I Am What I Am Not

He calls himself Tapir, refusing to take on a male or female name. Tapir is an indomitable person: he grew up in Brezhnev's Soviet Union, experienced the war in Nagorno-Karabakh and was part of a unit that fought organised crime. He is among the first generation of people in Russia to undergo a sex change operation and now, in Moscow, provides security at LGBT events, which are under attack. Tapir does not break even under the pressure of expectation that he will meet gender stereotypes. This is an inspirational portrait that moves the discussion on transgender issues away from the dictates of the traditional division between men and women. (One World)