I have been running around the last couple of days and as a result, I kind of neglected my blogging.
Wednesday afternoon, I did some volunteering work at True Colors calling up vendors to see if they wanted a table at next year’s conference. In the evening, I picked up a friend to rush down to Yale to take part of a panel discussion on Trans-Advoacy. At the last minute, I was invited because one of the panelist got sick. The panel consisted of two trans activist lawyers, the Co-chair of the Judicial Committee and myself. One of the lawyers was the lawyer who argued the case before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities that ruled that we are covered under the existing Anti-Discrimination Statues. It was a rather distinguished panel and I was honored to be invited to be a panelist.
Yesterday, I had a eye doctors appointment in the morning. As usual, I was worried because this was the first time I went to this doctor as Diana and as usual all my worrying was for naught. However, he did find something and he wants to come back for more tests. :-( In the afternoon I went down to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven to do an Outreach there and then after the class, I rushed up to Hartford for an Anti-Discrimination Coalition meeting.
Today I am just sitting around the house and twittering my thumbs wondering what to do. Boring! Maybe I will do some shopping.
I came across this posted on “(en)gender” forum…
I have mixed feelings about it, it presents a too simple picture of being trans, but I give it one thumbs up.
After watching the video, I think the important question is: Does undergoing the surgery do the trick? Is a post-op trans person finally happy with the person he or she now is? I don't mean at the gee-I-wish-these-love-handles-would-go-away level, but at that basic level of who-the-hell's-body-IS-this-that-I'm-stuck-in? Do most post-op trans persons feel that NOW I can get on with my life instead of fixating on this one issue?
ReplyDeleteAnd if surgery DOES do the trick, then we should certainly be lobbying for insurance to provide full coverage for the surgery, because if the person in the video is typical, it would seem that living without it, in the skin of the wrong gender, is as debilitating as any severe depression or even physical disability. If surgery can actually make such a person whole, we as a society should provide it.
I can only speak about the trans-woman that I know, but all the trans-women that I have met are happier after they had surgery. As Bree said in “Transamerica”; “Isn’t amazing that surgery can correct a mental disorder.” and I have found that to be true. There are some that I have heard of (But never met) that are not happy, however, some of those did not follow the “Standard of Care”.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I know of a number of trans-women who have for various reasons decided not to have surgery and they are happy.
As Diana said the UTube video is rather simplistic and also clever. As one who has crossed the gender divide and had the surgery I can say I am happy at a level I never was before. Surgery is only part of the issue. Changing the way one lives is the real big step. Surgery completes the change. For me it was unbelievably freeing. Yes, insurance should cover the surgery!
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad to hear that surgery works, at least most of the time.
ReplyDeleteAnd amazed that anyone would think that this is due to a "mental disorder". Brain abnormality, perhaps--if you can call the size of that whatever-it-is structure an abnormality when about half the population also has that size (albeit with a different physical gender). But the brain is NOT "mind", no matter how badly "they" want us to think it is.
Brain structures may provide the mechanism, but the reason, it seems obvious to me, is that a person in a past life didn't complete the gender experiences he/she signed up for and was, literally, born into the wrong-gendered body this time around.