TransGenerations, an eight-part web series, tells the stories of transgender Kiwis from their late 70s to early 20s, documenting the history of trans experience in New Zealand and dispelling stereotypes about who trans people are. In episode seven, host Brady Peeti meets Young New Zealander of the Year, Shaneel Lal.
For trans people, 23-year-old Shaneel needs no introduction. They are front and centre in the fight for this generation’s trans rights while continuing to refine what it means to be trans in today’s world.
The public stage that Shaneel commands is a long way from the small Fijian village where they were born in 2000. At a young age, their feminine energy triggered an intervention from village elders. The attempted “solution” was conversion therapy with prayers, enchanted bracelets to ward off the perceived evil spirits and social isolation from other boys and girls.
“If my queerness wasn’t treated like an evil spirit, it was treated like a virus,” Shaneel said.
Shaneel first had access to the internet at age 12. They learned that they were not alone in their feeling towards gender and sexual orientation. Shaneel’s family moved to New Zealand when they were 15 years old to shield them from more conversion therapy.
