What I Wish I Knew Before I Had Top Surgeryhttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/wish-i-knew-top-surgery_n_5d389f2de4b0419fd3371733?fbclid=IwAR0-d2lBLQrchGM1mGLA2enPrc6E--SZ5eujgjovI3SJM2aUaK_jc9uJ07w My one piece of advice? Sometimes pictures of surgeries can be a good thing. You can look back and see how far you’ve come. Keep a ‘private’ photo journal. Start taking a picture a day, then once a week, then every few weeks, then once a month. You will be amazed by your changes. “Luckily, time has a tendency to heal physical wounds. As I healed, it became increasingly clear that my body didn’t feel wrong because I had made the wrong choice or had been wrong about my gender dysphoria — it felt wrong because I was recovering from major surgery, obviously. About halfway into my six-week recovery period, I started to be able to get out and about again, although more carefully than normal.”
My Gender Is: Mind Your Business https://www.them.us/story/my-gender-is-mind-your-business “It’s not that I’m afraid of “coming out” as genderqueer all the time either. My privacy matters more to me than being seen “correctly” in a space inhospitable to empathy, where nonbinary people are already subject to abuse and violence on a daily basis. I have so many questions about myself and I cherish that. I don’t want to answer anyone else’s and I don’t need anyone to answer them for me either. It’s my journey.”
Let’s Talk About Nonbinary How are you affirming nonbinary students in your classroom? https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/lets-talk-about-nonbinary To better understand nonbinary identity, think of a favorite image. Now consider the difference between how it would look as a silhouette, a black and white photograph and an oil painting. Just as a gender binary divides people into male and female, a silhouette divides an image into two colors. Every part of the image is either black or white; there is no in between, and the boundaries between the two colors are crisp and clearly defined. The gender spectrum is more like the photograph. Parts of the image may be black or white, but there are also splashes of light, deep shadows and an incredible range of shades between the two. It’s difficult to say where one ends and another begins. Those who see gender as a spectrum see a range of possible gender identities between male and female. Phrases like “masculine of center” and “feminine of center” explain where different identities fall on the spectrum. Here’s where it gets interesting: Nonbinary gender forsakes both the binary and the spectrum. In the analogy, it is more like the painting. Black and white may be present, but they are two colors out of many. And like an oil painting, nonbinary gender is experienced in an endless variety of textures, colors and shapes. It is vivid, three-dimensional and boundless.
You Don’t Always Transition Once https://www.autostraddle.com/you-dont-always-transition-once-446659/ Timelines are magic; they evoke the wonder of metamorphosis. A boy is put in a hat. The wand of estrogen is waved (this is not optional). A girl hops out, smiling, bright and beautiful. The audience claps, and the applause is fueled at least as much by longing as it is by admiration. We want to find ourselves in that hat. We want to have the wand waved so we can pop out, perfect. The way we were supposed to be. But like any magic, the hat obscures; the metamorphosis is an illusion. We salivate over the transformation in the instant it takes us to glance from one photo to the next. To us, on the other side of the veil, it’s gratifyingly quick. We don’t see what happens in the hat. If we did, it wouldn’t be a timeline. It would be life. The true metamorphosis is cramped, sweaty, uncomfortably stuck in a cocoon to gestate for who knows how long. Each tear shed is a drop in the bucket for the alchemy it takes to complete the trick. Each frustrated grunt punctuates the time that passes, not in those magical befores and afters, but in the concrete incubation period between now and later. So, so, so very much later.
Transgender people and suicide https://www.suicideinfo.ca/resource/transgender-people-suicide/ Protective Factors Membership in Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) or other school supports Supportive and strong relationships with family and friends Completed medical transition (if transition is desired) Effective mental health care and health care Connection to trans community Pride in one’s own gender identity Self-awareness and acceptance
It’s OK to Use “they” To Describe One Person: Here’s Why https://www.dictionary.com/e/they-is-a-singular-pronoun/ They is not only a plural pronoun.This chameleon word is also a singular pronoun, and it has been for centuries. Etymologists estimate that as far back as the 1300s, they has been used as a gender neutral pronoun, a word that was substituted in place of either he (a masculine singular pronoun) or she (a feminine singular pronoun).
My First Pap Smear as an Openly Nonbinary Person Was Wildly Disorienting https://rewire.news/article/2019/05/29/my-first-pap-smear-as-an-openly-nonbinary-person-was-wildly-disorienting/?fbclid=IwAR0YEDFQTXcsB9WLC5dcESWNLCVNsqNsUcdgxgyvl-tAadm4p5J_-VSHcEE Here's how medical professionals can do better. I avoided seeking preventive care because I didn’t want to have to go through the process of explaining who I was to someone who might be hostile, or might ask questions I couldn’t answer. (I’m not an expert on being nonbinary. I just am nonbinary.) Even worse, I worried I might be refused treatment due to religious or moral beliefs, something the Trump administration recently made even easier for health professionals. Nonbinary people experience a variety of discrimination in health settings—including being expected to educate the person with several degrees sitting across from them in a suit and a lab coat while they sit on an exam table, derrière hanging out the back of their medical gown.
Trans Kids Massively Benefit From Being Allowed To Socially Transition https://thinkprogress.org/trans-kids-socially-transition-study-529f34c1bb3b/ When kids are allowed to transition, including the use of puberty blockers, it improves their mental health. When parents affirm their kids’ gender identities, they have normative rates of depression and anxiety. When families reject their kids’ gender identities, it increases the likelihood of their suicidality and substance abuse. Transgender kids identify as completely with their gender identity as their cisgender peers.
Young Trans Children Know Who They Are https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/young-trans-children-know-who-they-are/580366/ “This study provides further credence to guidance that practitioners and other professionals should affirm—rather than question—a child’s assertion of their gender, particularly for those who more strongly identify with their gender,” says Russell Toomey from the University of Arizona, who studies LGBTQ youth and is himself transgender.
Help! I Think I Might Be Non-Binary, But How Can I Know? https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/07/am-i-non-binary/?fbclid=IwAR3CKpk0dXyH-wNSVTdtkOpRQAc2t7IILqBcv1tPOGk1h88YIu_fE2sGKHI “It isn’t about what or who you “really are” – because that’s a question that you’ll likely deal with for your whole life. Instead, think of gender exploration as a way of finding a kind of expression and identity that makes you feel more comfortable.” “Gender can be playful, interesting, and even fun. It’s fluid, and sometimes it changes, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it.”
Non-Binary Folks Share Advice for Coming Out as Gender Non-Conforming and Accepting Yourself https://www.themarysue.com/gender-non-conforming-coming-out/ Simply put, gender non-forming is “a term used to describe some people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity.” Similar terms like genderqueer, gender fluid, non-binary, and gender variant express the recognition of a gender spectrum that exists beyond the male/female binary. Another important distinction is the difference between sex and gender, two concepts often used interchangeably with each other. Sex is simply the medical assignment made at birth based on a baby’s external anatomy. Gender however, is how you feel inside, your sense of self. Sex and gender are entirely separate from sexuality/orientation, which is about who you are (or aren’t) sexually or romantically attracted to.
Equity, Period. https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/spring-2019/equity-period Join the movement to destigmatize menstruation and make schools more accommodating for all students who experience it. To ensure the inclusion of transgender students—who may or may not be out—it’s important that teachers are thoughtful when speaking about menstruating bodies. Not all women menstruate, and not only women menstruate. Teachers must acknowledge that transgender students may have a hard time managing menstruation while escaping negative attention that could put them at risk of harm.
The Performance of Transgender Inclusion http://www.publicseminar.org/2018/11/the-performance-of-transgender-inclusion/?fbclid=IwAR00f0u2OTVzHVaeAjWOOv0Y_xwrOV4GPaUGqpYvWPiOjrkQ9glMZuspFWs “There are numerous things to be discovered by finding out someone’s pronoun. At its most utilitarian, it is a literal question: tell me what pronoun to call you when I speak of you in the third person. Two intertwined forces inspire this question. Viewed pessimistically, the question seems to ask, how do I not offend you? Viewed optimistically, it asks instead, how do I refer to you respectfully? This question is deceptively simple, the possible answers vary ever so slightly...”
This Short Film Takes A Powerful Look At The Struggles Of Transgender Youth https://m.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/jake-graf-listen-trans-awareness-week_us_5beb2831e4b0783e0a1d0f30 “Listen” is the latest in a series of short films written and directed by Graf that explore LGBTQ issues. “Our community is rising up and fighting harder than ever, and more and more of us are making our voices heard....”
This Gorgeous Portrait Series Celebrates Older Trans And Gender-Nonconforming People https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/skarlan/this-gorgeous-portrait-series-celebrates-older-trans-and The national conversation about trans identity and community tends to focus on the newest crop of trans youth. But why don't we hear about older trans and gender-nonconforming individuals who manage to overcome the at times seemingly impossible odds and survive — and thrive — in America? “Prior to starting this project, I heard from several younger trans people that they had never seen images of older transgender people and that they had no roadmap for what their life might look like going forward,” she said. “I wanted to create this project for them, as well as to record and validate the experiences of older transgender people, many of whom are directly responsible for the world we live in today.”
A Guide to Coming Out as Trans https://www.minus18.org.au/index.php/articles/item/37-a-guide-to-coming-out-as-trans “For me, no matter what I physically look like, someone using my correct pronouns makes a big difference. Pronouns you’ve probably heard before are ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’. Personally, I feel most happy and comfortable using they/them pronouns, but I’m also okay with he/him. There are a stack of different types of pronouns that people use, and the most important thing is that you voice and use the ones that you feel are the best fit. Testing out different pronouns and seeing what makes you feel most at home is a great way to start.”
A Guide to Transgender Visibility https://www.them.us/story/a-guide-to-transgender-visibility?fbclid=IwAR03fhkLk4wM2xeFGM4OdSsqgeh09MXz0XCe_oePQjAvcpjd47WKvN1G5XA Many trans people face a grim decision regarding visibility in an era where modest gains for trans rights coexist with rising far-right reactionary backlash. This can be particularly difficult for newly-out trans people or those just beginning to fully embrace the complexity of their identities, as they attempt to navigate the murky, uncertain waters of being visibly trans. If you're approaching TDoV this year with trepidation or uncertainty, here are a few pieces of advice that I hope can bring clarity.
No, Acknowledging That All Genders Can Menstruate Doesn’t “Erase Women” https://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/2122402/all-genders-menstruate-always-pads/?fbclid=IwAR1wVUEqIpi_8SAHRkI-_aKOV4qbRjs3L6vtzZnYIGKCPgslnp2ysWuzmR8 “It’s not fair to deny trans and gender non-conforming folks’ physical reality just so cis women feel “unique and special.” Consider the trans man who has a uterus and therefore menstruates every month. How do you think he feels hearing everyone demanding we all keep saying only women menstruate? That guy probably already deals with a lot of stress and alienation from his own body every time he gets his period. What’s the point of making his life more miserable by telling him that his period invalidates his entire identity?
Here’s What It’s Like To Get Your Period When You’re Not A Woman https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5b75ac1fe4b0182d49b1c2ed?utm_source=qv_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000050&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages At the end of the day, we cannot effectively rid the world of the period taboo unless we are doing so for all menstruators. Those of us who get our periods while not identifying as women deserve the same safety, access and comfort as anyone else who is menstruating. All that I want is to be able to walk into a store and buy tampons free of judgment, to change out my pads without worrying about my own safety in the bathroom, and to be included in a conversation that deeply impacts the body that I was born in, regardless of whether or not I am a woman.
Ms., Mr. or Mx.? Nonbinary teachers embrace gender-neutral honorific https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/ms-mr-or-mx-nonbinary-teachers-embrace-gender-neutral-honorific-n960456 Our teachers deserve a safe space as well. Respecting and honouring their names and pronouns is a step in that direction! Mx., generally pronounced as “mix,” has grown in popularity over the past few years, as more people outwardly and openly identify as transgender, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary — and have rejected the idea that only two options, male and female, exist.