo, "whimsical" springs to mind :)

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

You look awesome in that picture. And the form is a great move forward too.