TS Roadmap News
Transgender fringe flare-ups: “PurpleGirl” and “Cloudy”/”Sillyolme”
Fri, 03/05/2010 - 06:15Article by Andrea James Political progress in the mainstream trans community has occasional distracting flare-ups involving bizarre fringe groups. They often try to criticize the community or assert their authenticity as True Transsexuals™ while remaining anonymous. When their veil of anonymity is lifted, they are invariably shown to have been brainwashed in some manner. It’s always due to belief in some cult-like ideology about how they are different from or better than other trans people. I have also discussed wannabe movements previously: wannabe disabled, wannabe intersex, wannabe autistic, wannabe transsexual, etc. After a lull, the fringe groups have recently become active again. I have just published a new piece on major participants from two especially bizarre fringe movements: the “Harry Benjamin syndrome” movement and the transkids.us hoax. PurpleGirl, aka Courtney Michelle Holder, who self-identifies as black and having “Harry Benjamin Syndrome.” Cloudy, aka Sillyolme, aka Candice Brown Elliott, who self-identifies as a “homosexual transsexual.” Both have been causing a lot of problems online under assumed names. Now that the transkids.us hoax site has gone back online after being gone for about a year, I felt it was time to publish this information and analysis. More than ever, we need to ignore the divisiveness caused by these pitiable anonymous critics. They lack the courage of their convictions and cause a lot of long-term damage and distraction. If anyone refuses to be open and honest about their identities, don’t waste your time listening to them and responding to them, whether you agree with them or not. They will invariably turn out to be exaggerating or lying when making fallacious arguments from authority based on their self-described transitions. Don’t believe those who are too cowardly to identify themselves. They are probably giving you misinformation or just getting off on causing trouble, as we have seen time and time again. Among future people I’ll profile: a bizarre scientist wannabe who is African-American (for real, not a race wannabe like PurpleGirl), as well as a “furry” (an interspecies wannabe) also involved in the “transkids” hoax. The first one did time for a serious crime. Stay tuned for more on delusional kooks and high weirdness from the fringes of the trans movement. Full article: Transgender fringe flare-ups: “PurpleGirl” and “Cloudy”/”Sillyolme” http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/transkids/cloudy-purplegirl.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Transgender Health Handbook for transwomen in Asia
Sun, 02/28/2010 - 07:47Sam Winter notes: The Transgender Health Handbook. A health resource (currently in English) for transwomen in Asia. Produced in 2010 by APNSW (Asia-Pacific Network of Sex Workers) with funding from amFAR (the Foundation for AIDS Research). Superbly comprehensive advice for transwomen in plain English. Please visit it at our TransgenderASIA website: http://web.hku.hk/~sjwinter/TransgenderASIA/index.htm The Transgender Health Handbook (PDF) http://web.hku.hk/~sjwinter/TransgenderASIA/apnswtghandbook.pdf
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Transsexual Road Map German translation (Wegweiser für Transsexuelle)
Sun, 02/28/2010 - 06:33Reader Sandra has begun a project to translate this site into German. She notes: Schönen guten Tag an alle! Die TS Roadmap von Andrea James gibt es als “Wegweiser für Transsexuelle” bald vollständig in deutscher Sprache. Ich darf mich als eure Übersetzerin vorstellen Ich bin Sandra, 32 Jahre alt, lebe in der Nähe von Idar-Oberstein und bin dabei, die 1600+ Seiten zu übersetzen, was natürlich eine gewisse Zeit dauert. Aber schaut bitte regelmäßig herein, es gibt sicherlich jedesmal neue Inhalte zu entdecken. Ziel des Wegweisers ist es, euch auf eurem Weg Tipps und Hilfestellung zu geben und euch über praktisch alle Aspekte rund um Transgeschlechtlichkeit/Transidentität zu informieren. So wird der Weg viel, viel einfacher, da ihr euch nicht alles in mühsamer Kleinarbeit selber erarbeiten müsst. (Ich muss sagen, mir helfen die Texte beim Übersetzen auch sehr viel. Ich bin selbst transident und befinde mich mitten in der Umwandlung) Wenn ihr Ergänzungen habt, Anregungen, Korrekturen, Adressen von Organisationen im deutschsprachigen Raum, die unbedingt hier reinmüssen, interessante Filme oder sonst irgendwas, schreibt mir ruhig unter: Liebe Grüße Sandra Wegweiser für Transsexuelle http://www.tsroadmap.com/deutsch/
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Facial feminization patient guide from Agave Clinic
Sun, 02/28/2010 - 06:24Maxillofacial surgeon Dr Bart van de Ven, director of the Agave Clinic, notes: Attached I send you our brochure about facial feminization surgery that contains lots of information about FFS. http://www.tsroadmap.com/notes/images/uploads/FFS_patient_guide_en.pdf Further reading: Facial Feminization Procedures http://www.tsroadmap.com/physical/face/facesurgidx.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
New project: Trans Bodies, Trans Selves
Sun, 02/28/2010 - 06:22Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, MA notes Want to be part of a resource guide for transgender and other gender-variant people? Trans Bodies, Trans Selves features a line-up of wonderful transgender and genderqueer authors, and they’re looking for your help to make the book amazing. Take the survey and your thoughts could appear in the book! Go to http://www.transbodies.com/Survey.html for surveys designed for: -Transgender/genderqueer people -Parents of gender-variant children -Partners of transgender/genderqueer people Please forward widely. YOUR VOICE is greatly appreciated! Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD, MA Editor, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves transbodies@gmail.com http://www.transbodies.com
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Paul McHugh still fighting against rights for sex and gender minorities
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 09:26Paul McHugh is a busy guy. - In 1979 he shut down the gender identity clinic at Johns Hopkins. - In 2007 he was ordered by Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison to stop making public statements about physician George Tiller’s work. McHugh disapproved of Tiller’s work providing abortion services. Tiller was later murdered by a fanatic who was influenced by public statements made about Tiller. - He promotes the concept of “autogynephilia,” a sex-fueled mental illness created by Ray Blanchard. - He defends Catholic priests against sex abuse charges. - Now he’s fighting to stop gay marriage. Katrina Rose points us to Filing # 379 in Perry et al v. Schwarzenegger et al.: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/3:2009cv02292/215270/379/ McHugh’s reason for opposing gay marriage cites the work of J. Michael Bailey. McHugh lays out his views on homosexuality in this pithy quotation: It really is amazing ... I mean, 50 years ago [homosexual behavior] was a crime, and now we’re talking about [same-sex marriage]. Anyone who wants to stick with the tradition is accused of being a biblical literalist or a homophobic racist, because, in part, of the more fundamental change in our society towards permissiveness, that is, easy divorce, cohabitation and concubinage, abortion, pornography ... and euthanasia. The issue of the homosexual is not separate ... it’s all part and parcel of the pandemonium that the permissive movement has brought. We have just licensed all kinds of behavior.” Source: Virtue Online http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=11994 Further reading: Paul McHugh on transsexualism http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/paul-mchugh.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Trans film news: Paulista, Prodigal Sons
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 09:09Trans depictions in the media continue to improve. Trans actress Maria Clara Spinelli is on the festival circuit right now with Paulista. It premiered earlier this year in Palm Springs and just played the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival. About her character: She is simply a woman who wants to be loved. “That’s what makes the character so fascinating,” Spinelli said, with the help of a translator. “She is a paradox. The fact is that she’s a transsexual, but she’s the most conservative one in the film. People assume that she would be the flamboyant, overly sexual one, and it is not so. “The fact that she is a transsexual is just one part of her. She is so much more than that.” http://www.examiner.com/x-23585-LA-Brazilian-Culture-Examiner~y2010m2d6-Hollywood-Brazilian-Film-Festival http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100113/EVENTS01/1130309/A-remarkably-unremarkable-role ---- Also, watch for filmmaker Kimberly Reed on Oprah 11 February http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/The-High-School-Quarterback-Who-Became-a-Lesbian Kimberly’s highly-recommended documentary ‘Prodigal Sons’ has a theatrical release in March. http://www.prodigalsonsfilm.com/
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Two new books on the trans experience
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 00:27Two readers recently sent me their new books to review. Dorothy’s Boy by M.K. Bengtson is a novel with a lot of autobiographical elements. It’s not about transition itself, which does not occur until the last few pages. It’s about the protagonist’s life leading up to transition in middle age. She has also produced a sequel called Finding Home. You Can’t Shave in a Minimart Bathroom is an upbeat nonfiction account of transition, written by Shauna Marie O’Toole. Shauna transitioned around the same age as Maggie and had similar family issues to deal with. She has also been appearing in the media recently: http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/From-He-to-She-A-Life-Altering-Change/gCOC-6d5KEq9B3sSLxRAEA.cspx?rss=1937 Both books add to the growing genre of transition accounts available. I recommend checking out the reviews for both to see if they are of interest to you!
Categories: TS Roadmap News
New support forum for couples where both partners are trans
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 17:05Reader Jane has created a brand new space for couples where both partners are trans. She notes: I believe that these kinds of relationships have a unique dynamic and set of challenges all their own. Issues of mutual support, feeling fully accepted rather than tolerated for being trans, issues of healing from “addiction” to cisgender validation, learning to undo our own internalized transphobia and much more. It’s proving very difficult to find such a place to talk about these issues. Most places I’ve found are along the lines of “Would an MTF ever date an FTM? ?” and “I heard about a couple like that once...” not many real life couples. A forum to discuss trans relationships, the joys and heartaches, pros and cons, social and legal issues that arise when BOTH partners are trans-identified (ie. MTF with FTM, FTM with FTM, Genderqueer etc… ) Further reading: Trans Couples: MTFs and FTMs Together http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transcouplesmtfftm Dating http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/dating.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
US Dept. of Justice joins in federal case on behalf of gender-variant teen
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 16:34The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a landmark federal lawsuit on behalf of a gender non-conforming middle school student who faced a two-year ordeal of harassment and abuse because of his gender expression. NCTE notes: In 2007 through 2009, Jacob L. of Mohawk, NY, endured an escalating pattern of verbal and physical abuse and threats throughout his seventh and eighth grade years. By the end of this time, Jacob was so fearful of his abusers that he stopped attending school. Shockingly, school officials had long been aware of the abuse but failed to intervene, not even following their own internal policies. Jacob was essentially denied an education by the school’s continual disregard for his safety, and ultimately transferred to another district. With the help of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Jacob filed suit last summer, alleging that the District violated his rights under the Constitution and the federal Title IX statute, which prohibits gender discrimination in education. On January 14, the Justice Department filed suit against the District on the behalf of the United States, seeking an injunction to force the district to take concrete and ongoing steps to prevent any other student from experiencing an ordeal like Jacob’s. The government’s suit recognizes and advances the nation’s strong interest in prevention discrimination based on gender stereotyping. According to recent surveys by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), nearly 90% of transgender middle and high school students have expressed have experienced harassment because of their gender expression, and two-thirds reported that they felt unsafe at school. These and numerous other surveys have shown that this victimization has harmful impacts on educational outcomes. Further reading: Full NCTE press release TransYouth Family Allies
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Update: FFS surgeon Douglas Ousterhout no longer planning to retire
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 16:18I had previously reported that FFS surgeon Douglas Ousterhout was in the planning stages of a 2011 retirement. Those plans have now changed. Dr. Ousterhout notes: Mira just brought to my attention that I was going to retire and you added it to your web-site. That was a nasty rumor that was started by me. Well, I got smart. [My wife] Nancy probably couldn’t stand me around the house that much. So, I am NOT going to retire. I repeat, I am NOT going to retire. At least not in the foreseeable future. Could you please eliminate all rumors. Be sure to check out Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman, his excellent 185-page overview of available procedures, with many illustrations and images. I highly recommend it for anyone considering these procedures, as it is the definitive consumer guide. It includes an introduction by Donna Rose, who, like me, had life-changing results from these procedures. Both of us are among the many patients who consented to having our results included in the book. Chapters include: - Overview - Preparing for FFS - Scalp advancement - Forehead feminization - Temporal fossa augmentation - Cheek contouring - Nose reshaping - Lip reshaping - Chin reshaping - Lower jaw tapering -angle reduction - Thyroid cartilage reduction - Lower jaw (mandibular) surgery - Upper jaw (Maxillary) surgery - Other facial procedures (ten other procedures that can feminize the face) - Also includes resource lists, glossary, and list of relevant medical publications As I have said since I had FFS in 1996, it is the best investment I have ever made, period. I strongly urge everyone planning a transition to consider the benefits and potential issues of FFS. Related reading: - Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman - Facial Feminization Procedures
Categories: TS Roadmap News
New transgender community referral / resource site: Trans411
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 17:20Dana from Trans411 notes: I’m writing you to share a new web site put together by underemployed trans/queer web veterans in San Francisco called Trans411 (trans411.org). We’re the same folks who made safe2pee.org --- a mash-up of gender neutral bathrooms, but this time we wanted to apply a distributed approach to finding reliable and compassionate trans-friendly providers and organizations --- including doctors, surgeons and therapists. Living in a big city it’s easy to take for granted finding the resources you need, but too many of us grew up in small towns or rural areas and faced much scorn at the hands of unsympathetic providers. We hope that by encouraging members of the community to share their resources such circumstances can be avoided by others. The site is still very much a work in progress but already you can search by your location, services offered, write reviews and add new entries. http://trans411.org/ http://safe2pee.org/beta/
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Essays expose CAMH’s despicable practices toward transgender people
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 16:44These two essays were submitted by a reader and offer a cautionary tale about Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), one of the last of the antiquated “gender clinics” and one of the most regressive facilities in the world. They are also home to the largest reparative therapy clinic for gender-variant children. “C.Y.A.” by Tristan, May 22, 2009. I always knew that most people have a limited ability to stick themselves out for others. The good Samaritans out there are rare, which is why there’s a term for them in the first place. This rarity is a fact of life, one that generally barely registers on my radar of unfair. But let’s say that you have a terribly injured shoulder. Your GP, who happens to know nothing about shoulder surgery, looks into surgeons for it, and tracks one down with a 1.5-year waiting list. He tells you that he thinks this one has good credentials, so you patiently start the waiting process, dealing with the excruciating pain. A year later, you hear from several friends who have had this shoulder surgery that they all went to a surgeon you’ve never heard of. They’re extremely happy with the care they got - and not only that, but they warn you against the surgeon your doctor found you. You look into this unknown surgeon a bit, and really like the idea of going to him instead. Best yet, his waiting list is only about six months - and while it won’t actually reduce the amount of time you’ll be waiting, you’re pretty sure that the original surgeon will end up making you wait an extra month or two - at least. So you go to your GP, hopeful, thinking that you’ve just found him some useful information. Instead, he declares that because he’s never heard of this surgeon, and because he’s working in a ‘family health team’, and because his waiting list is shorter, his credentials are probably terrible. You try telling him that this surgeon is highly respected by quite a number of people and is working in a well-known hospital in a different city, but your GP has closed his ears. He tells you that if /you/ get the surgeon to /convince/ him that he has good credentials, he /might/, maybe, if he’s feeling generous, change his mind. However, he goes on and on about how he has no idea who this new surgeon is, how well-known and well-respected the first surgeon is, how the first surgeon is /the/ person to go to, and that even though from your, the patient’s, perspective, a shorter waiting time is good, it probably means you’ll get worse care. He says that he firmly believes that he’s already recommended you to the best surgeon in his professional opinion, implies that you’ve just wasted ten minutes of his workday by bringing up the second surgeon, and nudges you out the door. According to your GP, the different standards of care (leading to the shorter waiting list) that the surgeon you found uses are almost certainly worse, despite you desperately telling him that the first surgeon’s standards were developed in the early 70’s, long before masses of new medical knowledge about shoulder surgery was found. He indirectly likens you to a prescription-drug abuser he knows, and ignores your words. You realize that your GP is doing one big C.Y.A. He’s covering his medical license’s ass with the credentials of the first surgeon, and he’s afraid to stick so much as the tip of his nose out for you. Even though the second surgeon is at least as qualified as the one he found, he seems to believe that it would be medically irresponsible of him to recommend you to your preference. So replace ‘shoulder surgery’ with ‘hormone treatments’ and you have my situation with my GP, the Gender Identity Clinic at CAMH (surgeon #1), and the Sherbourne Health Centre (surgeon #2). Gender dysphoria is a state of being that wears at you daily. To be honest, I haven’t heard of any elderly trans people except those who have successfully transitioned, and that’s mostly due to the suicide rate. The GIC, like a palliative care centre or a nursing home, seems to expect its waiting list to shrink largely due to deaths. Its protocols were developed back when the medical profession’s take on transgendered people was to make it so fuckin’ hard for us to qualify for medical treatment that 99% of us would give up. There’s another system that worked like that - putting people under such great stress that they’ll agree with anything you say, eventually, or die - it was called the INQUISITION. I’m doing my best not to automatically assume that Sherbourne is better just because it’s different, but its standards of care make so much more SENSE. They don’t just stick you on a waiting list and only go by the state of your official paperwork - since the only reason I’ve been having to wait until November (with the GIC) is that that’s when the first qualifying paperwork I have that has ‘Tristan’ on it is from. The GIC sees you once to evaluate you, ignores you for six months, calls you in again, and gods know what they do after that. All they care about is paper proof, not your state of being, not your level of need, nothing. Most likely, the reason only 20% or so of GIC patients go through with medical transition is that 75% of people get sick and tired and utterly disgusted with the soulless treatment they’re given. Sherbourne, instead, has you get at least five visits with one or more psychologists/counsellors/whoever /both you/ and they determine you should be seeing. These five visits are over the course of three months. After that, if you’ve all worked out that getting hormones would be the best way to improve your quality of life, they prescribe them. Mind you, this is just what I’ve heard from people and from their website, but I see no reason to disbelieve that. Sherbourne has a three-month waiting list, after which I’d have three more months of visits before I could get my T. They also have respect for their clients as part of their policy. Going to Sherbourne would not reduce my waiting time, but at this point, the concept of going back to the GIC makes me feel ill. (See the other part of why, below.) As a side comment, I got the results of my January evaluation during that same doctor’s appointment. So: 1) Both the psychiatrist and the psychologist referred to me as ‘she’ throughout their reports 2) I apparently presented in the female role during my visit, despite wearing 100% male clothes 3) My haircut was apparently a ‘longer male style that could just as easily be taken as androgynous’ - it was no longer than my dad’s when it’s gotten a little grown out 4) The psychologist got the false impression that I have a brief history of dating males - the closest I’ve ever gotten to dating any guy is giving them hugs 5) The psychiatrist not only was extremely condescending during the 20 minutes he spent with me, but spent 85% of that time asking explicit questions about my sexual habits, 10% telling me that post-secondary education is more important than transitioning, 2% figuring out whether I have an anxiety disorder, and 3% cracking stupid jokes. He first perceived me as a 14-year-old boy - which somehow, rather than making him think that I pass successfully, made him declare that I’m not masculinized. I can’t help that I’m shortand don’t have facial hair, sorry 6) The psychiatrist also ABSOLUTELY forgot/misinterpreted/ignored a significant part of what I explicitly /told/ him about my sexual habits, and what he said in his report has disgusted, distressed, and pissed off both my girlfriend and me. Not to bother anyone with this comment, but we have a valid and functional romantic life, yet he made it sound either one-sided and dysfunctional, or completely non-existent 7) Apparently my intelligence is ‘average’ - I got an 800/800 SAT critical reading score and was within the top percentile of the GED test 8) There has to be a better way to phrase that I like girls than ‘erotic attraction to females’ - as if it’s some type of fetish It’s not the depersonalization aspect that bothers me, so much as the feeling that somehow, showing them who I really am was doing something wrong. Was I supposed to show up wearing a grubby FUCK YOU BITCHES t-shirt, holey pants hanging around my knees, a baseball cap on backwards, and a buzzcut? Am I supposed to be a one-dimensional stereotype? I’d thought, all these months, that I’d done really really well during the assessment. It’s not supposed to be an interview, it’s supposed to be a psychological determination of whether I’m really transgendered or not - and I know I am. If the GIC is the best place to go in all of Canada, gods help us all. “The Lockbox; Or, Personal Notes on Medical Privacy, Honour, and Statistical Proof.” by Tristan, December 29, 2009 Thought has prompted me into a further note. It has been almost a year since my intake visit to the CAMH Gender Identity Clinic. If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have even bothered - but hindsight is 20/20. I have been on testosterone since the beginning of November, thanks to my partner, friends, Sherbourne, and a wonderful, open-minded doctor. My life has improved immensely because of it. T does not cure sickness, it definitely does not bring wealth, nor happiness on its own - but I feel so much less stress now. It’s been ages since I’ve hated what I see in the mirror, because I know it doesn’t control me any more. Sometimes I forget what all the bother about getting chest surgery ASAP is - then I remember that all my documents still say the wrong gender. Ah well. It doesn’t pain me the way it used to; now it’s more like a challenge I confidently know I can beat. I have moved so far beyond the GIC’s beliefs that I sometimes lose sight of how dependent I once was on it for hope. Scores, hundreds, thousands of people still have to cling to its systems, though, and I should never forget that. I am lucky. If you are one of those people - I wish you luck. Never lose sight of who you truly are. CAMH is as much a psychology research centre as it is a place of healing. The GIC conducts at least as much research as the rest of the facility. However, while the rest of CAMH is generally helpful to the people who come for aid, the GIC section of it - really quite small, actually - uses every scrap of info it collects to support its own theories. Anyone who receives an application from the GIC to fill out should look at the questions being asked. I remember there were questions that made sense - such as how long I had been living in my chosen gender - but there were other questions that didn’t, like whether there was anything unusual about my genitalia. There were implications that intersex people would not be considered for medical transition, and that one needed to be transgendered ‘enough’. But never mind that. They don’t tell you this, but every answer you give them is saved and stored for use. They will use it to make statistics for anything they like. If they want to compare the cutting rates in trans men ages 18-25 versus ages 25-40, they will. If they want to track transwomen’s masturbation frequencies, they’ll do that too. If they want to connect transgenderism with fetishes, promiscuity, childhood abuse, number of close friends, or activism, they’ll figure out a way to use their data to say what they want to hear. What bothers me is that CAMH claims that at least 80% of the people who come to them “do not go through with transition”. This seems very strange to me, because I’ve heard that transitioned trans people have the highest satisfaction rate of any ‘mental disorder’ - about 85%. Why are these numbers practically the reverse of each other? I have a hypothesis. It’s only a thought; I have no proof to back it up, but in my cynicism it makes sense. Every time a transgendered person finds somewhere else to go - whether it be a private psychologist, a sympathetic family doctor, or street hormones - the GIC marks them down as not having gone through with transition. If I’m right, I too, as I’m starting to need to shave, am apparently not going through with my transition. Does this make sense? If I knew then what I know now, and if I had yet decided to visit CAMH anyway, I would refuse to volunteer any information until I could get a legal promise: not to use my information in any fashion, or at least without extremely specific notification in advance of any study they wished to use it in. I poured out quite a lot of my heart and soul to the GIC, and it disgusts me to think that they might be using details of my sex life to ‘prove’ things that may not be true, things that could be harmful to all trans people. What still bothers me very much, as well, are the misinterpretations and outright lies after my intake appointment. I go into more detail about this in my other note: The psychiatrist I saw took my answers about my sex life - hesitantly given and awkwardly phrased as I tried in vain to fit myself into traditional concepts of ‘virginity’ and what counts as ‘real’ sex - and then made his report to include things I never said. He made my partner’s ‘problems’ (his word, not mine), which he should have some human sympathy about and which make her less than enamoured with oral sex (which plenty of people are anyway), sound like they were making our relationship one-sided and dysfunctional. Even if the questions we’re asked during these intakes had any true relevance to our gender identity, the way our answers can be warped to make us and our relationships sound invalid and dirty is terrible. Who knows what he would have done with it if I’d also told him my girlfriend has cerebral palsy; after all, a prominent psychologist of the GIC holds to the belief that sexual relations between people of different appearances (white/black/Asian/etc., disabled/non-disabled, and suchlike) are fetish-based… And every time we go for an intake and are honest about ourselves, they’ll be combing through our responses to find anything else to make us sound paraphilic. Several months ago was when my partner and I first connected this all together. I tracked down the phone number for Susanne Hoyte, who seemed to handle the paperwork, and asked her if I could get my records deleted. I didn’t (and still don’t) want the GIC to even know I was there. I don’t want them to use my visit as a funding excuse. Unfortunately this is where my memory gets slightly hazy, since I got very confused and frustrated very quickly. She redirected me to the front desk, I believe, which then redirected me to the records (?) department. I was told about something called the “Lockbox”, which sounded a bit mythical. I never got a satisfactory description of what it did. The best I could gather was that they would take part - not all - of the information they had about me and file it somewhere that would require high-level authorization or police involvement to access. The process of getting my information lockboxed away involved going to the CAMH building itself to sign some forms; there might have been a fax option, but by then I was so confused that I just gave up. The experience, as with everything to do with the GIC, left a bad taste in my mouth, and I haven’t tried again. Their researchers have had nearly a year at my file already, and they’ve probably already picked it clean. Does this lockbox system sound entirely useful to you? It doesn’t to me. If anyone knows how the Lockbox works and can explain it to me in non-legal English, I would appreciate the information deeply. Would going through the locking-away process actually do any good, in terms of what I want - no use of my info for studies, research, or statistics? If not, is there any other way? If there isn’t, shouldn’t there be? At a business, a disgruntled customer can demand a great deal, and I believe a disgruntled patient deserves just as many rights. I ask two things. If you’ve already been to the GIC and despise it as I do, make the call that I did - call the front desk and ask if you can block off your files. You might get further than I did - I’m certainly no expert at making my needs known. Once you’ve tried, let me, or as many people as possible know about what you found out. Information and communication are absolute requirements for any group to assert its rights. If you haven’t been to CAMH yet, but you have an appointment: First off, good luck. Beyond that: without sabotaging your own care, do what you can to protect your privacy. Respect yourself, and seriously think about this: does the GIC have you enough over a barrel to demand your utter compliance, even with procedures that go against your own good judgement? Psychologists and psychiatrists, while highly trained professionals, are not omniscient gods. Ultimately, you know more about the situation of being transgendered than even the best cisgendered doctor ever will. The GIC has the funding, power and information you need, but don’t sacrifice your self-respect to get them. I almost did, and I regret the time I wasted. This isn’t to say that you won’t get where you need to with the GIC - plenty of people do - but just please, be on your guard. Peace out.
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Trans social event in LA, Saturday 30 January
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 16:17Casey Weitzman notes: It’s going to be at Layla’s on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 from 3-6 p.m. Layla and Casey will be discussing their services and then there will be time to talk, eat and drink and meet others. If people would like to have dinner afterwards, this gives everyone the opportunity to do so. Any questions, please call Casey Weitzman, M.A., Gender Wellness of Los Angeles at 310 441-0411. Layla’s Electrolysis is located at 2001 S. Barrington Avenue, Suite 206, West Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Expanded services for trans teens and young adults in San Jose, CA
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 14:25Kim Tran notes: The LGBTQ Youth Space is a safe-space drop-in center for LGBTQQIPAA youth ages 13-25 that also offer FREE counseling for those 16-25. We are located in San Jose, CA (938 the Alameda San Jose CA 95126) and serve all of Santa Clara County. Our services include: * Free food, internet access and a safe place to go * Free, confidential, no cost counseling in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and American Sign Language * Letters of recommendation for SRS * Support groups for trans youth and adults * Free medication through a county pharmacy Visit our websitehttp://www.youth.defrank.org"> http://www.youth.defrank.org See also: http://www.tsroadmap.com/early/earlyindex.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Montreal surgeon Yvon Ménard retires; Pierre Brassard continues trans health services
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 02:39Luna Allison notes: At the end of November, one of the world’s most celebrated gender reassignment surgeons retired after more than 30 years of performing genital reconstruction and other transition-oriented surgeries. His work has profoundly changed the lives of thousands of trans men and women all over the world. “We take care of them as if they were our children, our brothers and our sisters,” Dr Yvon Ménard once said of his team at Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS) Montreal. Since 1996, gender reassignment surgeries have made up the lion’s share of Ménard’s work — in fact, that year he had to hire a second surgeon, Dr Pierre Brassard, to keep up with the demand. The combined full- and part-time staff at GRS Montreal’s facilities now numbers about 70 people. Full article: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Celebrated_genital_surgery_doc_retires-7971.aspx
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Point Foundation 2010 Scholarships Available
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 02:31About 10% of Point Foundation scholarships go to trans students, but there is a relative dearth of trans women who apply. The average amount of annual support devoted to each scholar is between $25,000-$33,000. A Point Scholarship award includes financial support, as well as programmatic support in leadership training, community service and mentoring. Individuals selected as Point Scholars agree to maintain a high level of academic performance, attend Point’s various leadership forums, participate in press interviews and give back to the LGBT community through the completion of an individual community service project each year. Since its inception in 2001, Point Foundation has invested over $4.5 million in the education of outstanding LGBT students. For additional information on Point Foundation, please visit: http://www.pointfoundation.org For information on how to apply for a Point Scholarship, please visit: http://www.pointfoundation.org/apply.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News
New book: ‘Facial Feminization for the Transgendered Woman’ by Douglas Ousterhout
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 04:50I just got my preview copy of Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman by FFS pioneer Douglas Outserhout. It’s an excellent 185-page overview of available procedures, with many illustrations and images. I highly recommend it for anyone considering these procedures, as it is the definitive consumer guide. It includes an introduction by Donna Rose, who, like me, had life-changing results from these procedures. Both of us are among the many patients who consented to having our results included in the book. It is scheduled to be available in December 2009 and is already available for pre-order. Chapters include: - Overview - Preparing for FFS - Scalp advancement - Forehead feminization - Temporal fossa augmentation - Cheek contouring - Nose reshaping - Lip reshaping - Chin reshaping - Lower jaw tapering -angle reduction - Thyroid cartilage reduction - Lower jaw (mandibular) surgery - Upper jaw (Maxillary) surgery - Other facial procedures (ten other procedures that can feminize the face) - Also includes resource lists, glossary, and list of relevant medical publications As I have said since I had FFS in 1996, it is the best investment I have ever made, period. I strongly urge everyone planning a transition to consider the benefits and potential issues of FFS. Related reading: - Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman - Facial Feminization Procedures
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Sam Winter calls for end to trans psychopathologization
Sat, 11/21/2009 - 04:34In honor of the 2009 Transgender Day of Remembrance, Dr. Sam Winter has just issued a strong appeal for the removal of gender identity variance from the psychiatric diagnostic manuals. Time is pressing on in the psychopathologisation debate. The WHO and APA proceed in revising ICD and DSM respectively, the increasingly international STP-2012 (Stop Transpathologisation) Campaign gathers force, more and more research articles detail the links in the chain leading from psychopathologisation to illness and death, books on the subject (most recently Kelley Winters’ painstakingly careful analysis) get published.. The issue of psychopathologisation is of course a health issue, in that it is all about the view we take of transpeople’s mental health. But it is a health issue on many more grounds too. The psychopathologisation of GIV and GV engenders stigma, cultivates and/or supports prejudice and discrimination, contributes to social and economic marginalisation and poverty worldwide for transpeople, and is ultimately a health issue, raising the risk of poor mental health and well-being (and self-damaging and suicidal behaviours), social isolation, risk behaviours (including sexual), involvement in prostitution (often through lack of other employment possibilities), and HIV/AIDS risk. Full article: http://web.hku.hk/~sjwinter/TransgenderASIA/call-for-depsychopathologisation.htm
Categories: TS Roadmap News
Ira Pauly and transsexualism
Sat, 11/21/2009 - 03:52Ira Basil Pauly (born 1931) is an American psychiatrist best known for his influential work on transsexualism with endocrinologist Harry Benjamin. Pauly stands as a sort of opposite of Paul McHugh, both of whom were faculty at University of Oregon Medical School in the 1960’s, when Pauly began writing and speaking about treatment of transsexualism. He came around on sex reassignment in 1961 “after soul-searching deliberation.” Pauly noted that both transsexualism and abortion were “sex and tabooed topics” that caused strong responses. Pauly is noted for undertaking the first global review of the published outcome data on transsexualism in 1965. In the mid-1960s, he began collaborating with Benjamin, who cited Pauly’s work in The Transsexual Phenomenon. The two later worked to popularize their research in the lay press. McHugh would become dean of the University of Oregon Medical School before leaving to close down gender services at Johns Hopkins. McHugh has continued to try to control what other people do to their bodies ever since, where Pauly (who retired in 1994) will be remembered as one of the progressive pioneers in providing trans health services. Full article: http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ira-pauly.html
Categories: TS Roadmap News