Australian Story

From Daddy's Tummy (20x28)

:

Melbourne man AJ Kearns describes himself as just an ordinary father living in the suburbs with his two children. But there are many who would disagree. Born into a conservative pentecostal family in Sydney, AJ spent the first 35 years of his life as a woman. As a teenager Vicki-Anne thought she was gay and attended controversial church-based conversion therapy in the hope of becoming heterosexual. After years of struggle AJ took the courageous decision to live as a man and create a family with his partner Zu. But he then took the surprising step of postponing his physical transition to become pregnant. Psychiatrist Dr Fintan Harte says it’s the first time in over 30 years of practice that he’s encountered a ‘trans-identified male’ who has conceived a child. ‘From Daddy’s Tummy’ tells the story of AJ and his much loved family and showcases a stunning photographic record of his physical transition by Melbourne artist Alison Bennett.