FTM transition - can I just rant/discuss?!

[shehimthey]

I'm just putting this out there because I have been down a rabbit hole these past few months, trying to get my head round this whole issue. I'm totally with the argument that trans rights should be supported but not at the expense of women's rights. The arguments in the main seem to centre around trans rights seemingly being exploited by men to further oppress women (and I don't mean all trans MTF or TIMs but the TRAs)

However I really want to talk about the young women who are transitioning and how totally seductive the idea must seem. I have seen so many Youtube videos of lovely young women going through Transition. The whole, '1st day of T' cult and the rapidly lowering voice, the appearance of hair, the changing jaw line etc. Honestly, I am jaw on the floor at some of the 'young boys' that have appeared out of this process. I am almost convinced that it might be a good idea. The lovely Mums that suddenly have a handsome son instead of a lesbian daughter. I can really see how as a parent you could be convinced. And then I hear someone like Alex Bertie say that they're not interested in 'bottom surgery' and then realise that you have a female person, passing as an utterly charming lad, but with a vagina. And there's loads of them on Youtube (my most recent watch was Skylarkeleven) and most of them look so happy 'being men' but most of them don't go for the 'bottom surgery'. So they're handsome, passing 'men', usually having adopted a boisterous, tattooed, bicep flashing, laddish personality, coming across to all their Youtube fans as success stories but having to deal with the fact that they have a vagina - young women with facial hair, mastectomies and deep voices. And infertile.

I do'n't know where I'm really going with this other than to say that in some ways it must be 'easier' for a lot of young women to 'become men' because the results of taking T are so obvious and pretty convincing. And of course the appeal is immense. No longer do you have the status of 'woman' and all the shit that that entails - bye bye oppression (if you pass and most seem to) I weep at the lovely lesbian girls that are transitioning themselves into transmen but I can't say as I blame them. And I can't say that I blame any parent that has a suicide threatening teenage girl who convinces them that by transitioning they will be 'happy',

So I guess this post is about acknowledging this and acknowledging the parents who have to deal with their daughters going through this and maybe bringing it back to the damage that is happening to women from this angle. The emphasis seems to be on the MTF and all the issues that brings up,

I know it goes without saying that most people on the Feminist Boards are acutely aware of this aspect. I'm just wondering where this is going to go. I almost commented last night on the site of non-binary, Jakeftmagic (Alex Bertie's 'partner') that I lamented the loss of his beautiful singing voice from his 'lesbian' videos of 2014 to the non-binary, T-taking, be-bearded singing voice he demonstrates now but how cruel would that have been?

I was pissed off last night watching the Miriam Margoyles programme when she was talking to a fantastic black female sheriff in America's deep south. They filmed an LGTBT event and who were suddenly sitting centre stage and getting all the focus? The "T" element again. Suddenly the story of a powerful black woman, rising up and achieving was delegated to trans people complaining about the prejudice they experience.

As I said, I'm not sure what I want out of posting this other than to chat on the Feminist Board. Thanks for listening if you've made it his far!

Also I am concerned that the MHRA- the UK body which regulates medicines- puts out lots of warnings about other dangerous off-label uses of medicines doesn’t appear to have commented on this area yet.

(note: not all off label uses of drugs are dangerous, but that’s when they are individually prescribed by a doctor who knows what they are doing and monitors the patient)

I havent seen the MHRA saying anything yet about the dangers of buying hormones over the internet and self-‘medicating’- where you have no way to know if the hormones you are buying are safe or if they what they say they are, if they are safe for you as an individual to take, you can’t know how much dosage you are taking etc etc. All the usual warnings you would get with prescription-only drugs bought in a shady way off the Internet.

Surely everyone has an interest in making sure people are informed about the safety of what they are buying and the need for medical assessment, talking therapy with a professional, supervision and advice before doing something not- reversible to their bodies.

Ditto advertising standards authority if there are any UK based suppliers advertising hormones for sale direct to consumers over the internet.

A FtM patient can't just receive a prescription for testosterone in a jiffy. There are protocols in place, like counselling and living as the other gender for a year

Simply not true. I went to a the gender clinic with a friend who was transitioning from Male to female. He (and I use that pronoun because he has now detransitioned and thinks he made a terrible mistake) changed into women’s clothes in the loos before he saw the doctor, lied and said he always dressed as a women. Lied about the last time he had sex. Regurgitated a load of crap he’d got from a “how to get hormones from the dr” website. Got his gender dysphoria diagnosis on the spot and was started on hormones three months later after repeating the same lies to the doctor on his second visit. Throughout he dressed as a man day to day, only putting womens clothes on when visiting the gender clinic, and continued to sleep with his partner. He totally believed that he could carry on living as a man until his operation, then would magically emerge from the hospital into the world as a whole new (female) person, and all his problems would be solved. No one, shamefully myself included, told him otherwise.

According reddit sub UK Trans, this private doctor will prescribe you hormones after a Skype consultation

gendergp.co.uk/about-us-medical-team/

Hi, I've posted a few times on here before and thought I could contribute to this thread.

Hi TruscumTeen. It's good to have you here and to get your opinion. You sound very switched on for 16. Can I ask you when your dysphoria started? Was it connected to any event in your life?

I hated my body as a teenager. I didn't have gender dysphoria but I believe I had dysmorphia - your description of struggling when you shower because you hate yourself so much is exactly what I felt.

I know gender dysphoria is very complex but I hope it helps you a tiny bit to say now I'm in my 30's I don't have any such feelings. I value my body. It is a long way from perfect - in fact I am having multiple surgeries to correct a medical condition which affects my appearance, but even with that I like myself and feel like I'm an ally to my body rather than wanting to destroy it.

I hope you stick around and join in the conversation where you can. And I hope your dysphoria eases.

Hi gendercritter

I can't really pinpoint when it started exactly, but I know I was about 11 years old. I'd just hit puberty and it was awful. It was so bad that I ended up struggling with depression, anxiety and eating disorders for 4 years. After I managed to resolve these issues (and regained lost weight) the dysphoria became really intense, and it's stayed that way since. I don't think there was an event which could have triggered it. My granddad died a couple of years before, and I've struggled generally with friendships, school and trying to meet high expectations, but I feel as though these are issues I've dealt with alongside the dysphoria, rather than them contributing factors.

I'm sorry you experienced dysmorphia as a teenager, but I'm glad that you have managed to somewhat alleviate it. I really hope I am able to do the same, although at the moment it seems a huge impossibility.

And thank you, I hope so too.