New comic sharing trans people’s experiences of mental health stigma launches

Posted by See Me, 24 May 2022

A new comic book project exploring trans people’s experiences of mental health stigma launches this week in Glasgow.

Unblemished, created by Nat Walpole and Valentine Conlan, has gathered together the real experiences of trans people from across Scotland to explore the dual stigma that they often face.

Funded through our Anti-Stigma Arts Fund, the project was originally serialised online, with a limited run of hard copies now available.

Nat said: “The comic was borne from us talking with each other and some mutual friends about being trans and struggling with our mental health. We felt there were often gaps in understanding between our experiences and how we were discussed by therapists and psychiatrists, even very well-meaning ones. We felt this solidarity in sharing our own stories with each other, so we wanted to make something that bridges that gap and shares that experience of solidarity.”

LGBTQ+ people are more likely to face mental health problems than the wider population, with trans people in particular facing increased rates of depression and anxiety.

Created over the last year, Unblemished is based on a series of interviews with five different people – Geri, Alex, May, Xander and Quinn – all with different experiences around mental health, stigma and discrimination.

The book tackles a range of topics connected to mental health stigma, including negotiating access to healthcare and dealing with transphobic harassment.

Valentine added: “We really want our comic to reach a wide variety of people, most notably those who work in mental health or a medical setting. A lot of the general public tend to think because it's so unlikely they may meet a trans person, there's no need to learn about what specific needs we might have, and this can lead to a lot of misunderstandings between a practitioner and their trans client. So, in general we want more people to think about our experiences and the results of those."

Unblemished will launch with an event on Thursday 26 May at 7pm at Glasgow’s queer and LGBT book shop Category Is Books, where visitors can pick up their free copy and meet with Nat and Valentine to talk about the comic’s creation.

It’s free to attend, and you don’t need to book a place in advance.

Maeve Grindall, project officer for communities and priority groups at See Me, said: “Unblemished is a wonderful example of how the arts can be used to challenge the mental health stigma faced by many groups across Scotland.

“By shining a light on Geri, May, Alex, Quinn and Xander’s stories, Valentine and Nat have really helped to open up conversations around mental health stigma in the trans community – one of the first steps towards really tackling that stigma which still exists.

“I’m so pleased that were able to support Unblemished through See Me’s Anti-Stigma Arts Fund, giving it the platform it deserves.”

You can read the comic in full online at unblemished.carrd.co.