Neighbours Trans Character: Georgie Stone, a trans actress on Neighbours, wants to blur the barriers between activism and entertainment. In the Australian soap, the actor discusses trans characters’ accessibility, mental health, and Groundbreaking gender confirmation surgical sequences. Georgie Stone, 20, of Neighbours fame, tells HuffPost UK over the phone from Melbourne, “I actually had to invent this role for myself.”
“In Australia, there are no roles.” None. I had to write to the show’s executive producer to get a job on the show. That’s how valuable these chances are.” She started out as a trailblazing child trans activist in Australia, obtaining hormone blockers at the age of ten and becoming the country’s youngest trans child. Her therapy served as a precedent, leading to a reform in the law regarding young trans people’s access to hormone treatment. She’s also the creator of the first transgender character in Australia’s Neighbours serial drama.
Georgie Stone has created history by blurring the lines between acting and activism in just a few years. Since her character Mackenzie appeared on the soap opera in 2019, the actress has acted as a teacher of transness. In real life, she is a strong advocate of trans rights and believes that trans performers should not be cast as cisgender people. “There are so many trans actors looking for these parts,” she says, though she also wants to emphasize her desire to work on strong female non-trans roles when she moves on from Neighbours.
Personal problems
Stone lives in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria. She has a brother or sister with the same name. Stone was the youngest individual in Australia to start treatment for puberty blockage in 2011. (she was 10 at the time). She began hormone replacement therapy at the age of 15. Stone came out as transgender in 2014, after years of concealing her gender identification.
Georgie is a Regular on the Australian serial
Georgie, who is now a regular on the Australian serial, collaborates closely with scriptwriters to ensure that her character reflects the trans experience as accurately as possible. The story of her transformation as a young trans woman concludes with scenes from her gender confirmation operation, which will air in the UK on July 22 and 23. This could be the last time Mackenzie’s gender identity is freely explored. Georgie hopes that when Mackenzie returns in future plots, she will be treated the same as the other young female characters on the show.
The operation subplot, on the other hand, felt like a necessary addition to the plot. “Mackenzie has already matured into a woman. That isn’t going to change with this operation.” Georgie, from her suburban Melbourne home, adds, “It’s a pretty personal subject, and I wanted it to be done appropriately and respectfully.” This is about the surgery, but it’s also about making it obvious that this operation isn’t going to turn Mackenzie into a girl – she’s already a woman – it’s just for her own comfort, and it’s there so she can get on with her life “she explains. She then moves on to the topics that interest her the most, such as law.”
Many transgender people believe surgery is required, but Georgie emphasizes that it is only physical and does not assist transgender people in overcoming mental health concerns. Transgender people, like the rest of the LGBT+ community, face mental health issues such as shame. Georgie spoke to HuffPost UK about how she and Mackenzie deal with guilt in their daily lives, and how Georgie considers herself fortunate not to be burdened by shame because she grew up with loving parents. Georgie is proud of her trans status, yet she has moments when she wishes she wasn’t. “It’s peculiar,” she adds.
Alternative Reality Version of Myself
“Those feelings are fleeting and fade, but they can resurface when you’re feeling very vulnerable or when something major happens in your life. It was critical for me to explain the procedure to Mackenzie.” Georgie sees Mackenzie as an “alternative reality version of myself” who shares the intense experience of being transgender during this stage of transition, although Mackenzie is less confident and content in her own skin. Although the majority of Australians and Britons support transgender people, some notable feminists have recently made headlines claiming that trans women are not women, much to Georgie’s chagrin.
Georgie was deeply disturbed by JK Rowling’s recent controversial remarks on transgender individuals. “It was just another one of those moments where I broke,” she recalls as a transgender woman, “and I longed for just a very small second… so that I wouldn’t feel like a failure to someone I looked up to.” I realized after that split second that this wasn’t my problem at all; it was hers. “I’m in perfect health and haven’t done anything wrong. The issue is that I’m dealing with the garbage that belongs to other people.”
Georgie Robertson Stone OAM, an advocate for transgender rights, was born on May 20, 2000, in Sydney, Australia. After Stone, then 10 years old, became the youngest person in Australia to get hormone blockers, the statute requiring transgender children and their families to go through the Family Court of Australia to acquire access to stage one treatment was repealed a decade later. She is an outspoken champion for transgender youngsters and one of Australia’s most well-known transgender citizens.
Award nominations and ceremonies
She was announced the winner at a news conference on December 8th. Stone became the youngest recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2020 as a result of this honor.
If she ever met Jo Rowling, what would she say to her?
She ponders. “I’ve given this a lot of thought,” she admits. It would be fantastic if I could just sit down with Jo and explain why transgender people are so important to present feminism. In response, she says, “I don’t understand where she’s coming from. But I see where she’s trapped and how that’s going to lead her down a bad path “She clarifies. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if she wants to hear what I have to say, and I’d like to get her out of this position and explain why she’s incorrect.”
Because trans people are supposed to be subjected to a flood of nasty comments on social media and in the real world, tragedy and mental illness are unavoidable. “Mackenzie carried more guilt and fear with her, as well as a lack of self-confidence that I wanted to depict, and I wanted her to come across as someone who is truly uncertain about who she is, not just in terms of her gender identity but as a person,” George continues.
When someone has been bullied for a long time, as Mackenzie had, or has experienced years of trauma, it’s not easy to throw it off, she says. It’s not a straight line when it comes to letting go of shame; rather, it’s a cyclical process that will eventually lead back to where it started. Georgie wants to create a true female protagonist with Mackenzie, one who is characterized not only by their romantic relationships but also by their professional ambitions and independence. Mackenzie’s transness is a hot topic right now. She hopes to be working on Neighbours in a year’s time.
What will happen in the future?
Her ambitions include portraying a transgender persona and “educating people.” However, I’d want to play characters whose gender identity isn’t mentioned overtly or even alluded to at all. Acting is a dream come true for me since I like the work. Channel 5 transmits the show Neighbours every weekday at 1:45 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
