Transcending Scent

Anita Bhagwandas, winner of this year’s Fragrance Foundation/Jasmine Award literary prize for her feature Transcending Scent in Stylist Magazine, told us about her inspiration for this story. “The violence against transgender women and particularly trans women of colour was something I’d been aware of as an intersectional feminist and somebody with trans friends – the life expectancy of transgender women is a shocking 35 years old. My idea behind the feature was to look at how identity played into scent choices, from a biological and psychological point of view, but also to ensure that trans issues and point of view was being addressed by mainstream media. I wanted people to stop bothering trans women and step into their shoes for once, to be able to identify and to be able to relate – with a view to helping protect and support them. That is our collective feminist duty – and if we think otherwise we’re not truly supporting ‘all’ women”.