Australians' transgender journeys continue as Caitlyn Jenner media storm subsides.

By MARGARET BURIN.

In nine months’ time, Taylor will walk into work as herself for the first time.

Unlike some she does not experience extreme gender dysphoria in her own body.

But after years of burying her true identity, she will now be able to face her colleagues dressed the way she feels, totally comfortable and confident.

At the age of 47, it has been a long journey to this point.

“I’ve hidden a lot of this inside me for a long time,” she said.

“It was only after I had my ‘ah ha’ moment that everything just fell into place.”

Born in a small farming community in rural Victoria, a naturally effeminate child began sneaking into her sister’s room and exploring with her clothes.

“I liked the look, so I would actually tuck myself and stuff my breasts – it wasn’t a sexual turn on, there was just something there,” she said.

“I knew I’d be picked on with that type of behaviour so it was kept secret.”

This was long before the internet and social media.

Read more: Laverne Cox is ‘grateful’ she didn’t get the same transition surgery as Caitlyn Jenner.

Taylor did not even hear of the term “transgender” until she was almost 30.

Fast-forward another 15 years and an epiphany came after a relationship break-up.

Up until then none of her girlfriends, including her ex-wife, knew about her gender identity.

Taylor’s life-changing moment

On New Year’s Eve last year Taylor made a promise to always be true to herself.

That was followed by a night of uncontrollable sobbing, a flushing of many decades of pent-up emotions.

“It was as though you lost something dear to you as a child and it disappeared, and you looked for months and months and you couldn’t find it,” she said.

“And years later you find it again. I found me.”

This missing piece of the puzzle made her feel, for the first time since she was a small child, that she belonged on this planet.

Related content: Five things you want to know about Caitlyn Jenner.

At the same time, she felt as though something else was dying.

“My old behaviours, my old fears, they all died and there was a little bit of a sense of loss about the male form,” she said.

“I spent all this time being a guy when I could’ve been on this journey, but without being on that journey I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

The transgender conversation has been plunged into the mainstream media spotlight in recent weeks following the Vanity Fair cover featuring Olympic champion Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce.

Jenner’s interview with Diane Sawyer on the American ABC network was reportedly seen by more than 17 million viewers.

In the 65-year-old’s own words, the public announcement set her free.

Like Caitlyn, Taylor has spent decades trying to conform to social norms.

This is no longer something she is willing to do.

“You’ll be walking down the street and you get people who give you nice looks and you get people who give you not so nice looks,” Taylor said.

“I am very clear of who I am now. If anyone’s got a problem, they’ve got the problem, not I.”

In the lead-up to coming out at work, Taylor has been making small steps in her transition.

She has begun growing her hair, treating her skin, conducting voice training and arranging hormone therapy.

Her employer, a telco, is currently in the process of developing a gender equality policy and preparing training for managers in time for her ‘coming out’.

Luckily for Taylor, she has not been alone in this process.

Secret society of support

Taylor is a member of Seahorse, a transgender social support group.

Fellow members who have already taken this very public step in recognising their own identity have been guiding her along the way.

For many years it has been a kind of secret society.

It is discreet and accepting.

More than 1,000 people have passed through its doors since its inception 40 years ago.

Many of its members bury their true identity because they don’t feel the world is ready to accept them for who they are.

But a private monthly meeting gives them at least one outlet to dress as they wish without fear of judgement or embarrassment.

Some are terrified that their secret double life will hurt their wives and children.

Others have gone on to make a full transition, including costly surgery, to recognise their true identity.

Seahorse Victoria president Greer McGearey keeps details about the organisation close to her chest, even the exact number of current members.

“That’s the reason that Seahorse has lasted as long as it has, because we maintain that confidentiality,” she said.

“Now the ability to be out and open about oneself in Melbourne in particular means that the membership is not as large as it was 20 years ago, but it’s still a significant number.”

WATCH: Aussie transgender icon speaks about Caitlyn Jenner.

Greer has always been athletic, has been married and had children and said she never felt ‘trapped’ in a male body.

However after many years of trying to fit into a socially acceptable box, a moment of clarity came as she was about to give a presentation in her professional life.

“I was standing there in my dinner suit to give my speech to about 100 people and had this sense of ‘I’m standing behind a mask’,” she said.

Hopes Jenner story encourages greater acceptance

Today, Greer dresses as a woman in most aspects of her life, including outings with her grown daughter.

In her physical job, which entails wearing high visibility work wear and steel-cap boots, she sees little need to come out to her colleagues.

At certain family functions she still dresses as a man.

“The best way to describe where I’m at is that I’m a full extension of myself as a person,” she said.

At 63, Greer is now comfortable in her own skin.

And that means taking and leaving the thoughts of others.

“My physical size, my physical proportions, my voice – I’m under no illusion that people can’t see that I’m male to female,” she said.

“So I just let people deal with it as they wish and most people respond in a courteous way.

“I’ve had very few adverse reactions when I’ve been down the street. You get a few people trying to be smart alecs but in the end I think it reflects more on them than it will ever reflect on me.”

The conversation is only set to continue with the premiere of Caitlyn Jenner’s new TV series I am Cait this week.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star’s story is a far more glamorous tale than those of transgender people who struggle to leave their homes because of their anxiety, or those who make up the larger than average suicide statistics prevalent among the LGBTI community.

And while there has been a melee of negativity on social media, along with a wave of public support, there are hopes among the transgender community that it does further pave the way for greater understanding about gender equality.

“I’ve never watched the Kardashians or the interviews except for snippets,” Greer said.

“But it does give hope to the transgender community to say that it occurs in people regardless of their background, their socio-economic background and hopefully puts it in a good light that we are just human beings.”

This article was originally published by ABC News.

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