Download Polare 96 - The Gender Centre Inc.

Issue Ninety-SixThe art of performance has allowedWilliam (Billie) Luscombe, eighteen,to feel comfortable within himself.His innate desire to assume identitiesthat differ from that his own can be attributedto his identification with transgenderism.Billie is a theatre enthusiast who finds greatpleasure in performing his renditions ofRoxanne (Roxie) Hart from the play “Chicago”.Billie says: “I love theatre. It has always been apassion of mine. I love to sing, I love to dancebut most of all I love that theatre is an avenue tobecome another person, likeRoxie.”Like many children, Billie hadan imaginary friend. Her namewas Louise. One of his earliestrecollections was role-playing.He recalls, “I would be helpingmy mum in the kitchen and say:‘Alright, I’m going to go awaynow and I’m going to sendLouise back’ because I alwayswanted to be Louise more thanI wanted to be Billie.” This wasmore than simple child’s play.“I’m transgender. I haveidentified myself as transgender for about a yearnow,” says Billie. He explains: “I feel like I’ma woman trapped inside a man’s body. I justthink that I am in every way a woman, exceptphysically.”Billie has associated with the female genderfrom a very young age. He says: “My name isWilliam but I hate that. I’ve always been Billie.I’ve spelt Billie with an ‘ie’ since I was abouteight because I figured that was the way girlsspelt their names.”In the exploration of his true identity, Billie hasconsidered being asexual, bisexual andhomosexual.It was his cousin and well-known sex activist,Zahra Stardust, who introduced him to theconcept of transgenderism. Billie says: “Havingmajored in gender studies as part of her degree,Zahra was the most understanding.She gave me some pamphlets on transgenderismand said: ‘It might not be who you are but youPolare page 38July-September 2013Behind The Scenes With Billie LuscombeRoxie aka Billieby Alexandria Wilsonshould read into it’.” This enabled Billie to feelcomfortable within himself.He was given the opportunity to host the fashionparade of the Coco Chanel Ball held by theUniversity of Technology, Sydney (UTS). “Iwas able to perform this character and [theaudience] responded really well. They reportedto the organisers and said: ‘Billie was fantastic!He was so funny, so warm and full of energy.’”,says Billie. “Sometimes I can’t help but thinkthe same people in a different situation mightthink I’m a bit strange.”Billie.Billie hopes to find acceptancebeyond the stage and within thebroader scope of society. In hishometown, he was blatantlydiscriminated against. “I livedin Nowra until I was seventeen.Moving to Sydney was alwaysthe plan because I didn’t reallyenjoy Nowra. I guess I wasnever really accepted. I wasshouted at on the street. I waseven spat on. I was obviouslynot a woman but I wouldpresent myself as one and thatwas way too much for thegeneral population,” saysDespite having to endure the passing ofjudgment, Billie is highly ambitious. “I wouldlove if in ten years time I was a performer. Thatis my ultimate dream. Or married to a rich manand not working,” he laughs. Billie’s advice toother transgender teenagers is, “to not careabout the people who don’t care about you.Surround yourself with the people that love youand disregard the people who don’t.”They haven’t called, theyhaven’t written ...The Editor welcomes contributions fromour readers. Letters, articles, opinionsand life experiences are all welcome.The deadline for contributions for thenext issue is 8th September.