Thiruvananthapuram: In a first in the history of the college, a transgender was invited to inaugurate the Christmas celebrations of staff club of the University College. Transgender activist Surya opened the Christmas celebrations of the college held on December 23. K. B. Selvamony, assistant professor of the Malayalam department, who is also the secretary of the staff club, told Deccan Chronicle that perhaps it was for the first time that an academic community decided to invite a transgender to be part of their celebrations. There have been instances of members of the community being invited to deliver papers in academic seminars. However, the event here was different as it was not an academic event but a celebration.
I hoped that such initiatives would help in reducing the stigma associated with the transgender community in the public sphere, said Mr Selvamony, who has also directed and scripted a documentary on transgender community named Memories of Trans. He said the event has some positive aspects. Many teachers mingled with Soorya without any inhibition and also took photos along with her. Though there was minor opposition from some quarters against inviting her for the programme, it faded eventually.
