Deaf and trans, I suffered violence. Only my grandmother understood me

A You are worth it, in the fifth episode on Saturday 10 October, the story of Martina Panini, a girl from Sansepolcro, in the province of Arezzo. The young woman talked about her hard and painful past, marked by prejudice and bullying. Because Martina was born in the body of a man, Marco, and since she was a child she had to face a handicap.

Until four years ago I was Marco. I went through this childhood with my parents and my grandmother. At the age of three, I was diagnosed with deafness and I wear two prostheses. Years of bullying and violence began. They beat me because they wanted me to speak better. I realized I was not in the right body and the bullying continued. People offended me heavily. I started to suffer a lot.

The great help of grandmother Antonia

If the relationship with her parents has been difficult for a long time, Martina has had a special person by her side from the beginning: her beloved grandmother Antonia, who “acted as a mother” for her and who lived to be 101 years old. “My grandmother was the only person who understood me. Grandparents are the heritage of humanity, parents have never been able to understand what it means to be born in the wrong body. They put up a wall because they thought I was in a growth phase“, Martina said, explaining that grandmother Antonia was also with her throughout the transition process and that today she also has mum and dad at her side:

My grandmother took me to a path until the day of my surgery, she helped me. I speak for those who have a different sexual orientation or have undergone a change. I hope there is the professional possibility, because I have also been bullied at work. They bullied me just because I was wearing two prostheses and because I was a man. I wish the world were different. I wish they understood what it means to be in the wrong body and have a handicap. Now my parents respect me because I was able to deal with so many things. I hated them, but now I can love them.

Sabrina Ferilli’s speech

The jury praised the great humanity of grandmother Antonia and Sabrina Ferilli gave an important message on tolerance: “Awareness of these problems should be daily. These are not the divisions to bring, the differences to be emphasized. The difference is between the good person and the bad person. Between the dishonest and the honest. Between the rascal and the right person. These are things that concern only the personal sphere. And precisely because there is suffering behind it, there should be an extra attention and welcome on our part“.

Who is Martina Panini

Her story convinced the jury and the public and Martina managed to fully pass the turn to Tu si que vales. Martina Panini is 34 years old and very well established as a make-up artist and image consultant (she likes to call herself “the make-up witch”). It is not the first time that she appears on television: she had already told her journey to Come to me from Caterina Balivo, together with her mother Veriana.

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