When You Walk Out The Door

For many of us we never knew fear, we were white and male and ruled the world but all of sudden we walk out the door and we have a target on or backs. And if you are black or another oppressed class it is not additive but multiplicative.

For Transgender Women, an Extra Dose of Fear
New York Times
By Abby Ellin
August 9, 2017

[…]
“The political climate is a catalyst to our danger,” said Ms. Paige, 58, who lives in Lake Worth, Fla., and is a buyer for a company that manufactures ventilation systems for ships. “Generally, people want to see you as male or female. Nothing in-between seems to be acceptable.”
[…]
“I’ve met many transgender patients who have faced horrific challenges to societal acceptance, from discrimination to violence,” said Dr. Rian Maercks, the Miami plastic surgeon who performed some of Ms. Paige’s and Ms. Carr’s surgeries. “When their femininity or masculinity is natural in appearance, it protects them from the traumas they may otherwise experience.”

Passing is a privilege, those who can’t blend into society face discrimination and violence while those who can integrate into society find jobs, housing, and even a mate.

Insurance companies often refuse to provide coverage for many surgeries, like facial reconstructive procedures or breast augmentation, because they are thought to be cosmetic and not medically necessary. The 2015 transgender equality report found that 25 percent of the nearly 28,000 respondents had experienced a problem with their health insurance, including being denied transition-related coverage or routine care because they were transgender. Fifty-five percent of those who sought coverage for transition-related surgery and 25 percent of those who sought coverage for hormones were denied — a much higher rate than the typical rate of all claim denials, said Mr. Baker.

Money talks, while those who can’t integrate are unable to finds jobs and cannot afford surgeries and are on a downward spiral. While those who can integrate into society can get jobs and they can afford the surgeries so as a result you see that most trans people who have Facial Feminizing Surgeries (FFS) are typically white and middle income.

“The uncertainty of the current political climate played a large part in my decision to have facial feminization surgery,” she said in an email. “Since my surgery, I have felt an enormous weight lifted off of my shoulders.”