(单词翻译:单击)
Teenagers Arin Andrews and Katie Hill look like any normal young couple posing in their swimwear. It is hard to believe that just two years ago Arin was a girl called Emerald, and Katie was a boy called Luke.
奥林-安德鲁和凯蒂-希尔看上去是对儿普通的穿着泳装的青少年情侣。很难相信两年前奥林还是个叫做埃默拉德的女孩,而凯蒂则是名为卢克的男生。
Arin, 17, and Katie, 19, have both undergone surgeries to change their gender and now are enjoying being in their bodies they always wished for.
17岁的奥林和19岁的凯蒂都做了变性手术,而且很喜欢现在他们一直想要的身体。
Just over a year ago Katie had gender reassignment surgery, thanks to an amazing $35,000 donation from an anonymous donor who read her story in a local newspaper. Now, Arin, who is still at school, has undergone an operation to remove both of his breasts, and is proudly showing off his new male physique.
几年前,有一匿名捐赠者在当地报纸上读了凯蒂的故事,并捐出3.5万美元供她做变性手术。奥林现在还在上学,几年前做手术除掉乳房,还会很骄傲地炫耀自己的男性体格。
Katie and Arin met nearly two years ago at a support group for transgender teenagers and bonded through their shared experiences. Katie said: 'To me, Arin's just my Arin, he's always looked manly to me. But now he's had the surgery he's much more confident and comfortable with himself.'
大概两年前,凯蒂和奥林通过一个支持青少年变性的组织认识,分享各自经历后两人走得更近。凯蒂说:“奥林就是我的奥林,对我来说,他一直都很有男子气概。但手术之后他更加自信,也比以前更舒适自在了。”
But now that the teens' physical appearance matches their gender, both of them are excited to be able to go swimming, boating and sunbathe like other couples. Katie added: 'Being transgender myself, I understand Arin probably better than anybody else, how good he feels and how complete he feels.'
现在这两人的体态外形和性别相配,能像其他情侣一样去游泳、划船、晒日光浴。凯蒂还说:“我本人就有变性经历,所以会比其他人更懂奥林,我知道他手术后的感觉多么完美奇妙。”
Both the couple's families are supportive of their relationship and say the way the teenagers have supported each other has helped in their transition. Arin's mum Denise Andrews said: 'Seeing Katie go through her surgery was helpful to Arin.
这对情侣的家人也很支持二人关系,还说两人相互鼓励支持对他们的变性生活有积极影响。奥林的妈妈丹妮丝-安德鲁说:“凯蒂顺利完成变性手术对奥林的帮助很大。”
'And being a couple at the time was I think just the cherry on the cake. Every transgender person would love to have the transformation physically because it just completes them as a person.'
“两人能走在一起真是太好了。每个变性人都想改变身体原貌,这样才能让他们感觉到他们是完整的一个人。”
After he began dressing as a boy, Arin also lost a new male friend who learned about his past as a girl. 'He said: ''I pictured you as a girl, and I can't do it anymore,''' said Arin, adding: 'You can't just force people to be your friends.'
奥林成男孩后也交了几个男性朋友,但当他们知道奥林过去是个女孩后便不再来往。奥林说:“有个人说:‘我以前只觉得你像个女的,但现在我再也不这样想了。’”他还补充道:“但你不能逼别人成为你的朋友。”
Katie started her degree course at an Oklahoma university last autumn but has struggled to make new friends because of prejudices against transgender people in the traditional Southern State. She said: 'I had quite a lot of friends in college that were really close to me and then all of a sudden they just stopped talking to me. I think what happened is they found out I was trans through a story or word of mouth and they decided that was too much for them.'
凯蒂去年秋天开始在俄克拉荷马大学攻读学位,也没交到很多新朋友,因为在传统的南部州,人们都有些歧视变性人。她说:“我先开始周围有很多朋友,和我很亲密。但突然她们就都不和我说话了,因为她们通过报道或传言发现我是个变性人。她们无法接受这一事实。”
The last two years have also been difficult for the teenager's families as they've come to terms with losing their son and daughter, and also some of their own friends. Arin's mum Denise said: 'There are still a group of people we don't interact with any more. I know that they questioned me as a parent, they're not comfortable with it.'
过去两年中,变性情侣双方家庭也不好过。他们先后失去了自己的儿子和女儿,之后有些朋友也不再来往。奥林的妈妈丹妮丝说:“现在还有一群人和我们断绝来往。我知道他们认为我是个问题家长,对此感到很不适。”
But she added: 'A lot of people worry about losing the gender of their child. But as you look through albums and realise your babies are growing up, we also watched them grow up and turn into somebody different.
但她还说:“许多人都担心失去孩子的原有性别。但当你翻看相册时会发现,以前的小婴儿现在都长大了,我们同样都亲眼看到孩子们慢慢长大,变成另一个不同的人。”
'Whether they stay the same gender or not, they become independent.' Now their outward transformation is complete, the teenagers hope people will accept them as their new genders, and their difficulties will become a thing of the past.
“不管孩子们是不是保持着原有性别,他们都已成熟独立。”现在两个青少年的外部整形都已完成,他们希望外界能够接受自己的新性别,希望自己遇到的困难都变成过往历史。