contini

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070524...x_070524152812



LONDON (AFP) - A female councillor who was born a man and fathered two children has been sworn in as Britain's first transsexual mayor.

Jenny Bailey, a 45-year-old Liberal Democrat became the civic leader of Cambridge City Council on Thursday.

Bailey -- who fathered two children during a marriage before having a sex change operation in her 30s's -- was joined by her transexual partner Jennifer Liddle, who will now become the mayoress.

"This is fantastic," she said to loud applause, donning her mayoral robes and posing for photographs with Liddle.

In an interview with the Times newspaper before her investiture, she said becoming mayor was a great honour.

"I'm proud that I managed to get through something which was quite difficult and managed to come out of it a better person. If you ask me what are the things that define me, I would say being a parent, an engineer, a woman.

"When you go through transgender experience and come through the other side, you are just happy to get on with normal life, normal problems, so this is a wonderful opportunity. I certainly do not want it to eclipse being mayor."

Bailey had been Cambridge's deputy mayor. Her term in office as mayor lasts one year.

"People can take me as they want. But for transgender people, all we want is to disappear and become normal, so I don't want to let it define me," she added.

matclone

In her state of the city address, will she say this is a transitional year?

BonnieJ2

"I'm proud that I managed to get through something which was quite difficult and managed to come out of it a better person."

Interesting, thoughtful comments. And I guess enough of her community thought highly enough of her to vote for her.

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homerdindon

ezra

When first looking at this thread, I thought it was Cambridge, MA which wouldn't be a shock either...