ABSTRACT
The term transgender is widely used as an umbrella term to cover a large array of identities, behaviours, lived experiences, and desires. Many people do not describe themselves as transgender. They are men and they are women. When asked to choose their gender, several said they were either men or women. While transgender persons require medical assistance to access hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or sex reassignment surgery (SRS), they also require general health care. Trans Territorians often meet medical staff who have little or no knowledge of what transgender is and how to support trans clients. Over the past few decades, research has consistently found that trans Australians experience high levels of mental illness. Often, when transgender people are in the purge and delay stage, as suggested by Lewins, heavy drinking and/or drug taking are a means of denying their gender.
