Transition Ceremonies
Transgender and nonbinary folk deserve to be celebrated.
Ceremonies that mark and celebrate their transitions are rare, but can be a great way to engage both allies and uncommitted friends and family in your journey to be your most authentic self.
We often mark the changes that occur in our lives with a rite of passage—a tradition that marks that change and allows us to celebrate it with people who are important to us. These traditions also help our friends and family recognise and follow the change with us.
For centuries in the Anglo-Australian tradition, when a bride married she would change her surname to that of her husband. Even for those who do not attend the wedding, its significance helps them recognise and respect the change.
When transgender or nonbinary people choose to make a change to their name or their pronouns, a transition ceremony that acknowledges the deeper and more significant aspects of their gender identity can make all the difference for those who matter most.
So as a celebrant, the one thing I really want to change before I die is to normalise transition ceremonies for trans and nonbinary folk.
NEWSFLASH! For the rest of 2023, to support the trans and nonbinary community who are facing an onslaught of bigotry, all transition ceremonies will be conducted free of charge.
For more information related to transition ceremonies, try these pages:
Gift a Transition Ceremony
For a transgender person, a transition ceremony may not be their first priority. Psychological, medical and legal matters are a lot to wade through. But a ceremony can help allies, whether they’re friends or families, be a part of the transition. And uncertain friends and family can also be brought along that journey more effectively.
That’s why I like to make it easy for allies to gift a transition ceremony to their trans or nonbinary friends or family. You get a gift voucher to present to your trans friend or relative, and they can then plan their ceremony with me.
It is important that a trans person engages with planning their transition ceremony. You can’t do it for them. You can be part of the process, but only the person themselves can determine what to include or exclude from the ceremony.