Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Trans/Queer Visibility
Here is a great video from Danny (aka dannyrideshorses) dealing with visibility as a queer person. She is the partner of a heterosexually-identified transman and struggles with wanting to be seen as bisexual or queer while honoring her boyfriend's straight identity.
Being visibly queer is something I struggle with as well as I am in a relationship with a cisgender heterosexual woman, and socially, we are obviously read 100% of the time as a heterosexual couple.
Most of the time this is just fine with me, but sometimes I want it to be known that I am trans, or that I am not your typical mainstream dude, and I want my struggle to be honored and recognized.
Being visibly queer is something I struggle with as well as I am in a relationship with a cisgender heterosexual woman, and socially, we are obviously read 100% of the time as a heterosexual couple.
Most of the time this is just fine with me, but sometimes I want it to be known that I am trans, or that I am not your typical mainstream dude, and I want my struggle to be honored and recognized.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thorn in Your Side [trans march documentary]
Check out this cool gender-bending documentary exploring the San Francisco Trans March featuring Namoli Brennet's song "Thorn in Your Side."
Testosterone: Five Year Voice Comparison.
Testosterone start date: November 30, 2005.
Pre-testosterone photo: July 31, 2005. (21st birthday)
Current voice recording & photo: November 1, 2010.
New & Noteworthy: JustJehryn.
Meet Jehryn, (aka JustJehryn). He's 20, lives in Phoenix, is a graphic designer, is pre transition, and new to the tube.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Family, Weddings, and Other Awkward Social Situations.
In this video Charlie (aka localterror on the tube) recounts a story of going to a wedding recently and the awkward situations that entails. I'm sure we can all have a similar "awkward social experience" we can relate to.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Ignorant Questions & Comments about Being FTM.
Meet Joe, aka JoeLikesHisBro on the tube. He is 15 and from The Netherlands.
In this video Joe talks about the ignorant questions and comments all FTMs (and trans people in general) have to endure on sometimes a daily basis.
Some of the things I get asked most often are:
1. Do you have a penis or a vagina?
2. Have you had the surgery?
3. How does your family feel about your transition? Do they accept you?
All of the aforementioned questions are of a sensitive nature and not ones that are appropriate to bring up in most social settings, especially one in which two people have just met. I would never ask someone about their genitals or their family life the first time I met them. Or ever.
It is exasperating that when a non trans person meets a trans person they immediately start asking questions that are inappropriate and would not be asked in the first place had the person they had just become acquainted not had a transgender history.
In this video Joe talks about the ignorant questions and comments all FTMs (and trans people in general) have to endure on sometimes a daily basis.
Some of the things I get asked most often are:
1. Do you have a penis or a vagina?
2. Have you had the surgery?
3. How does your family feel about your transition? Do they accept you?
All of the aforementioned questions are of a sensitive nature and not ones that are appropriate to bring up in most social settings, especially one in which two people have just met. I would never ask someone about their genitals or their family life the first time I met them. Or ever.
It is exasperating that when a non trans person meets a trans person they immediately start asking questions that are inappropriate and would not be asked in the first place had the person they had just become acquainted not had a transgender history.
Long Island TDOR 2010.
The 7th Annual
Long Island Transgender Day of Remembrance
Sunday, November 21, 2010
7:30 PM
Temple Sinai of Roslyn
425 Roslyn Road
Roslyn Heights, New York
We will come together as a Community
to remember those who have lost
their lives due to senseless acts of violence.
Speakers...
Rusty Mae Moore
Chelsea Goodwin
Diane Freedman
Trans Voices
Performers...
Robert Urban
Chelsea Goodwin
Light Refreshments
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the Remembering Our Dead web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester's murder like most anti-transgender murder cases has yet to be solved.
Long Island Transgender Day of Remembrance
Sunday, November 21, 2010
7:30 PM
Temple Sinai of Roslyn
425 Roslyn Road
Roslyn Heights, New York
We will come together as a Community
to remember those who have lost
their lives due to senseless acts of violence.
Speakers...
Rusty Mae Moore
Chelsea Goodwin
Diane Freedman
Trans Voices
Performers...
Robert Urban
Chelsea Goodwin
Light Refreshments
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the Remembering Our Dead web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester's murder like most anti-transgender murder cases has yet to be solved.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
New & Noteworthy: MrLukePaul.
Meet Luke, aka MrLukePaul on the tube. He lives in Milwaukee and is just starting his transition. He will be seeing Dr. Steven Brown for his hormone therapy, an excellent doctor who has treated trans patients for years and has done a lot of research in the way of transgender hormone therapy.
You can read Dr. Brown's "Hormone Replacement Therapy for Transgenders Do's and Don'ts" here.
You can read Dr. Brown's "Hormone Replacement Therapy for Transgenders Do's and Don'ts" here.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Dr. Kelley Winters Keynote Speech.
Here is the keynote speech Dr. Kelley Winters delivered at the Colorado Gold Rush Conference in Denver earlier this year.
A little about Dr. Winters from the TYFA website:
Dr. Kelley Winters is a writer and community advocate on issues of transgender medical policy. She is the founder of GID Reform Advocates, member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and Advisory Board Member for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and TransYouth Family Allies. She has presented papers on the psychiatric classification of gender diversity at annual conventions of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association and the Association of Women in Psychology. Her articles have appeared in a number of psychology and psychiatry journals and in two books.
Kelley assisted in drafting the current human rights ordinances in Boulder and Denver, Colorado. She was instrumental in trans-positive reform of Colorado drivers license policy in 2006 and in adding Gender Identity and Expression to employment policies of the Hewlett-Packard Company. Kelley received the Colorado Pride Award from Equality Colorado in 1999 and the and 2002 Sonja’s Dream Lifetime Achievement Award and 2007 Melissa Chapman Award for Social Change from the Gender Identity Center of Colorado.
Dr. Winters also authors the GID Reform weblog which can be found here.
Gender identities and gender expression that differ from expectation of assigned birth sex remain very much classified as mental disorder and sexual deviance by the American Psychiatric Association. The consequences of this undeserved stigma to our human dignity, social legitimacy in our affirmed roles are enormous and devastating. We lose our jobs, our homes, our families, our children, our civil justice and our access to medical care to defamatory stereotypes that place an unfair burden of proof upon all gender transcendent people to continually demonstrate our sanity, our competence and our human worth.
The current diagnostic criteria of GID and TF describe transition itself as symptomatic of mental illness, especially so for gender nonconforming children and transwomen. This burdens our supportive medical and mental health providers to re-spin, to repackage, this flawed nomenclature as congruent with social and medical transition, when in fact it was written to contradict transition. As a consequence, only a privileged portion of us who need access to hormonal and/or surgical care are afforded access. Worse yet, trans youth and even adults remain subject to psychological gender reparative and cruel aversion "therapies" intended to shame affirmed gender identities into dark and solitary closets.
The Fifth Edition of the DSM is scheduled for publication by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. It is the first major revision since 1994. Critical decisions for the diagnostic categories and criteria have already been considered, and the DSM-5 work group authoring the sex and gender categories was sadly stacked to favor bias intolerant of gender diversity. After a period of unprecedented secrecy, draft language for proposed gender diagnoses were disclosed on February 10^th for a period of public review and comment through April 20.
This is a pivotal point in the history of our community, as the DSM-5 will likely impact the lives, civil liberties and medical care of all gender-transcendent people through the 2020s.
In spite of the barriers that we face with mental health policymakers, I have hope for positive change in the DSM-5. The proposed Gender Incongruence diagnoses for adults, adolescents and children (formerly called Gender Identity Disorder) represent some forward progress on both issues of stigma and barriers to medical transition care-- the first forward progress that we have seen in 30 years of DSM revision.
Most significant, is a statement of explanation by the subcommittee that for the first time refutes the false myth of "disordered" gender identity:
"We have proposed a change in conceptualization of the defining features by emphasizing the phenomenon of 'gender incongruence' in contrast to cross-gender identification per se"
This clarification that diverse gender identities are not in themselves the focus of mental pathology is historically unprecedented, since the introduction of Transsexualism to the DSM in 1980. This statement alone provides a powerful educational tool to advocates for our community.
Moreover, the proposed Gender Incongruence category for children has been reformed so that children must show dissatisfaction with birth-sex assignment to meet the criteria and can no longer be diagnosed strictly on the basis of gender role nonconformity. Again, this is an unprecedented step forward for kids who transition in their social roles and for gender nonconforming kids who are not trans but were pathologized in the past.
However, much work is needed to clarify these new criteria so that they do not continue to diagnose difference. For example:
* "Incongruence" is not clearly defined to mean incongruence as experienced by the subject. It could still be misrepresented to mean nonconformity to cultural gender stereotypes.
* The new criteria have retreated from clinically significant distress as a focus of diagnosis, which supports the medical necessity of treatment.
* Ambiguous language continues to misrepresent transition and desire for medical transition care as symptomatic of mental illness.
* The offensive term "Disorder of Sex Development" is used to describe people born with intersex conditions.
* For children, nonconformity to anachronistic gender stereotypes is still emphasized as symptomatic of mental disorder.
* These categories are placed in the DSM section of Sexual Disorders, though describing emotions and behaviors that are not necessarily sexual.
In spite of these, I am for the first time optimistic that the DSM subcommittee authoring these Gender Incongruence diagnoses may be willing to listen to our concerns for more positive reform.
I believe that we stand at our own inflection point in the history of an affirming trans movement, one that our youth in this room will look back upon as adults.
As brothers and sisters in the community, as parents and allies, as medical and mental health providers, please lend your attention and your voices to issues of social stigma and transition medical care access that are rooted in these mental health policy decisions.
A little about Dr. Winters from the TYFA website:
Dr. Kelley Winters is a writer and community advocate on issues of transgender medical policy. She is the founder of GID Reform Advocates, member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and Advisory Board Member for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and TransYouth Family Allies. She has presented papers on the psychiatric classification of gender diversity at annual conventions of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association and the Association of Women in Psychology. Her articles have appeared in a number of psychology and psychiatry journals and in two books.
Kelley assisted in drafting the current human rights ordinances in Boulder and Denver, Colorado. She was instrumental in trans-positive reform of Colorado drivers license policy in 2006 and in adding Gender Identity and Expression to employment policies of the Hewlett-Packard Company. Kelley received the Colorado Pride Award from Equality Colorado in 1999 and the and 2002 Sonja’s Dream Lifetime Achievement Award and 2007 Melissa Chapman Award for Social Change from the Gender Identity Center of Colorado.
Dr. Winters also authors the GID Reform weblog which can be found here.
Gender identities and gender expression that differ from expectation of assigned birth sex remain very much classified as mental disorder and sexual deviance by the American Psychiatric Association. The consequences of this undeserved stigma to our human dignity, social legitimacy in our affirmed roles are enormous and devastating. We lose our jobs, our homes, our families, our children, our civil justice and our access to medical care to defamatory stereotypes that place an unfair burden of proof upon all gender transcendent people to continually demonstrate our sanity, our competence and our human worth.
The current diagnostic criteria of GID and TF describe transition itself as symptomatic of mental illness, especially so for gender nonconforming children and transwomen. This burdens our supportive medical and mental health providers to re-spin, to repackage, this flawed nomenclature as congruent with social and medical transition, when in fact it was written to contradict transition. As a consequence, only a privileged portion of us who need access to hormonal and/or surgical care are afforded access. Worse yet, trans youth and even adults remain subject to psychological gender reparative and cruel aversion "therapies" intended to shame affirmed gender identities into dark and solitary closets.
The Fifth Edition of the DSM is scheduled for publication by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. It is the first major revision since 1994. Critical decisions for the diagnostic categories and criteria have already been considered, and the DSM-5 work group authoring the sex and gender categories was sadly stacked to favor bias intolerant of gender diversity. After a period of unprecedented secrecy, draft language for proposed gender diagnoses were disclosed on February 10^th for a period of public review and comment through April 20.
This is a pivotal point in the history of our community, as the DSM-5 will likely impact the lives, civil liberties and medical care of all gender-transcendent people through the 2020s.
In spite of the barriers that we face with mental health policymakers, I have hope for positive change in the DSM-5. The proposed Gender Incongruence diagnoses for adults, adolescents and children (formerly called Gender Identity Disorder) represent some forward progress on both issues of stigma and barriers to medical transition care-- the first forward progress that we have seen in 30 years of DSM revision.
Most significant, is a statement of explanation by the subcommittee that for the first time refutes the false myth of "disordered" gender identity:
"We have proposed a change in conceptualization of the defining features by emphasizing the phenomenon of 'gender incongruence' in contrast to cross-gender identification per se"
This clarification that diverse gender identities are not in themselves the focus of mental pathology is historically unprecedented, since the introduction of Transsexualism to the DSM in 1980. This statement alone provides a powerful educational tool to advocates for our community.
Moreover, the proposed Gender Incongruence category for children has been reformed so that children must show dissatisfaction with birth-sex assignment to meet the criteria and can no longer be diagnosed strictly on the basis of gender role nonconformity. Again, this is an unprecedented step forward for kids who transition in their social roles and for gender nonconforming kids who are not trans but were pathologized in the past.
However, much work is needed to clarify these new criteria so that they do not continue to diagnose difference. For example:
* "Incongruence" is not clearly defined to mean incongruence as experienced by the subject. It could still be misrepresented to mean nonconformity to cultural gender stereotypes.
* The new criteria have retreated from clinically significant distress as a focus of diagnosis, which supports the medical necessity of treatment.
* Ambiguous language continues to misrepresent transition and desire for medical transition care as symptomatic of mental illness.
* The offensive term "Disorder of Sex Development" is used to describe people born with intersex conditions.
* For children, nonconformity to anachronistic gender stereotypes is still emphasized as symptomatic of mental disorder.
* These categories are placed in the DSM section of Sexual Disorders, though describing emotions and behaviors that are not necessarily sexual.
In spite of these, I am for the first time optimistic that the DSM subcommittee authoring these Gender Incongruence diagnoses may be willing to listen to our concerns for more positive reform.
I believe that we stand at our own inflection point in the history of an affirming trans movement, one that our youth in this room will look back upon as adults.
As brothers and sisters in the community, as parents and allies, as medical and mental health providers, please lend your attention and your voices to issues of social stigma and transition medical care access that are rooted in these mental health policy decisions.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Meet Kasius, aka payntedadiction on the tube. He is currently living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, but originally is from Franklin, North Carolina. Being a southern boy myself, I always like to see guys in the southern states come out of the woodworks.
That being said, Kasius seems like an awesome dude with a lot of confidence and is finding a lot of support in his life from his friends and co-workers.
Here is his intro vid:
That being said, Kasius seems like an awesome dude with a lot of confidence and is finding a lot of support in his life from his friends and co-workers.
Here is his intro vid:
TransVisibility in Mainstream Media
Jesse, aka JessesYellowBackpack on the tube (rad username!), brings up the important question of transgender visibililty in the mainstream media.
Most importantly, or perhaps most pertinently, he brings up the question of FTM characters in the mainstream media, the problem of Max on The L Word, and F to M mainstream media visibility issues as a whole.
MTFs face a different side of this coin; while they might be more "visible" or represented in mainstream media in comparison to their FTM counterparts, television, film, and other media never fail to have their shortage of MTF prostitute-type characters, which obviously does not accurately reflect 98% of MTF womens' lifestyles. Transwomen also struggle for positive representation in mainstream media, though rather than having to struggle to even be seen and to then stake a place for themselves, they are having to try to reverse an unfortunate culturally-ingrained stereotype.
What do you you all think?
Most importantly, or perhaps most pertinently, he brings up the question of FTM characters in the mainstream media, the problem of Max on The L Word, and F to M mainstream media visibility issues as a whole.
MTFs face a different side of this coin; while they might be more "visible" or represented in mainstream media in comparison to their FTM counterparts, television, film, and other media never fail to have their shortage of MTF prostitute-type characters, which obviously does not accurately reflect 98% of MTF womens' lifestyles. Transwomen also struggle for positive representation in mainstream media, though rather than having to struggle to even be seen and to then stake a place for themselves, they are having to try to reverse an unfortunate culturally-ingrained stereotype.
What do you you all think?
Friday, July 16, 2010
TJ Reaches One Year on T.
Remember T.J. Jourian, from the 2005 documentary film Transgeneration? Well, he has his own YouTube channel; you can find it here.
He recently reached his one year on testosterone mark on July 2nd, so here is his video documenting the occasion:
Here is T.J.'s very first YouTube video:
Saturday, July 3, 2010
New & Noteworthy [starting T]
Meet Jo, aka JR6984 on the tube. He is 26, just started testosterone on Father's Day and is married and has a six-year-old daughter.
Joe doesn't allow embedding of his videos, so you can watch his intro video here.
Starting T [beginning transition]
Here is a great video from LT, aka lateasharichardson in the Minneapolis, MN area talking about his excitement in recently starting T and his new, happy, joyous outlook at life.
His excitement and happiness is contagious and I can relate; few moments in my life have compared to my transition milestones of starting testosterone and having surgery.
His excitement and happiness is contagious and I can relate; few moments in my life have compared to my transition milestones of starting testosterone and having surgery.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Emotions Before Top Surgery.
Tristan Skye (aka TristanSkye79 on the tube) just had his top surgery with Dr. Charles Garramone in Sunrise, FL. He made an awesome video documenting his experience and his emotions leading up to surgery, and examines his wife's feelings as well (after all, everybody in our lives transition, not just us!).
Tristan ended up being less nervous about the surgery than his wife Sicily was, probably because she was so busy getting everything in order and making sure it all went smoothly for him. Hat's off to awesome SOFFA's everywhere! Thanks for all you do.
Tristan and Sicily also run an awesome transgender social networking site called TQNation. Definitely check it out and create a profile.
Here is a video log I recorded on the day of my top surgery, December 12, 2006. As you can see, emotions were high that day.
I can't believe it will be four years in December since I've had the surgery. My life has changed in so many ways, more than I ever expected. Surgery has given me the freedom from the body I was trapped in my entire life. Thank you, Dr. Fischer!
Tristan ended up being less nervous about the surgery than his wife Sicily was, probably because she was so busy getting everything in order and making sure it all went smoothly for him. Hat's off to awesome SOFFA's everywhere! Thanks for all you do.
Tristan and Sicily also run an awesome transgender social networking site called TQNation. Definitely check it out and create a profile.
Here is a video log I recorded on the day of my top surgery, December 12, 2006. As you can see, emotions were high that day.
I can't believe it will be four years in December since I've had the surgery. My life has changed in so many ways, more than I ever expected. Surgery has given me the freedom from the body I was trapped in my entire life. Thank you, Dr. Fischer!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Being Gay in Indian Society [& penis size]
According to the BBC, condoms are "too big" for Indian men.
See, transmen aren't the only one with smaller penises! Western culture bombards us with the idea that "bigger is better" with everything, including penis size, and we forget many of our non trans brothers in other parts of the world have smaller penises and put emphasis on things like academic and artistic achievement rather than athletic performance, machismo, and penis size.
And as many women and gay men will tell you, "it's not the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean that counts."
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Transgender Health Experiences & Behavior Project [research]
Call for participants!
From the Transgender Health Project:
Researchers at NCSU and SUNY Buffalo are interested in learning more about the health-related experiences of transgender individuals. Transgender individuals report difficulties accessing needed services, such as sensitive medical care, and we'd like to hear more about these experiences. The study is also designed to explore possible effects of mistreatment in these settings on health and risk behavior. If you identify as transgender or gender non-conforming, please consider taking our survey to describe your experiences. You are eligible to participate if you: (a) identify as transgender or gender non-conforming, (b) are 18 or older, and (c) can read and write in English. Participants should expect the survey to take between 10-60 minutes and will have the option of entering a raffle for 1 of 15 $50 prizes. Click here to access the survey. Thank you!
Congratulations to the first five raffle winners! The second and third set of winners will be selected on June 15th and June 30th. Hurry for your chance to enter!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Transgender Love. [beautiful video]
This beautiful video about transgender love is from Warren, aka sillyyetsuccinct on the tube. It is emotional, honest, and raw, and I hope to find a love as deep and fulfilling as Warren and Simon have found one day.
"People find love when they learn to love themselves."
"People find love when they learn to love themselves."
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Voice 4.5 Years on Testosterone [still working on my voice]
Yesterday morning I filmed myself playing guitar and working on my singing voice a bit. A video taken a few weeks ago follows for comparison.
Monday, May 24, 2010
TransOhio 3rd Annual Trangender & Ally Symposium [events]
Registration now open for Third Annual TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium
Columbus, Ohio — May 22, 2010 — The 3rd Annual TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium, which will be held on the campus of Ohio State University from August 13-15, 2010, will feature over 70 workshops and seminars by local and nationally recognized presenters. Registration for this year's Transgender and Ally Symposium is now open.
TransOhio, Ohio's only statewide Transgender advocacy and community organization, has expanded this conference, which originally consisted of a single day just three years ago, to three full days of workshops, seminars and social events, including a day that is specifically set aside for medical, social service and legal providers. "This is the first year we will be hosting a Provider's Day at our Symposium. We're going to be able to offer continuing education units (CEUs) as we've partnered with The Ohio State University's College of Social Work. Additionally, the GLBT Alumni Society – Scarlet & Gay and The Longaberger Alumni House have also been key partners in making this day come together," said Shane Morgan, Founder and Chair of TransOhio. The General Symposium sessions, held both Saturday and Sunday, will occur onsite at the Ohio State University Multicultural Center at the Ohio Union.
"Recently, we've seen several established as well as new medical and legal providers stepping up to learn about the Transgender community and their needs and the issues that are specific to the community. Part of TransOhio's mission is to provide opportunities to continue to develop qualified professionals that the Transgender community can seek out for services," according to TransOhio Board Member Jacob Nash. "People need to know that they have options and need to be able to select a professional who best fits an individual's needs and works for them."
Presentations, workshops and seminars will cover topics such as Health & Safety, Partners, Spouses & Family, Sex & Sexuality, Legal Issues & Employment, Religion and Spirituality, Education & Advocacy and Culture, Media and Arts. Friday night events include a Meet & Greet and the Fabulously Fluid! gender-bending performance showcase. Saturday evening, TransOhio will host a special performance of local performer Sile P. Singleton's – PAINT! A Transformative Project at the Columbus Performing Arts Center's Shedd Theatre in Columbus. PAINT! is set against the backdrop of a socially constructed notion that communities of color are "more homophobic than white communities," Singleton, chases the metaphor of the rainbow from her earliest childhood memories in the church to today's rainbow clad "twirly" boys and "dykes on bikes." Singleton guides the audience through the very personal journey of an American Black Midwest Queer Trans-person and her quest for the symbol of hope and `everlasting inclusion.'
For more information about TransOhio or the 3rd Annual TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium, visit www.transohio.org or transohio2010.wordpress.com to register.
Contact:
Shane Morgan
TransOhio
(614) 441-8167
TransOhio@gmail.com
www.transohio.org
Columbus, Ohio — May 22, 2010 — The 3rd Annual TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium, which will be held on the campus of Ohio State University from August 13-15, 2010, will feature over 70 workshops and seminars by local and nationally recognized presenters. Registration for this year's Transgender and Ally Symposium is now open.
TransOhio, Ohio's only statewide Transgender advocacy and community organization, has expanded this conference, which originally consisted of a single day just three years ago, to three full days of workshops, seminars and social events, including a day that is specifically set aside for medical, social service and legal providers. "This is the first year we will be hosting a Provider's Day at our Symposium. We're going to be able to offer continuing education units (CEUs) as we've partnered with The Ohio State University's College of Social Work. Additionally, the GLBT Alumni Society – Scarlet & Gay and The Longaberger Alumni House have also been key partners in making this day come together," said Shane Morgan, Founder and Chair of TransOhio. The General Symposium sessions, held both Saturday and Sunday, will occur onsite at the Ohio State University Multicultural Center at the Ohio Union.
"Recently, we've seen several established as well as new medical and legal providers stepping up to learn about the Transgender community and their needs and the issues that are specific to the community. Part of TransOhio's mission is to provide opportunities to continue to develop qualified professionals that the Transgender community can seek out for services," according to TransOhio Board Member Jacob Nash. "People need to know that they have options and need to be able to select a professional who best fits an individual's needs and works for them."
Presentations, workshops and seminars will cover topics such as Health & Safety, Partners, Spouses & Family, Sex & Sexuality, Legal Issues & Employment, Religion and Spirituality, Education & Advocacy and Culture, Media and Arts. Friday night events include a Meet & Greet and the Fabulously Fluid! gender-bending performance showcase. Saturday evening, TransOhio will host a special performance of local performer Sile P. Singleton's – PAINT! A Transformative Project at the Columbus Performing Arts Center's Shedd Theatre in Columbus. PAINT! is set against the backdrop of a socially constructed notion that communities of color are "more homophobic than white communities," Singleton, chases the metaphor of the rainbow from her earliest childhood memories in the church to today's rainbow clad "twirly" boys and "dykes on bikes." Singleton guides the audience through the very personal journey of an American Black Midwest Queer Trans-person and her quest for the symbol of hope and `everlasting inclusion.'
For more information about TransOhio or the 3rd Annual TransOhio Transgender and Ally Symposium, visit www.transohio.org or transohio2010.wordpress.com to register.
Contact:
Shane Morgan
TransOhio
(614) 441-8167
TransOhio@gmail.com
www.transohio.org
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Meet Reuben Zellman, Trans Rabbi [trans & religion]
There is often a preconceived notion that trans people (or LGBT people in general) are not and cannot be religious. While many organized religions still have a lot of "catching up" to do in terms of LGBT acceptance, FTM rabbinical student Reuben Zellman has found his calling and acceptance in reform Judaism.
Reuben also launched TransTorah.org a few years ago, an amazing and comprehensive site for anything Jewish and transgender.
Presidential Memorandum: Hospital Visitation.
Presidential Memorandum - Hospital Visitation
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
SUBJECT: Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies
There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital. In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean -- a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them.
Yet every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides -- whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay. Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend. Members of religious orders are sometimes unable to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions on their behalf. Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives -- unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated.
For all of these Americans, the failure to have their wishes respected concerning who may visit them or make medical decisions on their behalf has real onsequences. It means that doctors and nurses do not always have the best information about patients' medications and medical histories and that friends and certain family members are unable to serve as intermediaries to help communicate patients' needs. It means that a stressful and at times terrifying experience for patients is senselessly compounded by indignity and unfairness. And it means that all too often, people are made to suffer or even to pass away alone, denied the comfort of companionship in their final moments while a loved one is left worrying and pacing down the hall.
Many States have taken steps to try to put an end to these problems. North Carolina recently amended its Patients' Bill of Rights to give each patient "the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient's immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient" -- a right that applies in every hospital in the State. Delaware, Nebraska, and Minnesota have adopted similar laws.
My Administration can expand on these important steps to ensure that patients can receive compassionate care and equal treatment during their hospital stays. By this memorandum, I request that you take the following steps:
1. Initiate appropriate rulemaking, pursuant to your authority under 42 U.S.C. 1395x and other relevant provisions of law, to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors. It should be made clear that designated visitors, including individuals designated by legally valid advance directives (such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies), should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy. You should also provide that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national
origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The rulemaking should take into account the need for hospitals to restrict visitation in medically appropriate circumstances as well as the clinical decisions that medical professionals make about a patient's care or treatment.
2. Ensure that all hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid are in full compliance with regulations, codified at 42 CFR 482.13 and 42 CFR 489.102(a), promulgated to guarantee that all patients' advance directives, such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies, are respected, and that patients' representatives otherwise have the right to make informed decisions regarding patients' care. Additionally, I request that you issue new guidelines, pursuant to your authority under 42 U.S.C. 1395cc and other relevant provisions of law, and provide technical assistance on how hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid can best comply with the regulations and take any additional appropriate measures to fully enforce the regulations.
3. Provide additional recommendations to me, within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, on actions the Department of Health and Human Services can take to address hospital visitation, medical decisionmaking, or other health care issues that affect LGBT patients and their families.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
Thursday, May 20, 2010
For the Bible Tells Me So [documentary film]
This is a wonderful documentary film that takes on the heated debate centered at the intersection of homosexuality and Christianity. Told from a progressive standpoint, this film is truly eye-opening and should be watched by those who oppose homosexuality as well as those who believe homosexuality and Christianity are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Harvard Divinity scholars offer academic testimony while the film also intimately follows the personal lives of several families with gay and lesbian children and the repercussions the hatred of the church has had on their childrens' lives.
For the Bible Tells Me So
Harvard Divinity scholars offer academic testimony while the film also intimately follows the personal lives of several families with gay and lesbian children and the repercussions the hatred of the church has had on their childrens' lives.
For the Bible Tells Me So
Laura Bush Pro-Choice & for Gay Marriage [a little late]
The former first lady Laura Bush appeared on Larry King Live and admitted she tried to persuade George W. from making gay marriage such a big issue.
Major fail.
Still somewhat consoling to know she has somewhat socially liberal politics.
Major fail.
Still somewhat consoling to know she has somewhat socially liberal politics.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Shaving Techniques.
Here's a video from Jason (JayseBallard) demonstrating his shaving techniques.
Here's a fun video from Marek, aka vanness5 , demonstrating shaving with a straight razor:
Here's a fun video from Marek, aka vanness5 , demonstrating shaving with a straight razor:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Diagram of Sex & Gender
From gendersanity.com:
Diagram of Sex and Gender
BIOLOGICAL SEX
(anatomy, chromosomes, hormones)
male ------------------------------------- intersex ------------------------female
GENDER IDENTITY
(psychological sense of self)
man ---------------------------------- genderqueer/bigender ----------------woman
GENDER EXPRESSION
(communication of gender)
masculine ------------------------------- androgynous --------------------feminine
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
(romantic/erotic response)
attracted to women ------------------ bisexual/asexual --------------------- attracted to men
Biological sex, shown on the top scale, includes external genitalia, internal reproductive structures, chromosomes, hormone levels, and secondary sex characteristics such as breasts, facial and body hair, and fat distribution. These characteristics are objective in that they can be seen and measured (with appropriate technology). The scale consists not just of two categories (male and female) but is actually a continuum, with most people existing somewhere near one end or the other. The space more in the middle is occupied by intersex people (formerly, hermaphrodites), who have combinations of characteristics typical of males and those typical of females, such as both a testis and an ovary, or XY chromosomes (the usual male pattern) and a vagina, or they may have features that are not completely male or completely female, such as an organ that could be thought of as a small penis or a large clitoris, or an XXY chromosomal pattern.
Gender identity is how people think of themselves and identify in terms of sex (man, woman, boy, girl). Gender identity is a psychological quality; unlike biological sex, it can't be observed or measured (at least by current means), only reported by the individual. Like biological sex, it consists of more than two categories, and there's space in the middle for those who identify as genderqueer, bigender or neither gender. We lack language for this intermediate position because everyone in our culture is supposed to identify unequivocally with one of the two extreme categories. In fact, many people feel that they have masculine and feminine aspects of their psyches, and some people, fearing that they do, seek to purge themselves of one or the other by acting in exaggerated sex-stereotyped ways.
Gender expression is everything we do that communicates our sex/gender to others: clothing, hair styles, mannerisms, way of speaking, roles we take in interactions, etc. This communication may be purposeful or accidental. It could also be called social gender because it relates to interactions between people. Trappings of one gender or the other may be forced on us as children or by dress codes at school or work. Gender expression is a continuum, with feminine at one end and masculine at the other. In between are gender expressions that are androgynous (neither masculine nor feminine) and those that combine elements of the two (sometimes called gender bending). Gender expression can vary for an individual from day to day or in different situations, but most people can identify a range on the scale where they feel the most comfortable. Some people are comfortable with a wider range of gender expression than others.
Sexual orientation indicates who we are erotically attracted to. The ends of this scale are labeled "attracted to women" and "attracted to men," rather than "homosexual" and "heterosexual," to avoid confusion as we discuss the concepts of sex and gender. In the mid-range is bisexuality; there are also people who are asexual (attracted to neither men nor women). We tend to think of most people as falling into one of the two extreme categories (attracted to women or attracted to men), whether they are straight or gay, with only a small minority clustering around the bisexual middle. However, Kinsey's studies showed that most people are in fact not at one extreme of this continuum or the other, but occupy some position between.
For each scale, the popular notion that there are two distinct categories, with everyone falling neatly into one or the other, is a social construction. The real world (Nature, if you will) does not observe these boundaries. If we look at what actually exists, we see that there is middle ground. To be sure, most people fall near one end of the scale or the other, but very few people are actually at the extreme ends, and there are people at every point along the continuum.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are resistant to change. Although we don't yet have definitive answers to whether these are the result of biological influences, psychological ones, or both, we do know that they are established very early in life, possibly prenatally, and there are no methods that have been proven effective for changing either of these. Some factors that make up biological sex can be changed, with more or less difficulty. These changes are not limited to people who change their sex: many women undergo breast enlargement, which moves them toward the extreme female end of the scale, and men have penile enlargements to enhance their maleness, for example. Gender expression is quite flexible for some people and more rigid for others. Most people feel strongly about expressing themselves in a way that's consistent with their inner gender identity and experience discomfort when they're not allowed to do so.
The four scales are independent. Our cultural expectation is that men occupy the extreme left ends of all four scales (male, man, masculine, attracted to women) and women occupy the right ends. But a person with male anatomy could be attracted to men (gay man), or could have a gender identity of "woman" (transsexual), or could have a feminine gender expression on occasion (crossdresser). A person with female anatomy could identify as a woman, have a somewhat masculine gender expression, and be attracted to women (butch lesbian). It's a mix-and-match world, and there are as many combinations as there are people who think about their gender.
This schema is not necessarily "reality," but it's probably closer than the two-box system. Reality is undoubtedly more complex. Each of the four scales could be broken out into several scales. For instance, the sex scale could be expanded into separate scales for external genitalia, internal reproductive organs, hormone levels, chromosome patterns, and so forth. An individual would probably not fall on the same place on each of these. "Biological sex" is a summary of scores for several variables.
There are conditions that exist that don't fit anywhere on a continuum: some people have neither the XX (typical female) chromosomal pattern nor the XY pattern typical of males, but it is not clear that other patterns, such as just X, belong anywhere on the scale between XX and XY. Furthermore, the scales may not be entirely separate: if gender identity and sexual orientation are found to have a biological component, they may overlap with the biological sex scale.
Using the model presented here is something like using a spectrum of colors to view the world, instead of only black and white. It doesn't fully account for all the complex shadings that exist, but it gives us a richer, more interesting picture. Why look at the world in black and white when there's a whole rainbow out there?
Talk Stealth to Me [being trans in the south]
Meet Drew, aka MrTransTalk on the tube. He just graduated college with a BSW in social work, and is going to be vlogging about mental as well as physical health for transgender people. He also will be focusing a lot of vlogs on his experience being stealth in the south.
Check him out! Here is his intro video:
Talk Stealth to Me:
Check him out! Here is his intro video:
Talk Stealth to Me:
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Coming Out & LGBT Issues with Allan.
Meet Allan, aka drallankock on the tube. He has been working with the LGBT community for 20 years and is here to answer any of your questions or just to talk.
You can shoot him a line directly to his gmail, allan.drallankock.kock207@gmail.com to speak with him personally.
You can shoot him a line directly to his gmail, allan.drallankock.kock207@gmail.com to speak with him personally.
Post-Transition Voice: Swimming After Surgery & Locker Rooms.
Meet Chris, aka islandofmisfits on the tube. He's been on T for four years and had chest surgery last year, and in this video he recounts swimming in a public place for the first time since his chest surgery.
He also talks about his experience in the guy's locker room and how it wasn't as bad as he expected it to be.
He also talks about his experience in the guy's locker room and how it wasn't as bad as he expected it to be.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Christian: One Day Post-Op with Dr. Medalie in Cleveland, Ohio
In this video Christian, aka ctshaw84 on the tube shares his top surgery experience with Dr. Medalie in Cleveland, Ohio. He is 26 years old, got double incision, and just had surgery done on the 24th of April.
Send some well wishes his way for a speedy recovery!
Send some well wishes his way for a speedy recovery!
Statement on Gender Incongruence in Adolescents in the DSM-5
PRESS RELEASE
TransActive Education & Advocacy "TransActive"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2010
Contact: Jenn Burleton, Executive Director
Phone: 503-252-3000
Email: jenn@transactiveonline.org
Website: www.transactiveonline.org
TransActive Education & Advocacy Fully Endorses Statement by
"Professionals Concerned About Gender Diagnoses in the DSM"
We recognize that gender dysphoria in youth is a serious issue and may require medical intervention as well as therapeutic support. For those youth who identify as transgender or transsexual, or who express gender dysphoria and discomfort with their anatomical body, early intervention can alleviate future difficulties, and can assist young people to mature in their affirmed gender identity. This is consistent with the American Psychological Association’s goal of promoting “legal and social recognition of transgender individuals with their gender identity and expression” and is especially important for adolescents who typically lack the resources and authority to achieve this goal without clinician assistance.
Statement on Gender Incongruence in Adolescents in the DSM-5
by Professionals Concerned with Gender Diagnoses in the DSM
We are mental health and medical professionals, clinicians, researchers and scholars concerned about psychiatric nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for gender-variant, gender-nonconforming, transgender and transsexual people in the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and call ourselves Professionals Concerned About Gender Diagnoses in the DSM. Below are our suggestions for the diagnosis of Gender Incongruence (in Adolescents) in the DSM 5.
Our group recommends a separate diagnostic category for adolescents. Adolescent issues are markedly different from those facing pre-pubescent children and those experienced by adults. Adolescent sexual and gender development are complex processes (Pleak 2009; Striepe & Tolman 2003) and should be clearly separated out with the DSM from the presenting issues of prepubescent children and/or adults.
We recognize that gender dysphoria in youth is a serious issue and may require medical intervention (Spack, 2009), as well as therapeutic support. For those youth who identify as transgender or transsexual, or who express gender dysphoria and discomfort with their anatomical body, early intervention can alleviate future difficulties, and can assist young people to mature in their affirmed gender identity (Cooper 1999). This is consistent with the American Psychological Association’s goal of promoting “legal and social recognition of transgender individuals with their gender identity and expression” (APA 2009, para. 18) and is especially important for adolescents who typically lack the resources and authority to achieve this goal without clinician assistance.
We also recognize the severe harm that can occur and the future problems that can be averted by clinician responsiveness to adolescents requesting assistance toward living in a manner consistent with their gender identities and expression. We therefore support providing reversible hormone blockers to teenagers who are capable of giving informed consent (Gross, 2001) based on scientific evidence that clearly documents successful outcomes for transitioning teenagers (Cohen-Kettenis, Delemarre-van de Waal, & Gooren, 2008). Many adolescents who are forced to wait to access hormones or hormone blockers access gender-aligning medications in dangerous environments without proper monitoring (Rosario, 2009); for this reason, we caution against a 6 month waiting limit, as adolescent mental health can deteriorate rapidly when youth are forced to endure the traumatic experience of daily life in bodies that do not meet their psychosocial needs.
We further caution clinicians against imposing specific packages of medical interventions or dictating the order in which youth receive particular medical interventions, as adolescents’ needs vary considerably and should be addressed, based on individual self-reported need or request.While medical intervention are essential for some youth, others may seek legal or social recognition without any gender-aligning medical interventions. Youth who are utilizing gender-aligning medical interventions, and those who have successfully transitioned without medical interventions, should be considered to have achieved gender alignment.
We believe the focus of this diagnosis should be on dysphoria (defined as distress, extreme discomfort, or an emotional state of dis-ease), because it is discomfort, not a particular gender identity or expression, that is the psychological issue. It is essential that the diagnostic criteria focus on anatomical distress or distress with current assigned gender role, with explicit verbalization from the youth that his or her current gender role or anatomical sex does not match his or her internal sense of gender. Gender dysphoria may also be manifested by distress or discomfort with deprivation (Vitale 2001) of social role or anatomy that is congruent with experienced gender identity. Experienced gender is not limited to fixed binary roles, but may encompass fluidity, masculinity, femininity, both, or neither.
It is important to note that social role transition, or Real Life Experience (WPATH 2001), and puberty blocking medical care in adolescence may have diagnostic value in clarifying gender dysphoria. While transition to an affirmed social role may relieve the distress of gender role dysphoria, transitioned youth may still suffer anatomic dysphoria and remain particularly distressed about anticipated pubertal changes associated with their natal sex. It must be carefully stated that the diagnostic threshold is distress related to assigned gender role or physical sex characteristics and not gender nonconformity due to social expectations of normative gender (Vanderburgh 2009).
Finally, we suggest restoration of a clinical significance criterion, which would clarify that distress, discomfort or impairment must meet a threshold of severity. This would limit false positive diagnosis of gender nonconforming youth who would not benefit from diagnosis. It is crucial, however, that this criterion exclude distress or impairment that is caused by societal prejudice or discrimination. To cast victimization as symptomatic of mental illness would inflict further harm upon victims of prejudice.
Our Suggested Diagnostic Criteria for Gender Incongruence in Adolescents:
A. In youth who have reached the earlier of age 13 or Tanner Stage II of pubertal development, a distressing sense of incongruence between persistent experienced or expressed gender and current physical sex characteristics or assigned gender role, as manifested by the youth’s self-report or documentable observation of at least one of the following indicators for a duration of at least 3 months. Incongruence, for this purpose, does not mean gender expression that is nonconforming to social stereotypes of assigned gender role or natal sex.
1. A distress or discomfort with living in the present gender or being perceived by others as the present gender, which is distinct from the experiences of discrimination or the societal expectations associated with that gender.
2. A distress or discomfort caused by deprivation of gender expression congruent with persistent experienced gender. Experienced gender may include alternative gender identities beyond binary stereotypes.
3. A distress or discomfort with one’s current primary or secondary sex characteristics that are incongruent with persistent experienced gender or with anticipated pubertal development associated with natal sex.
4. A distress or discomfort caused by deprivation of primary or secondary sex characteristics that are congruent with persistent experienced gender or with anticipated deprivation of congruent physical sex characteristics after puberty.
B. Distress or discomfort is clinically significant or causes impairment in social, educational or other important areas of functioning, and is not due to external prejudice or discrimination
References:
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Delemarre-van de Waal, H. A., & Gooren, L. J. G. (2008).The treatment of adolescent transsexuals: Changing insights. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 5(8), 1892–1897.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. et al. (2010). “Gender identity disorder in adolescents or adults,” American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Available online: http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=482#
Cooper, K. (1999). Practice with transgendered youth and their families. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services: Issues in Practice, Policy & Research, 10, 111-129.
Gross, B. H. (2001). Informed consent. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 4, 24.
Nuttbrock, L., Hwahng, S., Bockting. W., Rosenblum, A., Mason, M., Macri, M., & Becker J. (2010). Psychiatric impact of gender-related abuse across the life course of male-to-female transgender persons. Journal of Sex Research, 47(1), 12–23.
Pleak, R.R. (2009). Formation of transgender identities in adolescence. Journal of Gay &Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 282 -291.
Rosario, Vernon A.(2009). African-American transgender youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 298 — 308.
Spack, Norman P. (2009). An endocrine perspective on the care of transgender adolescents’, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 309 — 319.
Striepe, M.I, and Tolman, D. L. (2003). Mom, dad, I’m straight: The coming out of gender ideologies in adolescent sexual-identity development. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(4), 523-530.
Vitale A. M. (2001). Implications of being gender gysphoric: A developmental review, Gender and Psychoanalysis, An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(2), 121-141.
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (2001). Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders Sixth Version, Available online: http://wpath.org/Documents2/socv6.pdf
Yunger, J.L., Carver, P.R, & Perry, D.G. (2004). Does gender identity influence children’s psychological well-being? Developmental Psychology, 40(4), 572–582.
TransActive educates the public on subjects useful to the individual and beneficial to the community. We provide necessary support to improve the quality of life of transgender and gender non-conforming children, youth and their families through education, services, advocacy and research.
TransActive Education & Advocacy "TransActive"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2010
Contact: Jenn Burleton, Executive Director
Phone: 503-252-3000
Email: jenn@transactiveonline.org
Website: www.transactiveonline.org
TransActive Education & Advocacy Fully Endorses Statement by
"Professionals Concerned About Gender Diagnoses in the DSM"
We recognize that gender dysphoria in youth is a serious issue and may require medical intervention as well as therapeutic support. For those youth who identify as transgender or transsexual, or who express gender dysphoria and discomfort with their anatomical body, early intervention can alleviate future difficulties, and can assist young people to mature in their affirmed gender identity. This is consistent with the American Psychological Association’s goal of promoting “legal and social recognition of transgender individuals with their gender identity and expression” and is especially important for adolescents who typically lack the resources and authority to achieve this goal without clinician assistance.
Statement on Gender Incongruence in Adolescents in the DSM-5
by Professionals Concerned with Gender Diagnoses in the DSM
We are mental health and medical professionals, clinicians, researchers and scholars concerned about psychiatric nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for gender-variant, gender-nonconforming, transgender and transsexual people in the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and call ourselves Professionals Concerned About Gender Diagnoses in the DSM. Below are our suggestions for the diagnosis of Gender Incongruence (in Adolescents) in the DSM 5.
Our group recommends a separate diagnostic category for adolescents. Adolescent issues are markedly different from those facing pre-pubescent children and those experienced by adults. Adolescent sexual and gender development are complex processes (Pleak 2009; Striepe & Tolman 2003) and should be clearly separated out with the DSM from the presenting issues of prepubescent children and/or adults.
We recognize that gender dysphoria in youth is a serious issue and may require medical intervention (Spack, 2009), as well as therapeutic support. For those youth who identify as transgender or transsexual, or who express gender dysphoria and discomfort with their anatomical body, early intervention can alleviate future difficulties, and can assist young people to mature in their affirmed gender identity (Cooper 1999). This is consistent with the American Psychological Association’s goal of promoting “legal and social recognition of transgender individuals with their gender identity and expression” (APA 2009, para. 18) and is especially important for adolescents who typically lack the resources and authority to achieve this goal without clinician assistance.
We also recognize the severe harm that can occur and the future problems that can be averted by clinician responsiveness to adolescents requesting assistance toward living in a manner consistent with their gender identities and expression. We therefore support providing reversible hormone blockers to teenagers who are capable of giving informed consent (Gross, 2001) based on scientific evidence that clearly documents successful outcomes for transitioning teenagers (Cohen-Kettenis, Delemarre-van de Waal, & Gooren, 2008). Many adolescents who are forced to wait to access hormones or hormone blockers access gender-aligning medications in dangerous environments without proper monitoring (Rosario, 2009); for this reason, we caution against a 6 month waiting limit, as adolescent mental health can deteriorate rapidly when youth are forced to endure the traumatic experience of daily life in bodies that do not meet their psychosocial needs.
We further caution clinicians against imposing specific packages of medical interventions or dictating the order in which youth receive particular medical interventions, as adolescents’ needs vary considerably and should be addressed, based on individual self-reported need or request.While medical intervention are essential for some youth, others may seek legal or social recognition without any gender-aligning medical interventions. Youth who are utilizing gender-aligning medical interventions, and those who have successfully transitioned without medical interventions, should be considered to have achieved gender alignment.
We believe the focus of this diagnosis should be on dysphoria (defined as distress, extreme discomfort, or an emotional state of dis-ease), because it is discomfort, not a particular gender identity or expression, that is the psychological issue. It is essential that the diagnostic criteria focus on anatomical distress or distress with current assigned gender role, with explicit verbalization from the youth that his or her current gender role or anatomical sex does not match his or her internal sense of gender. Gender dysphoria may also be manifested by distress or discomfort with deprivation (Vitale 2001) of social role or anatomy that is congruent with experienced gender identity. Experienced gender is not limited to fixed binary roles, but may encompass fluidity, masculinity, femininity, both, or neither.
It is important to note that social role transition, or Real Life Experience (WPATH 2001), and puberty blocking medical care in adolescence may have diagnostic value in clarifying gender dysphoria. While transition to an affirmed social role may relieve the distress of gender role dysphoria, transitioned youth may still suffer anatomic dysphoria and remain particularly distressed about anticipated pubertal changes associated with their natal sex. It must be carefully stated that the diagnostic threshold is distress related to assigned gender role or physical sex characteristics and not gender nonconformity due to social expectations of normative gender (Vanderburgh 2009).
Finally, we suggest restoration of a clinical significance criterion, which would clarify that distress, discomfort or impairment must meet a threshold of severity. This would limit false positive diagnosis of gender nonconforming youth who would not benefit from diagnosis. It is crucial, however, that this criterion exclude distress or impairment that is caused by societal prejudice or discrimination. To cast victimization as symptomatic of mental illness would inflict further harm upon victims of prejudice.
Our Suggested Diagnostic Criteria for Gender Incongruence in Adolescents:
A. In youth who have reached the earlier of age 13 or Tanner Stage II of pubertal development, a distressing sense of incongruence between persistent experienced or expressed gender and current physical sex characteristics or assigned gender role, as manifested by the youth’s self-report or documentable observation of at least one of the following indicators for a duration of at least 3 months. Incongruence, for this purpose, does not mean gender expression that is nonconforming to social stereotypes of assigned gender role or natal sex.
1. A distress or discomfort with living in the present gender or being perceived by others as the present gender, which is distinct from the experiences of discrimination or the societal expectations associated with that gender.
2. A distress or discomfort caused by deprivation of gender expression congruent with persistent experienced gender. Experienced gender may include alternative gender identities beyond binary stereotypes.
3. A distress or discomfort with one’s current primary or secondary sex characteristics that are incongruent with persistent experienced gender or with anticipated pubertal development associated with natal sex.
4. A distress or discomfort caused by deprivation of primary or secondary sex characteristics that are congruent with persistent experienced gender or with anticipated deprivation of congruent physical sex characteristics after puberty.
B. Distress or discomfort is clinically significant or causes impairment in social, educational or other important areas of functioning, and is not due to external prejudice or discrimination
References:
Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Delemarre-van de Waal, H. A., & Gooren, L. J. G. (2008).The treatment of adolescent transsexuals: Changing insights. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 5(8), 1892–1897.
Cohen-Kettenis, P. et al. (2010). “Gender identity disorder in adolescents or adults,” American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Available online: http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=482#
Cooper, K. (1999). Practice with transgendered youth and their families. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services: Issues in Practice, Policy & Research, 10, 111-129.
Gross, B. H. (2001). Informed consent. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 4, 24.
Nuttbrock, L., Hwahng, S., Bockting. W., Rosenblum, A., Mason, M., Macri, M., & Becker J. (2010). Psychiatric impact of gender-related abuse across the life course of male-to-female transgender persons. Journal of Sex Research, 47(1), 12–23.
Pleak, R.R. (2009). Formation of transgender identities in adolescence. Journal of Gay &Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 282 -291.
Rosario, Vernon A.(2009). African-American transgender youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 298 — 308.
Spack, Norman P. (2009). An endocrine perspective on the care of transgender adolescents’, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 13(4), 309 — 319.
Striepe, M.I, and Tolman, D. L. (2003). Mom, dad, I’m straight: The coming out of gender ideologies in adolescent sexual-identity development. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32(4), 523-530.
Vitale A. M. (2001). Implications of being gender gysphoric: A developmental review, Gender and Psychoanalysis, An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(2), 121-141.
World Professional Association for Transgender Health (2001). Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders Sixth Version, Available online: http://wpath.org/Documents2/socv6.pdf
Yunger, J.L., Carver, P.R, & Perry, D.G. (2004). Does gender identity influence children’s psychological well-being? Developmental Psychology, 40(4), 572–582.
TransActive educates the public on subjects useful to the individual and beneficial to the community. We provide necessary support to improve the quality of life of transgender and gender non-conforming children, youth and their families through education, services, advocacy and research.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Transitioning in High School.
Here is a video from Shye, aka ShyeAustin on the tube.
He is a 17 year old transguy from Florida and is currently transitioning in high school. I know a lot of guys look back and wish they could have transitioned in high school, but transitioning at a young age presents a whole set of problems- as Shye says, it's hard sometimes having no one to talk to about his trans status at school, and often is the subject of harsh words from his classmates questioning his gender.
This does not go to say that transitioning young is a completely negative experience- it is not; in fact, it is amazing guys can transition so young now and be themselves and get the male socialization many of us feel we missed out on.
He has disabled embedding on his videos, but you can check out his intro video here and his week 40 shot video here.
He is a 17 year old transguy from Florida and is currently transitioning in high school. I know a lot of guys look back and wish they could have transitioned in high school, but transitioning at a young age presents a whole set of problems- as Shye says, it's hard sometimes having no one to talk to about his trans status at school, and often is the subject of harsh words from his classmates questioning his gender.
This does not go to say that transitioning young is a completely negative experience- it is not; in fact, it is amazing guys can transition so young now and be themselves and get the male socialization many of us feel we missed out on.
He has disabled embedding on his videos, but you can check out his intro video here and his week 40 shot video here.
A Passing Story.
In this video Cam (feedthefire32) tells a funny (and uplifting) story of passing very well while getting his fingerprints done for his name change.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The "New" Queer Identity: Bois.
Video: A Boi's Life
From the video info:
An intimate look at a slice of the new generation of queer identity: bois. Boi is a term used in the queer community to refer to a person's sexual and gender identity, and it may include: a person who looks and acts like a young, heterosexual male and partakes in casual sex, a transman, an FTM or female to male, a submissive butch, or a bisexual gay with effeminate traits.
From the video info:
An intimate look at a slice of the new generation of queer identity: bois. Boi is a term used in the queer community to refer to a person's sexual and gender identity, and it may include: a person who looks and acts like a young, heterosexual male and partakes in casual sex, a transman, an FTM or female to male, a submissive butch, or a bisexual gay with effeminate traits.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Born in the Wrong Body?
Xavier (laidbaqq) did an amazingly honest, raw video about dysphoria and what it feels like to be "born in the wrong body," which is a sentiment many trans people can relate to.
Body: Pre-Testosterone Physique.
This guy (SuperIronfreak) should give every pre-testosterone transman a glimmer of hope- I can't imagine what a beast he will be on T! He's 22, from Texas, and about to start T soon. Given his amazingly muscular physique pre-testosterone, I cannot wait to see this guy's progress on T!
Amazing Transition Video.
This is one of the most amazing transition videos I've ever seen. Skylarkeleven made it. Check him out.
You can also listen to some tunes of his on MySpace here.
You can also listen to some tunes of his on MySpace here.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Variations in Bodies [trans people aren't the only ones who struggle!]
As trans people we often get so caught up in our body dysphoria and trans plight that we forget cisgender people struggle with body image issues as well. This video beautifully illustrates the variations found in all bodies.
A Name Story.
This is a touching name story from chief845214. He talks about how his dad helped him come up with his male name, which was especially important to him because his dad also named him at birth.
Monday, April 26, 2010
New & Noteworthy: FtMNorway.
Meet Leo, aka FtMNorway on YouTube. He is 21 years old, has a twin sister, and is a musician and composer.
Check him out!
Check him out!
Unisex Bathrooms - Safe2Pee.org.
Navigating public restrooms can be difficult for trans and intersex people.
Luckily Safe2Pee.org keeps a list of all unisex restrooms in the states.
Being Intersex, Public Restrooms, and Keeping an Open Mind.
Here is a video from openheartzoo that really struck a chord with me. In this video Bo speaks about the difficulties trans and intersex people face with everyday situations (most) cisgender take for granted- specifically in this case, using public restrooms.
Also, Bo makes a good point in the video that just because "you have a friend" that is a certain way or lives a particular lifestyle, that it does not make you an expert in that subject.
We all need to keep our minds open.
Also, Bo makes a good point in the video that just because "you have a friend" that is a certain way or lives a particular lifestyle, that it does not make you an expert in that subject.
We all need to keep our minds open.
Monday, April 19, 2010
To All of the Kick Ass, Beautiful Fierce Femmes Out There [awesome poetry]
This is just so amazing in so many ways, you just have to watch it for yourself.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
New & Noteworthy: Mike (DutchTransguy91)
Meet Mike (DutchTransguy91), an 18 year-old guy from the Netherlands. He is just starting his transition and is new to YouTube, so take a minute to get to know him.
The embedding is disabled on his intro video, but you can watch it here.
Here is his second video:
The embedding is disabled on his intro video, but you can watch it here.
Here is his second video:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I Got a Sex Change with My Best Friend! [documentary: parts 1 & 2]
In the spring of 2007 I made a short documentary film while in college about my best friend Troy (tro23y on YouTube) getting our chest surgeries done together in December of 2006. We went to Dr. Beverly Fischer in Baltimore (Timonium), Maryland.
Chest surgery was one of the most moving and empowering experiences I have ever had, and I can wholeheartedly say it was made 1,000 times better by having it done with Troy.
Chest surgery was one of the most moving and empowering experiences I have ever had, and I can wholeheartedly say it was made 1,000 times better by having it done with Troy.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Dr. Perovic, Trans Surgeon, Dead at 72.
Dr. Sava Perovic, gender reassignment surgery pioneer, has died in Serbia. He was 72 years old.
According to Yahoo news:
Perovic, a respected urologist, began gender reassignment surgery in the 1980s in Belgrade and soon became a leading expert.
With his team, he performed a number of surgeries abroad, mostly in Asia, including urologic and genital corrective procedures.
Perovic died after a long illness, the reports said without giving details. His funeral would be held on Thursday in Belgrade.
I was not aware Dr. Perovic had battled a long illness; my thoughts go out to his family. Dr. Perovic drastically improved FTM lower surgery throughout his career and his death will be mourned in the trans community.
According to Yahoo news:
Perovic, a respected urologist, began gender reassignment surgery in the 1980s in Belgrade and soon became a leading expert.
With his team, he performed a number of surgeries abroad, mostly in Asia, including urologic and genital corrective procedures.
Perovic died after a long illness, the reports said without giving details. His funeral would be held on Thursday in Belgrade.
I was not aware Dr. Perovic had battled a long illness; my thoughts go out to his family. Dr. Perovic drastically improved FTM lower surgery throughout his career and his death will be mourned in the trans community.
This Week.
It's only Wednesday and this week has already had its fair share of ups and downs; as you can see, cake makes everything better.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
I Got a Formspring! [ask me anything]
I registered an account over at Formspring.com, so feel free to head over there and ask me some questions!
http://www.formspring.me/charlesasher
Also, it's true. My hair is gone.
Friday, April 9, 2010
The Penis Video [i'll answer your questions]
Thanks for stopping by my blog! As I promised in my last YouTube video log, I will answer any & all penis questions you might have.
Leave a comment here or send an e-mail to charlesasheryt@gmail.com if you do not feel comfortable asking your question publicly.
Leave a comment here or send an e-mail to charlesasheryt@gmail.com if you do not feel comfortable asking your question publicly.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Dysphoria and Sex
CodyOriole did an excellent video inquiring if sexual dyphoria improves after starting testosterone; the short answer is it does!
Here is my response.
Here is my response.
Choosing a Name
Jakftm did a video on choosing a name, and I think this is a common problem many trans people face, so here is my response to him; his video no longer appears to be available.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Trans Thought of the Day: Parent/Dating Rant
Snipncody, aka Shaun did a short video venting about his mother always questioning the sexuality of the women he is interested in. I responded back to him also expressing my frustration with how my mother always inquires if the woman I am interested in/seeing know my trans status.
It makes you feel invisible sometimes; I just want to be human and not have to think about "transy" things for one day.
It makes you feel invisible sometimes; I just want to be human and not have to think about "transy" things for one day.
Monday, March 1, 2010
LGBT Social Stress - One Thing I Hate About Being Gay!
Here is a video from imawsome202. She doesn't identify as trans, but she does identify as lesbian and made this video ranting about some of the social stress that she (and her girlfriend) have to deal with that directly results from her sexuality; it is the same kind of social stress trans people have to deal with on many levels and I thought many people could relate to this video.
She's sick of people staring at her and her girlfriend when at parties and other social situations; I can relate, I've often been stared down at parties, dehumanized, invalidated, and left feeling like some kind of alien.
As someone who was been othered, I find living in an environment like San Francisco where heteronormativity is actively challenged and rejected everyday certainly has helped me to feel less isolated.
She's sick of people staring at her and her girlfriend when at parties and other social situations; I can relate, I've often been stared down at parties, dehumanized, invalidated, and left feeling like some kind of alien.
As someone who was been othered, I find living in an environment like San Francisco where heteronormativity is actively challenged and rejected everyday certainly has helped me to feel less isolated.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Urban Exploration: Chicago
Hey everyone! Welcome to the first post in the "Urban Exploration" series! One of my favorite things to do is document San Francisco while I'm out and about as I'm a big fan of urban living. I saw this video from JayYankee88 exploring Chicago, and it inspired this series.
Here he is exploring Chicago, Illinois.
Here he is exploring Chicago, Illinois.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
London Pride & Trans Youth Network
Here is a video from Karl, aka grimreaper636. The first is about his experience at London Pride last year and also gives some information about the Trans Youth Network, which Karl has found to be a helpful resource in coming out as queer youth.
You can check out the Queer Youth Network here.
Karl also has another video in which I am mentioned as one of his role models, among several other great guys.
Check out the Official FTM UK Colab Channel!
You can check out the Queer Youth Network here.
Karl also has another video in which I am mentioned as one of his role models, among several other great guys.
Check out the Official FTM UK Colab Channel!
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