Pride at our convention

Delegates to CEIU’s recent convention worked hard at planning for the future. They debated resolutions, analyzed budgets and elected leaders. But they also had the chance to learn about the work of the union’s Human Rights-Race Relations Committee and to listen to a remarkable presentation from CEIU member Maxime Le May that brought them to their feet.

Maxime Le May is 44 years old and until last year he kept a secret from even his closest friends: he was a transsexual man. Showing extraordinary courage, Maxime took delegates into the world of adversity and struggle that he and other transsexuals face. For Maxime, that struggle took him from being a shy boy with a closely-guarded secret to an open, proud and confident advocate for transsexual community.

“As early as the age of four, I knew something was different with me, but I couldn’t find a word for it” he explains. It was not until the age of 14 that he found that word via a conversation he overheard between his parents: “One night, my father showed a newspaper article to my mother about a ‘freak’ who had changed sex. They both had great laugh at this individual that the paper had referred to as a ‘transsexual’. There it was – the word I had been searching for: transsexual. I was a transsexual man.”

Moving from his hometown of Victoriaville to attend university in Montreal, Maxime also began the transition from one physical sex and social gender presentation to the other. Transgendered persons often face hostility and discrimination if they reveal their transition to those in the workplace and beyond, so many lead a “stealthy” life instead, never revealing their transition. “To avoid discrimination and ridicule, I stayed in the closet for 25 years, not telling even my closest friends.”

Maxime is open about his transition, saying “I’ve become the man that I always wanted to be—a transman proud of himself and his community.” He is the current President of the Association des transsexuel(le)s du Québec, an organization that assists and advocates for members of the transsexual community. He is also a member of CEIU’s Human Rights-Race Relations Committee that invited him to speak at the union’s convention.

At the close of his speech, delegates gave him a standing and sustained ovation. His presentation brought his listeners up close to the realities faced by the transgendered community and provided broad inspiration for all those who struggle with adversity. In a show of support, delegates, locals and regions raised $2411.83 for the Association des transsexuel(le)s du Québec, an amount that was matched by the national level of CEIU. Delegates also decided that CEIU would circulate a petition in support of the Association to its locals.

Maxime is both an advocate for the transsexual community and an active member of CEIU. He is available to answer questions about the transsexual community and invites members to contact him atadmin@atq1980.org.