A small round of supportive applause greeted a short address by a young trans woman during the funeral of Charlotte Loh this morning. The address was the first open acknowledgement of Loh's gender in a predominantly religious service in Manukau, in which the officiator exclusively referred to her by a male birth name and as 'he'. Loh died suddenly on Sunday, aged 22. She was today remembered as a child who loved to pull funny faces and was top of class at primary school. In high school her favourite subjects were mathematics and science and she loved badminton, basketball and table tennis. She was described as creative and interested in acting. She lived most of her life in Malaysia. Reflecting on Loh's short life the officiator several times referred to the effects of "depression" and "oppression" on the human spirit and the way in which "heartache crushes the spirit". Jessie, who spoke and broke the wall of silence surrounding Loh's gender, said afterwards that she felt compelled to acknowledge Loh as a woman as "it seemed no one else was going to, which is just what Charlotte feared would happen". Jeesie added, "There were several of us in there who knew Charlotte for what she was and I'm glad there were a number of us there to see her off." After the service Karen Kruger, an aunt with whom Loh lived in Hamilton for two years in her mid-teens while she attended college, remembered her as a "very shy and introverted" teen. "She would have dinner with us and we would try to talk to her but she wasn't a big talker. My eldest daughter could get her to laugh... it was a little difficult at that stage." Kruger says she believes Loh was aware of her gender identity all through her childhood "and she had my whole support." Of Loh's death, Kruger says "this shouldn't have happened, it's wrong." Offering advice to anyone who is experiencing difficulty reconciling their gender identity, she says they should "talk to someone... it doesn't have to be a family member, just someone who can be there and offer support when it is required." At that point Loh's mother intervened, advising GayNZ.com's reporter that "this is my funeral" and trying to prohibit reporting of the funeral. Our reporter agreed to leave. Some of those who attended last night's vigil for Charlotte at Albert Park. Around 25 people, including members of Loh’s family, attended a quiet and informal vigil, organised by members of Auckland's transgender community, at Albert Park last night. Meanwhile tributes have popped up on Loh's online obituary page, with sentiment such as “your parents have lost a daughter, and your siblings lost a sister. We have lost a friend but we'll remember you” and “Charlotte, you beautiful spark in this, the fire of life. We will never forget you. You live on, in your fullest and complete self”.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 24th January 2015 - 11:30am