Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the rss-feed-widget domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /var/www/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114 Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the updraftplus domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /var/www/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114 Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the the-events-calendar-category-colors domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /var/www/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114 {"id":46934,"date":"2023-11-13T13:42:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T12:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/?p=46934"},"modified":"2023-11-13T13:42:03","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T12:42:03","slug":"out-and-loud-lennie-blockmans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/2023\/11\/13\/out-and-loud-lennie-blockmans\/","title":{"rendered":"Out and loud Lennie Blockmans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lennie Blockmans<\/a> is the first transgender contestant in the Miss Belgium pageant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a bit about yourself. What has been your journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Lennie, I\u2019m a 25-year-old applied psychology student from Antwerp. I grew up right outside of the city but I\u2019ve been living on my own in the center of Antwerp from the age of 18. Around the same age, I started my gender transition from male to female, a process that took everything out of me to become who I always felt I was inside. Today I\u2019m the best version of myself and I thank myself for that every single day. My life transformed itself a couple of times in drastic ways for different reasons but looking back I\u2019m grateful for everything that has shaped me into who I am today. Most of the time I felt horrible, I\u2019ve been struggling with extreme depression and have even felt suicidal before. And even though it remains an everyday battle I can truly say I\u2019m very happy with myself and what I\u2019ve made of myself. And that sounds crazy coming from a 25-year-old haha, but it really took a long journey so I can only be proud of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are your current or future projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, the biggest thing that\u2019s going on is my participation in the national pageant of Miss Belgium. I\u2019m one of the first (openly) trans candidates. It made quite a lot of waves in the press. I wanted to make a statement and start a dialogue, which I think I succeeded in already. First up will be the election of Miss Antwerp. If I make it through that round, there\u2019s one more before the national finals for Miss Belgium. In some ways, I\u2019ve already reached my goals with this. I\u2019ve noticed it is getting more of a personal achievement as well. The little boy who I was growing up would never have believed it if he knew what his future self would be and accomplish. Therefore, everything I do from this point will be for him. I\u2019ve always dreamed of a career in fashion or television or both. I love that world, and I\u2019ve always wanted to be a part of it ever since I remember. I want to do more modeling on a professional level soon! I want to continue to tell my story and inspire others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think about trans visibility in Belgium nowadays?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is my opinion but also personal experience that Belgium is a pretty good place for queer people in general. Of course that\u2019s relatively spoken because we do have to deal with things like discrimination, violence, hate and so on (the reactions and hate I got because of the pageant is a perfect example). However, in terms of health care and insurance for example, we\u2019re in a good spot and especially compared to other places in the world. As far as visibility goes I think we\u2019re doing fine, but it could always be better. We have visibility in places like the government, the media and now also in the pageantry industry. I know that there\u2019s a bold, out, loud, proud and colourful community here. It\u2019s also great to live in a country where there aren\u2019t any laws against queer people like we do see them in other countries far or near. But on the other hand I think we can do a lot more, have a lot more and still achieve a lot more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n