Tali's Story

Copyright © 2003, Tali Mayan

 

 

Tali Mayan (Israel, U.S.)

Model, Make-up Artist, Club Promoter

http://talimayan.ptrance.de/

 

 

Hello Lynn,

 

 

My name is Tali Mayan. I'm from Israel, but live in New York for the past 7 years. I work for Chanel, and used to be a model in Israel and New York. I'm an old friend of Dana International, and had a cover on the Israeli Vogue in '92. I was the first trans girl to do so.

 

First I must say that your site is the best tool for all of us girls, and for others to come. When I was growing up there was no internet and no way to get info like that, so thanks!

As for me well... I'm 33, was born in Israel, and had the change (which I prefer to call "a fix") when I was 21 (my change started at age 15), and it was all paid by the Israeli Department of Health since I was recognized as a nature mistake.

As a little boy, filling deep down inside that is a girl, I had dreams of becoming what I should have been from the beginning...a girl, and walking the runways of Israel.

 

At 21 my first dream came true and at 22 my second, I was "discovered" by a manager at Israel's Look Agency (the bigest one in Israel), and had my first cover on the Israeli Vogue called "Laish" . After that things roll fast ...every one wanted to see the young pretty Israeli transsexual.

I did many talk shows, and in all of them was telling the people of my country about us girls and earned a lot of respect for my story and intelligence (you know how people prefer to look at us as non-smart due to our situation).

I came to the States 7 years ago, got married, but now am going to divorce (long story by it self). I work as a manager in a make up company, as a freelance make up artist at Chanel, and as a promoter at one of the biggest clubs here in New York City.

 

For some more photos of me, you can look at my websites:

http://talimayan.ptrance.de/

http://hometown.aol.com/gia3770/index.html

Life and what's in between doesn't let us change the world, but we sure can change our personal world, so I did! I decided to fix what nature created and missed a little, and here I am!

I always knew since I can remember that I'm different, not in any bad way, but by knowing very young that I'm living with the right personality but in the wrong body. Thanks to a supportive mom and family, I was able to go through this transformation/fixing process at a very young age (15), and was able to get the Israeli government to sponsor my operation at age 21(by the Israeli law).

As I came out to the world free with no baggage, I've received many modelling offers and decided to go for it, so at age 22 a year after my sex fix operation I had my first cover on the Israeli Vogue. Since then I've modeled for 5 years until I felt that its time to move on.

Moving to the U.S. and to New York City was the second best thing that happen to me... I came, fell in love with NY, and got married. Today I work as a make up artist at Chanel and also as a promoter for the biggest party here in NY. Life can't be better now after I won almost all my wars.

As for the Israeli government support of us girls... well in 1986 my country started to do this operation by law. That was hard to pass due to the religious people in the parliament, but happened after a few girls that did this operation in Europe came back with complications. The biggest hospital center "Tel-Hasomer" that is a central Israeli hospital for Israel, Greece, Cyprus and some other country around had to deal with this, so they passed a law saying that Israeli transsexuals will have the right to receive this whole treatment by law. That's how they can supervise all that comes with it to prevent future problems, a very modern attitude.

By this law you have to be 21, live as a women for 2 years (when they provide all the hormonal treatment), and be sociologically supervised to decide if you are a candidate or not. I must say that this group of doctors in charge didn't approved all, the one that wasn't mentally found as women did not pass.

I started with the hormones at age 14+ almost 15. I used to get them at a small pharmacy in my city that used to have an old Russian man working there. I came there after I asked a trans girl I meet in a restaurant where she gets hormones. That old man asked me how old I am, so I've looked down and said 18. I lied and he know that, but felt how much I wanted it and sold it to me. Since then for a year + I used to get it from there.

I left school at 15 already looking like a girl (as a matter of fact I always had long hair, and since 13 was wearing eyeliner and mascara). It was very hard to be in school. Kids can be very cruel and I don't blame them. I was different and no one really know what's going on inside of me and how I feel.

To leave school was hard. I was a straight-A student, and the office of education gave me hard time cause in Israel you must be in school until 17 at least...but after talking to me, my mom, and seeing some files of me from doctors (since I was a baby), they agreed to let me go. As much as I wanted to keep learning I knew that a long way ahead of me and I couldn't waist 2 years like that, and losing so much energy that I would need later to fix this mistake of nature. (The kids that teased me later on came to my mom and showed there support when I first had a magazine cover and after seeing me on TV in some fashion shows).

I was 17 when I came to the doctors already like a girl after all the hormone treatment. I had to wait till 21 they said and I tried to appeal to the government, but because it was a new law they couldn't bend it for me, so at 21 and 2 month I had my operation there.

The head of plastic surgery there Dr. Haggi Zure is a world known doctor, and I had friendship with him so he also did my breast augmentation, lips, and eyes, free of charge (the breast augmentation is also been given for free to all the girls that are good candidates, usually a month after the SRS operation).

As for my plans for the future ... my marriage not working well wasn't a reason for me to give up my biggest dream "to be a mom". You can give birth from your belly or from your heart, so in this case no 2 is what I'm going for.

Life and nature have a cycle we don't know yet, but the desire to give to a child to have some influence on a little child life and to know that all you got from your parents (and I got) you are able and want to pass on and to know that you leave something when you're gone that will pass it on to his or her children.

I never had a father. He died when I was a year old. My mom, a holocaust survivor, raised me with so much love that I have today so much to give to another child.

My mom was there all the way with me and is my best friend. She always used to tell me when I was teased: you are the most beautiful thing in this world, you can do it all, be who you want, get married, have kids and be a winner...you can, only if u want! She never gave me any discount because of the situation I was born with and I owe her a lot for it. And that attitude of her made me who I am today. I followed her saying and did it her way and won and will win more, there is no other way!

As an advice to you new girls that know from being young that they live in the wrong body, I only want to say FEAR NOT, your way today is going to be much easier thanks to a more open world and people like us that made a difference in small doses in three own little community. Look at the successes pages and remember there are many more that we don't know of and you are NOT ALONE. The physical process in a little painful but is nothing to compare to the happiness of being able to fix a cruel joke of nature and to be able to look to nature in the eyes and laugh back!

We are winning material. All you have to do is to find the winner in you, and go on your life smiling, positive, and most important with a good spirit and attitude...have all that, and believe me you've already won!

As a final word I want to say that people who say the human spirit is endless are right. Look at us girls: we are a living proof of it!

Tali

 

 

E-mail Tali

http://talimayan.ptrance.de/

http://hometown.aol.com/gia3770/index.html

 

 

 

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