"I asked to be a boy for Christmas aged five – now I've transitioned into a man"

A trans man who asked to be a boy for Christmas at five-years-old and wanted to “unzip” his skin feels “euphoric” after getting top surgery.

Joey James, 25, was born a female but spent his childhood hiding his “girly clothes” so he could wear his brother and dad’s pyjamas.

He struggled with gender dysphoria in his teens before watching ITV's Transformation Street aged 15 and realising he could transition.

Joey spent six years on the NHS waiting list before starting testosterone aged 22 – and started to develop facial hair and a lower voice.

He was finally able to have NHS top surgery – to remove his breasts – in June 2023 and now feels “amazing”.

Joey, who works for his local council, and lives in North Weald, Essex, said: “I wanted to be a boy for Christmas when I was five.

“I wanted to unzip my skin and step out of it.

“Now I’m just grateful.

“I have a sense of euphoria and peace.”

Joey was five-years-old when he started realising he didn’t feel right in a girl’s body.

He said: “I used to lick the sleeves of my clothes so they were so wet I’d have to wear something else.

“I used to soak or hide my pyjamas so I could wear my dad or my brother's.

“I didn’t want to wear girly pyjamas.”

Joey developed quickly and felt uncomfortable with a double D chest.

He said: “I was so self-aware of my body.

“It made me feel physically sick.”

In his early teens Joey wore girly clothes as he didn’t want to be the “odd one out”.

He said: “I wore tiny pink dresses and make-up.

“I didn’t want to dress like that but I thought that’s what I had to do.”

But aged 14 Joey started identifying as a lesbian and shaved his head and embraced a tomboy look.

He continued to struggle with depression and anxiety and made attempts to take his own life.

Joey said: “Sometimes it felt like I was playing a character.”

Joey realised he was transgender after watching Transgender Street – a programme which showed transition journeys.

He said: “I saw women change to men.

“I thought 'this is crazy'.”

Joey immediately asked to be put on the waiting list aged 16 but discovered the paperwork had been lost two years later and he only got on the list aged 18, he said.

He finally started testosterone in early 2020 and began to see physical changes.

Joey said: “Every day I spent an hour in the mirror. I was like a kid excited for Christmas.

“My jaw changed, my nose flipped up.

“I got into a cab and the driver talking to me about football.

“It was the first time someone had just presumed I was a guy.”

Joey was able to get top surgery on the NHS in June 2023.

He said: “I used to wear two compression vests and a baggy vest.

“Top surgery was amazing.”

Joey had a six week recovery following the surgery and he had to wear a compression vest.

He said: “It was hideous.

“I looked like Frankenstein.

“Now I love it. I walk around topless all the time – even in the winter.”