72 • AUGUST 2019
G
rowing up I had no reference
points for what it meant to be
transgender. There was no
information, no internet. It was all
very undercover, and you thought
there was something wrong with you.
There’s an influx of our age group,
transgender people who’ve suppressed
for years, and even had children and
gotten married like me. But the world
has started to change. The right noises
are being made and transitioning is
becoming more acceptable.
I burst into tears the day I told my
wife. I was worried that I’d come out
and then end up on the street. I still
get worried about that when elements
go wrong—if my daughters get upset
or something goes
wrong at work—all that anxiety
comes rushing back.
My marriage breakdown was hard.
We’re still friends though, and my
daughters are great. The eldest [19]
finds it harder than the youngest [17],
but they’re teenagers and they don’t
want to be with their parents, whether
they’re transgender or not! When you
announce your intention to transition,
people around you start grieving for
the loss of the person they had. When
they’re upset and saying things that
you don’t want to hear, it’s really
because they love you.
I moved out of the family home—
leaving my kids was the most awfulTRANSGENDER TRAILBLAZERS
Samantha West, 51, is the commercial director of
VINCI Construction. Having come out as transgender
in 2017, she’s focused on making her industry a more
welcoming place for the LGBT community.