Down In Africa

In South Africa they leaped ahead of us with the newest trans clinic.

South Africa Makes History with its First Ever Healthcare Facility for Transgender People
The University of the Witwatersrand's Reproductive Health Institute is creating a safe space for transgender people seeking healthcare.
Okay Africa
by Rufaro Samanga
November 12, 2019

South Africa has made history after it opened the doors to its first dedicated healthcare facility for transgender people. According to eNCA, the Reproductive Health Institute, which has been set up by the prestigious University of the Witwatersrand, wants to create a safe space for transgender South Africans by removing the stigma and prejudice they often face while trying to access healthcare in the country. It is a major stride against the backdrop of a continent that generally still treats members of the LGBT community as second-class citizens.

Speaking about the Reproductive Health Institute based in Johannesburg, a South African transgender woman named Tiny Williams tells eNCA that, "Within five minutes I am done with everything and there is no criticism about the way I am." In contrast, Williams describes her previous experiences at public hospitals saying, "When I go there asking for treatment, some they start gossiping about to, laughing at you and the way you are that this person is gay."

Unfortunately, here in the United States we are going backward with talk coming out of Washington about taking away our health insurance.

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When I was going to therapy before I transitioned one of the questions that the therapist asked took me off guard… do you sit or stand when you pee?

How to treat transgender patients? As humans.
Daily Union
By Pam Wilson
November 8, 2019

The 8-year-old boy came to the doctor’s office with complaints of anxiety and problems going to the bathroom. The boy refused to use public restrooms and would visit them in the company of his mom.

Traditionally, these symptoms might point a medical professional to investigate a potential painful urinary tract infection, or perhaps undisclosed sexual abuse that had caused the boy to “hold it” rather than visit a restroom where he might be in danger.

But on further investigation, gender identity proved to be at the root of this boy’s problems, said Dr. Jennifer Winter, a physical with Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Fort HealthCare’s Family Care Clinic.

Questioned further, the boy revealed that he felt uncomfortable in men’s restrooms because he identified as a girl, and, in fact, he always pretty much had felt this way.

When I thought about the therapist’s question I realized that before I transitioned that I almost always sit rather than stand and furthermore I couldn’t remember the last time I stood to pee.

I don’t think that was a standard asked by therapists, I think that it might have been an observation that she noticed in her clients and it was a pet theory of hers.

The article goes on to say,

But modern research has shed light on an entire spectrum of the human experience and has found that it does not always fit neatly into the “binary” system of female versus male as defined in Western culture.

“We need to step away from the idea that gender equals biological sex,” the doctor said. “What you look like on the outside does not necessarily tally with how you feel on the inside.”
[…]
Winter cautioned that people should keep in mind that gender identity has nothing to do with sexual orientation. The two are separate.

Another thing to remember just because science might identify one way we are trans doesn't mean that is the only way we can be trans, I believe that there can be an ever evolving was that we become trans.