Ana Jovanovic
Ana Jovanovic is 33 years old and lives in Novy Sad with her mom and her stepdad. She expresses her art through drag, not only she enjoys it, but it also helped her to find the strength to come out from her closet and be the woman she is now. Ana also describes drag as a form of art and in her case, it helped her to feel better before her transition.
When Ana was growing up she liked to play with dolls, wore her mom's stuff and acted like a girl. Her mother never had a problem with that, but when she got married her new husband didn’t like how Ana was behaving, so her mother told Ana to stop behaving like that because that’s not the way boys should act. She always knew that she was a girl, but she was pretending and hiding all her emotions. During her 20’s she went through rough dysphoria and was unhappy in her body.
When Ana was growing up she liked to play with dolls, wore her mom's stuff and acted like a girl. Her mother never had a problem with that, but when she got married her new husband didn’t like how Ana was behaving, so her mother told Ana to stop behaving like that because that’s not the way boys should act. She always knew that she was a girl, but she was pretending and hiding all her emotions. During her 20’s she went through rough dysphoria and was unhappy in her body.
In 2013 Ana had a car accident, which wasn’t that bad, but she lost her voice as a result of the shock. Her mom noticed that she was lately depressed and different. Meanwhile, when Ana was recovering from the accident they started talking about her feelings. Her mom told her: “Please tell me if you are gay, I know that losing your voice is not just because of the car accident.” Ana answered that she is not gay, but that she is a transwoman. Even though her mother accepted her, she is still using her dead name (name that she was given when she was born based on gender). On the other hand, her stepfather doesn’t know about it yet, but since they are living in Ana’s apartment, he is going to notice pretty soon, so it's just a matter of time. Her mother also refuses to talk about her daughter's transition with other family relatives or friends.
After the car accident, Ana knew that she needs to do something about it and be finally happy in her own body. In 2019 she started working in LGBTQ+ NGO (Non-Government Organisation) where a year later she fully came out to her co-workers as a transwoman, after that she came out to everyone. It was a hard process for Ana, not only she was discriminated against by the Roma community because she is transwoman, but also by the majority being Roma and part of the LGBTQ+. Even though it is still a hard process for Ana, she decided that she wants to be truly the person she always wanted to be.
After the car accident, Ana knew that she needs to do something about it and be finally happy in her own body. In 2019 she started working in LGBTQ+ NGO (Non-Government Organisation) where a year later she fully came out to her co-workers as a transwoman, after that she came out to everyone. It was a hard process for Ana, not only she was discriminated against by the Roma community because she is transwoman, but also by the majority being Roma and part of the LGBTQ+. Even though it is still a hard process for Ana, she decided that she wants to be truly the person she always wanted to be.