My Mate Margaret.
Living as a transgender person. England.
Photos and text by Charli Botha.
My Mate, Margaret is an ongoing documentary photography series that explores, through the quiet, everyday life of Margaret, a British trans woman in her 80s. Focusing on the ordinary, these moments are small, yet significant; making space for empathy and offering a counterview to the sensationalized depictions of trans identity often seen in the media. This work has been a personal work, made over many years, as an effort to reframe.
In a time when trans rights are increasingly under political and cultural scrutiny, this series seeks to challenge both dominant media narratives, and the historical absence of older trans people in public representation.
Recently shortlisted for the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain Award, My Mate, Margaret, resonates with current discussions about representation and I am seeking to gain exposure, with the hope that this series meaningfully contributes to the ongoing conversation around visibility and rights for trans people.
Margaret and I met 10 years ago on the streets of Soho and have been friends ever since. I was instantly attracted to her charisma, political art and her unapologetic insistence on being herself. My innate fear of being different has always drawn me to those who are not. Margaret Pepper is just like many other 80-year-old-women. She tends her garden, speaks often of her grandchildren, and loves a proper, strong, cup of tea. Twenty years ago, Margaret had sex reassignment surgery.
“This is actually an incorrect statement, as I never actually changed sex at all, but merely got rid of a birth defect, and reverted to what I should always have been, a woman.” She says. “It was a medical problem sorted out medically, there was no psychological adjustment, except the burden being lifted. At the age of five I had an overwhelming urge to experiment with female clothing, but in 1949 there was no such thing as trans and I had no point of reference to connect to. I got married, we had 5 children together, something that amazes me even to this day. My wife was hospitalised with dementia in 2002 at which time I came out as "trans" and began attending trans gatherings, discussion groups and parties etc. Eventually I had surgery in March 2004 and started to paint pictures… And never really stopped!!”
These images portray Margaret through the lens of her quiet moments. The many ways in which Margaret Pepper is seen, perhaps or not seen.
Thanks for visiting this page. You can see more of this photographers work here: http://www.charlicreative.co.uk/