Trans Actor Trinetra Reveals Why She's Undergoing Vocal Feminisation Surgery: 'Don't Want To Be Called Sir Every Day'

Dr Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, who made her acting debut with Amazon Prime Video's Made In Heaven, has opened up about undergoing vocal feminisation surgery and the years of anxiety, scrutiny, and safety concerns that led to her decision.

In a deeply personal note shared on social media, the actor and doctor shed light on the everyday challenges trans people face, explaining that gender-affirming procedures are often not about appearance but about securing basic safety and dignity.

Sharing her experience, Trinetra revealed how her voice has frequently led to uncomfortable and distressing situations despite her coming to appreciate its distinctive quality over the years.

She started her post with, "I am having vocal feminisation surgery. In 2018, I made a mistake I have never repeated since: answering a phone call in a women's restroom cubicle. The next thing I knew, a security guard thumping at the door would yell, 'Sir? Sir?' - I would finish my business at lightning speed and get out of there with the nervous system of somebody at war."

She added, "I do not blame her, or anybody. I'm well aware of how a man's presence is registered as danger. How could I not be? I grew up with fear carved into my bones. I know how my voice reads without the visual of me. I have, strangely. made my peace with it. Over the years, I've even grown to like its unique timbre. I'm the lucky one and all, even Sanjay Kapoor was forced to admit on Made In Heaven -"what a husky tone!" I agree! That said, if I were to examine my life as it exists today. I am by every known metric, tired."

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Trinetra went on to describe the realities of navigating life as an independent trans woman in India, arguing that many members of the community are compelled to spend significant sums on procedures that help them avoid scrutiny and feel safer in public spaces.

"As an independent working woman, the last six or so years have taught me with painful clarity that I really am on my own. We all are, unless we choose our parental nests for all eternity with passing privilege that didn't need earning/purchasing. Most transgender people in India today know that their bodies are not as safe as they were six years ago."

Emphasising that her decision was rooted in safety rather than vanity, she wrote, "Little is said about how exhausting and expensive it is to buy your own safety. The trans tax for a drop of the nectar that is equality. Upwards of forty-lakh-rupees for a feminised face that cannot be clocked millimetres away, often where a camera or the male gaze finds it. Upwards of ten for a voice that doesn't threaten. And yet, here we are, still doing what we must to keep ourselves safe. This is the ugly truth the world often perceives as Vanity"

Further explaining what she hopes the surgery will change in her day-to-day life, Trinetra added, "I'd like to take a phone call in a women's restroom without fear. I'd like to reply to staff outside a changing room asking "Miss, does the dress fit okay?" without breaking out in a cold sweat. I'd like to sing like I used to before my voice cracked through puberty - imperfectly and with abandon, even if around strangers. I'd like not to hold myself back in an intimate moment with somebody I love."

"I'd like the pleasure of not being called 'sir' near every day by a delivery partner who knows no better. I'd like my voice not to be the reason a cab driver eyes me in the rear-view-mirror as if attempting to decipher what my pants hide, even if thrice a year. That is three too many. Nobody deserves the relentless scrutiny a trans body learns to cope with."

Looking ahead, she expressed hope for a future where transgender people do not have to rely on birth circumstances, hormones or surgery to attain a basic level of safety and acceptance.

"One day, maybe 10 or 15 years from now, the work we do today might lead to a world where younger trans people do not need to attain passing privilege by virtue of birth, hormones, or surgery to attain a baseline level of safety. That world doesn't exist today, not for most. We must acknowledge this."

She concluded with an appeal for greater understanding of trans experiences, writing, "I only ask one thing of you, dear reader, that you see all that a trans woman does for her body not as attempting beauty, but as essential for the bare minimum safeties and joys all others are accorded at birth."

"Sharing now for anyone who might benefit from this information, might delete later. Trans people are almost never born with the safety of passing privilege - the ability to blend in for safety. Often, it must be bought. In times like these, I'm prioritising joy and safety after a year of deliberation in therapy. Eternally grateful for your support. See you on the other side, shortly," read the caption. 

In 2024, Trinetra underwent facial feminisation surgery. The trans activist took to Instagram and wrote a long note. 

Also Read: Made In Heaven's Trinetra On Her Trans Identity: 'Couldn't Be The Boyfriend To My Girlfriend'