Christine from The Way We Were
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More of Rogelio Pereda's Photos
Submitted to Gender Roles
Photo Info
| Uploaded | June 8, 2009 |
| Make | Nikon |
| Model | Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED |
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Q: Do you still have a magazine?
A: Do you know?
Photo license: © All rights reserved
My name is Christine-Jazmin Kaleilani. I was born in Hawaii in 1973, and I realized that I was different when I was four years old. My grandmother was the only person who supported me. When she first noticed that I was different, she called me Tahine, because I was a female in a different form. I was Tahine to all my family, but my given name was Calvin.
Because my parents were religious, they thought I was possessed by an evil spirit. They put me into psychiatric care in order to help me be a male. I even took testosterone pills - but they didn’t work. When I was eight years old, I started to wear dresses in school. I just told everybody that I was an “fa'afafine”, a Samoan word for transgender girls. After five psychiatric counseling sessions at the age of twelve, they finally diagnosed me with gender disorder.
In 1990, I lost my grandmother. I wore a dress to honor her memory at her funeral because I wanted to be present the way she had always wanted me to be. My family didn’t appreciate it; but I wasn't attending the service for them. At my graduation, I dressed as a man to honor my grandfather. Then I entered into the military for six years to prove to my dad that no matter what, I will always be transgender. I got married as a man, but I was unhappy because the marriage was a cover up.
Today I am very happy with my life. I work as a nurse in the Fort Knox Radcliff area in Kentucky, and am an active member of Sienna TG, Louisville Transgender Support Group.
In the The Way We Were photo essay.
36 responses
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Joerg Schlagheck gave props (13 Jun 2009):
This is a very touching portrait!
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Julie García (Deleted) gave props (4 Jul 2009):
very interesting!
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Joy B gave props (5 Jul 2009):
Wonderful and very powerful!
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Zachary Andrew said (6 Jul 2009):
Amazingly beautiful.
voted. -
Shannon Igneczi gave props (10 Jul 2009):
a very moving portrait, and wonderful symbolism!
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Ali Jalali gave props (10 Jul 2009):
nice
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Ingz (Deleted) gave props (12 Jul 2009):
very moving, excellent.
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Malcolm Lawson gave props (16 Jul 2009):
Took me a moment to see it but when i did really made me think. I think it fits gender roles perfectly.
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Sagi Shapira gave props (18 Jul 2009):
bravo... great work
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Giant Wannabe gave props (19 Jul 2009):
My vote...
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Pedro Abreu said (22 Jul 2009):
Rojelio, I love your photos, You are not too far from finding the meaning of life. I think you know it!
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sebastien querec (Deleted) gave props (22 Jul 2009):
STUNNING
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Christopher Malcolm said (24 Jul 2009):
Great series
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Jan Hoffman gave props (24 Jul 2009):
Saw this in spotlight; excellent
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Roberta (Deleted) gave props (26 Jul 2009):
amazing and moving
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Teresa Jozef gave props (26 Jul 2009):
great portrait
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Sean Blake said (27 Jul 2009):
Fantastic story and image.
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Anne Worner (Deleted) gave props (28 Jul 2009):
Excellent provoking portrait - gets my vote - two thumbs up!
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Sigid Kurniawan gave props (28 Jul 2009):
great, nice.......
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Liliane Arizmendi said (28 Jul 2009):
It's amazingly beautyful
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Liliane Arizmendi gave props (28 Jul 2009):
You do an axcellent work. It´s grate to be able to see it.
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Joseph (Deleted) gave props (29 Jul 2009):
so beautiful
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peter said (30 Jul 2009):
what a brave woman
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Nelson Campbell (Deleted) gave props (30 Jul 2009):
Strong work, very moving and perfect for the category - I hope it gets published.
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Chelsea Rising gave props (1 Aug 2009):
very moving portrait, voted
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Maura Wolfson-Foster gave props (9 Aug 2009):
OMG, kept seeing this spotlighted, but didn't take time to look. She is He is She.....incredible person and entry! My vote.
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Maura Wolfson-Foster gave props (9 Aug 2009):
Brilliant.
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James Hoehne said (9 Aug 2009):
I love this image!
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colinizing phot with colin boyd said (10 Aug 2009):
THIS IS INCREDIBLE...
What a great shot. -
J. Aiden Simon gave props (11 Aug 2009):
What a great, dynamic portrait.
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Dirk Spennemann gave props (28 Aug 2009):
Excellent work and excellent thematic series! my vote!!!!
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Delores Harshaw (Deleted) gave props (10 Sep 2009):
excellent. voted
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Edwin Dávila gave props (16 Jun 2010):
Beautiful.....My whole family is full of American Veterans!
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April Flores gave props (17 Jun 2010):
Wow, it was very moving. Nice work.
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Marco Martinez gave props (14 Nov 2010):
Esta es la que mas me gusta en la serie. Fantastic work. Really meaningful.
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Ope O gave props (16 Feb 2011):
strong
