'Don't be afraid to be you,' says First Dates star

Going into the dating world can be a vulnerable and confusing rocky-road for anyone.

There are so many things to navigate, but looking for love as a trans person brings with it another layer of difficulty.

For Becky, a trans woman from Bristol, being upfront with people straight away helps her "filter out" the people she does not match with.

She appeared on Channel 4's First Dates on 13 January to show others what dating it is like for her and described being on the series as "surreal".

Becky decided she wanted to transition in her final years at secondary school when she was 14-years-old.

She chose not to have bottom surgery and explained to BBC Radio Bristol's John Darvall, for her, "it's not a case of having to go through all of the surgery" to be who she is.

"It's all about meeting someone who respects that view, which I have been lucky to find," she said.

In her dating life, she said people have used her "as an experiment".

"That's the unfortunate side of dating as a trans person," she said.

"You don't really know someone until you're properly seeing them."

Becky described her experience of dating men as nothing different to a "normal heterosexual relationship".

"I know who I am, I'm a woman, that doesn't mean anyone who dates me is gay. I date men and I'm a female."

Becky said her journey as a young person up to the point of being on the show was made "a lot easier" with the support of her mother.

"But getting to grips with telling the rest of my family and friends - it was definitely really difficult.

"We're all people at the end of the day and we can choose who we want to be.

"We all deserve respect, to have a life, be in relationships and to be loved.

"Don't be afraid of being yourself," she added.

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