Charles Darling
is not a common person, he was born a boy but his natural body modifications
turned him into a woman.
Charles Darling
was born with male genitals and was treated like a normal boy until one day his
body began to grow breasts and hips. The next five years he spent trying to
hide his feminine silhouette under baggy clothes, feeling like a freak.
Eventually, at the age of 18 he was diagnosed with the Klinefelter’s syndrome –
a genetic disorder that affects males which usually occur when a boy is born
with one or more extra female chromosomes.
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Unwilling to
accept his new body Charles underwent a breast reduction operation but in vain,
his breasts grew back again. It took long time for Charles to embrace his new
identity and start a new life as a woman. She said: “At first I thought I was a
freak, I’d grown up as a boy and suddenly my breasts started growing. I didn’t
feel anything like a man, I never had an Adam’s apple, my voice never broke,
instead I had feminine hips and breasts.“At first it was so confusing because
I’d grown up as a boy, but I felt like a woman, I didn’t know who I could talk
to. I didn’t decide to be a woman I grew into one naturally – all because of
Klinefelter’s Syndrome. For me I’ve always felt like a woman and could never
see a man when I looked in the mirror. Now I’m much stronger as a person and
have accepted who I am – being intersex isn’t a phase and I’m not going to
change.
“I thought I had
to hide my dark secret which was ruining my young life, but then I discovered
that I love who I am. I was unique and shouldn’t get rid of what I was
naturally born with. I realised it was a privilege to be intersex not a curse,
there was nothing wrong with me. When I look in the mirror now I see a
beautiful woman who’s gone through a gruesome journey, but thankfully I’m at
the other end of it now and I’m happy.”
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Now the
38-year-old woman is preparing to compete in the Miss Transgender UK beauty
contest. And wants to raise awareness of Klinefelter’s syndrome to ensure no
one else has to go through what she did. The syndrome is lifelong from
conception and affects 12 million people worldwide. Often symptoms may be
subtle and many people do not realise they are affected until they reach
puberty.
