Ep 096: When the skin you're in doesn't feel right, including your gender; the colourful multi-creative career & story of Jo Sutherland

I've wanted to have a big juicy chat with someone who has transitioned gender for a while now. My two sons talk very openly about gender, and about people they know that don't feel right in their skin.... whereas this was never talked about when I was young.

I wanted to talk to someone who would talk honestly about what this experience is like - and Jo Sutherland absolutely doesn't disappoint on this front.

Jo first had surgery to transition from male to female in her early 20s – the story she tells of growing up as a boy is so insightful, so touching, so honest and, at times, heartbreaking.

She takes pains to point out that self-acceptance doesn’t magically happen when you transition, even if it’s absolutely the right thing to do for you. And even if it isn’t totally botched up, as hers sadly was.

As she says, we are all works in progress. In fact I soon realised that – while I wanted to learn about gender – talking to Jo ended up being so relevant to my own situation because it’s about being human… about seeking and finding and evolving your identity. It’s just a bit more challenging if that identity doesn’t feel right in the skin you’re born in.

It helps that Jo is also an endlessly fascinating character who has constantly reinvented herself, from hairdresser to prison worker to engineer to lawyer to actor and back to hairdresser! She even wrote a script about her life in lockdown.

If anyone can talk authoritatively about finding your voice and the roles we play, it's her.

For more about Jo:

Twitter Jo Sutherland @JoSutherland13

https://www.instagram.com › jo_sut...Jo Sutherland - Instagram

Organisations she supports:

Mermaids, assisting gender divers children and families https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/  

Awkward branch Productions: http://Www.awkwardbproductions.com

City Lit (she thoroughly recommends their range of creative courses):

Ad·https://www.citylit.ac.uk/browse/coursesCity Lit Courses - Weekday & Weekend Courses

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

https://www.cssd.ac.uk/

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford 

contact Suzy: [email protected]

Big Juicy Creative podcast is available on all major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or directly from my website: https://www.bigjuicycreative.co.uk/podcast