A trans woman, who knew she wanted to transition from the age of six, had her feelings confirmed after dressing up as a Batman villain.
Sian Peters, from Bebington, “had the best day of her life” dressed as Poison Ivy for a party. It was after that night the 43-year-old realised she could no longer ignore her feelings and “had to do something about it.” So with newfound confidence, she began her transitioning journey.
This wasn’t a decision Sian made in the heat of the moment, having known since she was a child that she was trans. But like many of her generation Sian felt coming out at school wasn’t an option.
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Originally from Nottinghamshire, Sian told the ECHO : “I’ve known that I was trans for most of my life. I could put those feelings into words from the age of five or six, though I never dared to. I was always gripped by a fear of losing everyone I hold dear, and how society would treat me. I repressed who I was, and it made me very unhappy. I didn't like my body before and have grown to like it more now. I'd say I felt more trapped by expectation, and some of that was of my own creation. Trying to work out how someone who isn't really you should fit into society is really tricky."
Sian continued to feel unhappy until one surprising work event set her on the track to living life as her true self. Every year her company would host a get together complete with team games and a party in the evening. Not one to shy away from going all out, Sian dressed up as Poison Ivy.
The IT systems developer added: “The costume got compliments, but I'd never felt so at home with myself, and people I'd worked with for years noticed this and told me so. The costume was supposed to be just for the day event but people insisted I should stay in costume for our evening black-tie event. When I finally got back to my room at the end of the night, I looked at myself in the mirror and declared to myself it had been the best day of my life. I thought of little else for weeks, all those feelings I'd repressed for years were front-and-centre, 24/7. I knew I had to do something about it.”
A month after the event Sian came out to her immediate family, including her wife and daughter. Despite not knowing if she would lose everyone, she said “the balance of fears had shifted and the thought of living my life as a shadow of my potential self became the bigger worry.”
Sian quickly realised her family loved her regardless and she began to “view life in colour for the first time.” Since coming out, Sian’s confidence levels have soared as she “changed from someone in the background in most things to leading a support group, and singing in front of Chester Pride with an LGBT+ choir.” Knowing how far and few between recognisable safe spaces are for the transgender community, Sian ensured the book shop she opened alongside wife, Michelle Peters, 49, during lockdown would always be welcoming to all.
Bear Hunt Book and Toys prides itself on being inclusive, both by design and by Sian and Michelle's interactions. It doesn’t take customers too long to spot diverse titles around the former supermarket venue, which also has a Netflix’s Heartstopper display. The shop is rounded off with a cafe allowing visitors to indulge in LGBTQ+ titles, both fiction and non-fiction while enjoying a hot drink.
Sian continued: “Being visible there is so important and it makes our hearts soar when people come in, find our LGBT section, and make delighted noises. I've heard so often about how people were forced to hide who they were for so many years. 'I wish there was something like this when I was growing up', or 'it's so lovely to see books that represent me, I never saw this when I was younger' are said often, and reaffirm to us that we're doing right by all of the community we live in.”
