Ayden Scheim

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Ayden Isaac Scheim is a queer female-to-male transsexual community organizer, educator, and activist in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He works with queer and trans youth through community development organizations, art programs, drop-in groups, and HIV/STI education projects. In 2005 he won the Toronto Youth Cabinet's "Identify 'n' Impact" award for Building Community through the Arts or Athletics [1]. Ayden is also involved with other social justice initiatives including the 81 Reasons campaign to oppose the construction of a youth superjail in Brampton, ON and Prisoners Justice Week.

Scheim's father is a prominent Conservative rabbi in Toronto. Ayden's story was documented on an edition of CBC News: The Fifth Estate called "Becoming Ayden", which originally aired on October 13, 2004. The program has been criticized by several Canadian transgender activists, including Scheim and Meryn Cadell, for presenting a distorted and inaccurate portrayal of transgender issues. Scheim was also featured in the documentary Class Queers, which profiled the Triangle Program, Canada's only specialized classroom for LGBT students. The documentary was shown on the Canadian television series Rough Cuts and at international film festivals.

In addition, he has been published in Hear Me Out: True Stories of Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia (Second Story Press, 2004).


[edit] Quotes

  • "I didn't know what was making me unhappy. I knew I was utterly different from everyone, but I couldn't pinpoint it. It took me a long time to actually figure out what I was. I want to be someone who can walk down the street and be seen as a guy."
  • "I don't believe that my gender is decided by my sex which is my physical parts. My gender isn't changing - it's my body that's changing. I know what my gender is. I've known for a long time."
  • "I could make the same decision at 25 and regret it at 40. There's always a chance you'll make a decision you'll regret. If that causes you not to do it, then you're never going to do anything."
  • "People who don't understand it are either going to tell me that I'm wrong or they're going to just accept that they don't understand. It's not their life. It makes perfect sense to me."

[edit] References

  • Ayden Scheim in My Style, NOW Magazine [2]
  • We can stop this' - Toronto rallies draw thousands Students stall rush-hour traffic, Toronto Star, March 21, 2003
  • Gay students travel to Toronto for Pride Prom, Canadian Press, Jun. 26 2002 [3]
  • Alexandra J. Wall, Rabbi's daughter bares her fears in 'Class Queers', Jewish news weekly of Northern California, [4]

[edit] External links

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