Georgie Stone was born to actor parents Greg Stone and Rebekah Robertson, who both appeared on the Australian soap series Neighbors. She was born on 20 May 2000 along with her twin brother Harrison, but there was always something wrong with Georgie growing up. She would look around her school as a little boy and see what see perceived were all these kids being comfortable with who they are.
But it was not how she felt inside; from a young age, Georgie identified as a girl, and it was confusing for her as a kid about why her twin brother was comfortable with who he was, but she was not. Georgie’s mother said she knew about her daughter not fitting in pretty early on. Rebekah revealed Georgie told her about being a girl at about two and a half years old.
Georgie Stone is a transgender actress who transitioned at the age of ten.
Source: Georgie Stone Instagram
Georgie used to dress up in her mother’s clothes and wear her shows as a kid, and the family probably thought it was all a phase at the beginning. But by the time she was six-seven years old, it became abundantly clear she was not going through a phase, and this was real. Georgie was about to hit puberty, and her family was supportive about her transition, but there was a problem; in Australia, Family Court was responsible for granting access to stage one treatment, not the child or the parents.
Fighting for Her Identity and Changing Australia’s Law
Georgie Stone was born with her twin brother in 2001.
Source: YouTube
Georgie was on the verge of hitting puberty, and she and her family were clear as to her being a girl and not a boy, and at the age of seven, Georgie was also diagnosed with gender dysphoria. They wanted to get their daughter the treatment she needed and block her puberty, but to get hormone blockers, they needed to go through the family court.
The Mackenzie Hargreaves actress was ten years old in 2011 when she became the youngest person to go through puberty-blocking treatment. After two trips to the Family Court and a drawn-out legal process, Georgie was able to go through hormone replacement therapy in 2015 at the age of 15.
Watch: Georgie talks about her transition and her struggle to become who she really is
Georgie’s case also set a precedent, which stripped the power of the courts and changed the law. Now, in Australia, the government cannot make medical decisions on behalf of the kids; all they need to transition is the consent of their parents and doctor. During an interview with The Project, Georgie was asked about her needing to get puberty blockers so early in her life.
Georgie replied to the question by saying, “If my body had developed in a masculine way, I would have wanted to kill myself. I knew that that having to go into male puberty would have done significant harm to my mental state.” This is true about almost all transgender teens and why there is such a high risk of suicide among transgender teenagers.
During the same interview, Georgie’s mother Rebekah talked about needing to go to a stranger to who wasn’t particularly experienced in gender medicine, making “a life-changing decision for our child. To have that decision removed from you as a parent is…is the very definition of powerlessness.”
But they won their case, and the law was also changed while going through it all, Rebekah also started a support and counseling group for parents with kids who identify as transgender. There was so much negative perception (still is) about the trans people, which caused Rebekah to help other parents struggling to come to terms with their kids’ real identity.
Becoming one of Australia’s Most Recognizable Transgender Individuals
Georgie Stone is one of the most recognizable transgender individuals in Australia.
Source: Instagram
While most teenagers were busy with their boyfriends and girlfriends, or the number of followers on their Instagram, Georgie was taking her struggles and her triumph as a tool for her activism. She spoke at various events and talked about the plight of teenagers and how they feel about not fitting in their own bodies.
Georgie traveled to Canberra to talk to politicians about the struggle of transgender kids, and she also spoke about the harmful effects of the Family Court taking control over the medical decisions of transgender kids. “The involvement of the Family Court in the medical decisions of transgender teens is actually harming those children it is supposed to protect,” she said about the court’s control.
Georgie Stone went started doing activism and raising awareness for transgender kids in Australia.
Source: Instagram
The actress also used her platform to advocate for the transgender kids to be allowed into bathrooms of their choosing. She also spoke of a humiliating incident where she was forced to change in a men’s locker room at a swimming pool.
Georgie appeared in may shows and events advocating for the rights of transgender kids, and she was also made the ambassador of Gender Services for Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She was also the ambassador of Wear it Purple Day, where Australians wear purple to celebrate and support diversity and young LGBTQ+ members.
Georgie Stone was the ambassador for Wear It Purple Day.
Source: Instagram
Last year in September, the Prime Minister of Australia sent out a tweet saying, “We do not need “gender whisperers” in our schools.” The tweet stemmed from a growing number of kids being diagnosed with gender dysphoria (there are believed to be more than 45,000 teens who identify as transgender in Australia).
When the tweet became public, Georgie went after Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his views, “It's ironic that his government is committed to eradicating mental illness, and yet they perpetuate those same mindsets and ideals that are the reason that the statistics are so horrible,” Stone said. “If they actually want to do what they're setting out to do, they need to look at themselves and their own attitudes and see what the message is that they are promoting and the effects that's having.”
Getting the Role of 'Mackenzie Hargreaves' in the Australian Soap 'Neighbors'
Georgio Stone was cast as 'Mackenzie Hargreaves' in the Australian soap 'Neighbors.'
Source: Instagram
When it comes to television and movies, there has always been the problem of lack of representation when it comes to the characters depicted on screen. This is changing in the 21st century, not at the pace most people would like it to change, but it is still happening, and one small step made forward by Australian soap was when Georgie Stone was hired to play the role of Mackenzie Hargreaves on the show.
This was the first transgender character to appear on the show, and the reason she got the role was after she wrote to the producers of the series pitching an idea for a transgender character on the series. She was not expecting anything from the letter; she said the most probable answer would be a polite no, but instead, after two hours, the producer wrote her back and loved the idea and starting from 2020 Georgie will be a series regular.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ZmUB3HTKf/
Soon she was on set and filming the character of Mackenzie Hargreaves on the show with her forming a bond with Yashvi Rebecchi in the series. Yashvi used to go to primary school with Mackenzie Hargreaves when she used to be Michael. Yashvi starts to understand where Mackenzie is coming from, and this type of story is why Georgie wanted to bring a transgender character to the show.
Television and movies are part of our society, which is why they need to reflect all the members who inhabit this place. Providing transgender people a platform to speak their truth is the only way we can all move forward hand in hand, respecting one another, which is what Georgie is doing with Mackenzie Hargreaves.
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