In two days, I will be taking the Eurostar to Brussels where, on arrival, I’ll hop across to Platform 19 and board a 35-minute train to Antwerp. But this isn’t your average European city break. I am Antwerp-bound because it is the home of 2Pass, a specialist clinic offering gender affirming care to the trans community. From facial and body feminisation surgeries to various aesthetic treatments, 2Pass does it all. Think of it as the trans destination of Europe.
This will be my 14th trip to 2Pass as a trans woman. There, I will submit myself to a session of electrolysis, a form of permanent hair removal that involves eight hours of my face being injected with lidocaine, before each individual hair follicle is electrocuted with a fine metal probe. And yes, the experience is as delightful as it sounds. I will emerge swollen—so cartoonishly
