How To Transition Into Your Authentic Self With Caroline Paige

In 1999, Flight Lieutenant Caroline Paige made the choice to undergo a gender transition, making her the first transgender officer to serve openly in the British Armed Forces. What followed after a nearly 20-year career with the Royal Air Force were immediate calls for her dismissal.  However, Caroline moved forward as the person she was meant to be, becoming an LGBT+ advocate inside and outside of the armed forces.

Today, Caroline is the joint CEO of the newly formed charity Fighting With Pride - The LGBT+ Military Charity. The charity is leading the health and wellbeing support of LGBT+ veterans, serving personnel and families. She joins me on the show to discuss her transition, life in the military and the advocacy work she does within the LGBT+ community. 

Episode notes

• LGBT+ participation in the remembrance service’s is discussed. [3:04]
• Caroline describes her childhood to the listeners. [5:40]
• The moment that Caroline began to question her gender identity is reflected on. [8:28]
• Joining the air force and being LGBT+ in a hostile environment is touched on.  [11:07]
• The consequences of being LGBT+ in the 1980’s is detailed. [17:28]
• How Caroline found the courage to transition is explained. [20:02]
• Bullying that Caroline faced after transitioning is touched on. [24:58]
• Caroline touches on the work that brought her recognition and commendation for excellent service. [27:47]
• The differences between Caroline’s life before and after she transitioned is detailed. [31:36]
• Caroline’s relationship with her family and her their reactions to her transition is reflected on. [33:29]
• The charity Caroline founded and her advocacy for LGBT+ people is touched on. [37:09]
• Caroline explains what she believes her purpose to be now. [40:17]
• The biggest learnings in Caroline’s journeys are detailed. [41:29]
• Advice for people looking to transition is given. [43:02]
• How to contact Caroline and learn more about her. [45:07]

Highlights

“The LGBT+ Veterans community has been isolated from the military family for 21+ years and so this was the first occasion, and people say well why do you need to have that visibility? But if you don’t have that visibility how do people know you’re there, how do they know that the LGBT+ community has always been part of the armed forces?” [4:18-4:37]

“I was very aware, from the age of five that my gender identity conflicted with who I was.” [6:30-6:38]

“You can’t switch off your identity, you can’t switch off who you are, its there all the time.” [7:12-7:16]

“You stand to lose everything you love, so you put so much effort into hiding it but you can’t, as I say earlier, you’ve still got to try and take those risks to be yourself and I did take those risks.” [15:42-15:54]

“You only get one shot at life, its only there once. And so, you need to do something about it.” [20:36-20:4]