#bodily transition

[taliabhattwrites]

Transition care is being outlawed and institutionally gatekept the world over.

Trans existence is the reactionary scapegoat du jour, a convenient symbol for regressive ideologues to rally against because we constitute a convenient effigy to burn, an existential threat to the patriarchal ideology of 'immutable', 'biological' sex upon which their 'natural order' (of male-supremacy and misogynistic exploitation) is founded.

During a cultural moment where the right's intentions to directly attack bodily autonomy and non-heterosexual, non-reproductive modes of existence are being plainly stated, where the nativist and natalist violence upon which states and their colonial orders are founded is being made most explicit, the response to this overt declaration of war on our ability to do what we will with our bodies is ... non-existent.

Feminism is being thoroughly repudiated by the left, by advocates of collectivization and queer activists alike. The "male loneliness crisis" is spoken of as our most pressing cultural issue, eliding the reactionary turn among men who are responding to deepening capitalist contradictions by demanding their patriarchal entitlement over women's labor and bodies. Trans people's existence is considered a luxury belief, established and proven healthcare is called 'experimental', and we are perceived as affluent eccentrics seeking novel forms of costuming rather than a thoroughly brutalized, impoverished, and stigmatized demographic sinking further and further into the margins.

Conservatives who rail against abortion and no-fault divorce now claim the label of "women's rights" because they also call for the eradication of transsexuality. The connections between the opposition to trans existence and the threats to women's political and economic independence are obvious, but no one is making them.

We are not organizing a robust, materialist, ideological opposition to this reactionary backlash on the basis of bodily autonomy, the emancipation of marginalized genders, or the right to exist independently from patriarchal structures such as the nuclear family.

We are arguing with each other about validity, about whether it's "biologically essentialist" to observe that society enables men to exploit women, and about whether anyone who speaks plainly about misogyny is a "TERF".

I stand here seeing things get worse for my sisters and my siblings, cis and trans and non-binary and intersex and queer and even heterosexual and more, watching us devour each other while working class men settle for dominion over their wives and families in exchange for being compliant for their bosses, and I wonder if we'll realize what must be done before it's too late.

I don't know. I don't have an answer for you.

At least, not a good one.

[sparklemaia]

Dear Maia, I just saw your substack comic about your growing disconnect from your body and journey to getting top surgery, and I found it deeply touching. As someone who doesn't feel the need to apply firm labels to themselves and their gender identity, there was something very comforting about seeing your journey, seeing you come out on top and feel at home in your body even if it means not having a simple answer. I feel as though nowadays young queers are expected to have perfectly defined answers about their identity and not stray from the chosen label (sometimes even ironically). Gender and sexuality aren't shameful or taboo topics, but must I wear it on my sleeve? Must it be obvious, neatly arranged for consumption? Isn't it enough to feel at peace with my body, whatever that might mean for me? Though I might be entirely wrong, I feel like I don't see enough stories of self discovery where the newly discovered territory can't be easily mapped for others to read. And that doesn't mean the place itself is any less alive and beautiful! I wish you the best of luck & a quick recovery from your top surgery. 💕

Right! Like, I know I don't neatly fit into any of the boxes we've got, and "nonbinary" as a catchall for "everything that doesn't fit in Box A or Box B" can sometimes feel restrictive too! So I'm just vibing I guess 😜. But oh wow my relationship with my body now that I'm tit-free is so much better, regardless of what gender terms it might suggest or elicit.

I'm very supportive of the right to bodily autonomy for *everyone*, without people needing to fit a script or follow the rules✌️ Babes if you have a body that developed breasts and you want top surgery for any goddamn reason, you deserve it. Full stop. (Actual access is another whole barrel of monkeys, but if you're asking yourself if you're *worthy* the answer is unequivocally yes.)

I also don't see many stories like mine, that stray from the more common binary transition experience (valid! important! but not mine!) which is one of the reasons I choose to share my journal comics. I hope they help others feel less alone ❤️

[fearandhatred]

could this be how every day begins?

first light by hozier + before the beginning

[femmesandhoney]

tras trying to claim something is a human rights violation against trans people when it also affects every other citizen is so funny like...yeah we know you're human too but how is that specifically about trans people come on now 😭

[uncanny-tranny]

On the topic of hormones, I love trans men, transmasculine people, abinary, multigender people, or whomever else who takes estrogen and trans women, transfeminine, abinary, multigender people, or whomever else who takes testosterone.

There is no "right" way to transition. You don't have to be a perfectly binary, gender conforming trans person in order to take hormones. We all have different levels of estrogen and testosterone, and that means women and nonbinary people don't have to have estrogen-dominant systems and men and nonbinary people don't have to have testosterone-dominant systems. Do what sparks joy and if it's shit, hit the bricks!

[transsexualfiend]

"No one should be transitioning for fun" why not... If you want a haircut you cut your hair if you want to get muscles you work out if you want a physical trait to change you can change it.

[guiltyidealist]

In case you haven't had the chance to go through the specifics of Project 25, here's the Wikipedia blurb with some key highlights.

( Please be very alarmed by the statement "we are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be" )

[reticent-fate]

part 11/26ish

anyone remember those scales with the springs in 'em? all i ever see these days are digital scales but those things made the best noises. i think i've seen some kitchen scales that still use spring mechanisms, but it's been a while.

technology is weird.

from the beginning

[taliabhattwrites]

Less Fearmongering about Testosterone, Please, Or: There is no "Boy HRT"/"Girl HRT" Dichotomy

Hello folks, I'm a trans woman and I'm on testosterone gel.

As an immigrant to a regime that is currently setting trans standards of care on fire, there is no way I can acquire any of the drugs I need to put in my body through the official channels. I've been on E monotherapy (weekly injections, no T-blocker, works out really cheap and I have a few years' worth stockpiled) for a while now, and started T-gel about a year ago.

We initially grabbed it because my wife was interested in microdosing and I decided to do so with her (though she's on injections now). Most feminizing HRT regimes nuke our T levels to lower than the healthy range for cis women, and that frankly isn't good and can lead to various health issues. T is, ultimately, just a hormone, and even if I had too much of it in the past, I still need some of it to be healthy. One noticeable effect for me is that it's helped a lot with my energy levels.

In terms of acquisition, T is actually relatively abundant compared to E because a lot of cis men buy and take steroids, while most cis women who need E are just getting it prescribed by their doctors without much fuss. Our community is the only one that really has a need for E-compounders, while the population of people who consume steroids is way higher.

Funnily, our biggest challenge in acquiring the gel was just finding a forum that would point us to a gel supplier instead of just insisting that "Gel doesn't lead to enough gains, bro! Here just buy these injections." All very well-intentioned advice, of course, but that was very much not my goal and not what I needed.

Where I am, it's legal to purchase and own T, just not to sell it. T possession is not particularly harshly cracked down upon, given that its use amongst a certain crowd is basically an open secret. Gauge your level of risk but ultimately, the official policy on trans existence is discouraging transition and making it harder for us to be able to change our sex. A friend from Germany showed me this extract that explicitly advocates for therapy to dissuade bodily transition:

It's from the guidelines for transition-related care by the association of German health insurances!

If you can get it from a doctor, good. Do that and don't forget you'll constantly have to advocate for yourself. Even if you can, however, you should frankly have your back-up options sorted out, because we live in times increasingly hostile to transitional care, and we all need to have fallbacks.

Maybe the world will eventually become less trans-eliminationist, but in the meantime, transition is always going to carry with it a certain level of risk. All I can really advise is to take charge of your own bodily autonomy, to decide how you want to shape your sex, and if you feel like you can't currently do that, to start making plans for when you eventually can. That kept me going for five years in the closet, and eventually paid off.

Good luck, and death before detransition.

[howlingrose]

Dear mutuals, tumblrinas and fellow homosexuals:

Hi!

Let's upset small minded pricks by allowing ourselves to be our most genuine and queer version.

Please help me moving this around in and out of tumblr. I'm not big on social media, so spreading the word has been really difficult.

Every donation is deeply appreciated but only do it if you have money to spare.

And any advice on how to get this to more people or spaces where I can get the support I need is crutial, so if you know anything please feel free to contact me and share that info with me.

[canichangemyblogname]

“You believe that a movement can simultaneously have deep Zionist roots while relying on antisemitic conspiracies to spread their ideas?”

Absolutely. And I’m tired of y’all pretending that Zionist is synonymous with Jewish or being an ally to Jews.

The RadFem/DivineFem movement is one such example of an antisemitic movement that believes whole heartedly in the Zionist cause. Many of its followers believe “Jewish doctors and billionaires” are “transing” and “gaying” children by funding, supporting, campaigning for, and performing sex changes on children, which they call “synthetic sex.” No such thing is happening. JB Pritzker and George Soros are not performing or funding sex changes for children. The doctors at your local Planned Parenthood or gender-affirming clinic are, by and large, not Jewish AND not operating on children.

The Trans Exclusionary Fem’s rhetoric mirrors the rhetoric the Nazi regime used against Jewish scholars, doctors, and researchers who studied queerness in Germany prior to being shut down and burned to the ground. Right down to the calls for these doctors and successful Jewish business men to be “hunted down” or “prosecuted” for the way they are destroying the “naturally given” (god-given) bodies of (white, Anglo) children.

At the same time that the TER movement frequently traffics in antisemitism, the movement also has deep Zionist sympathies. They believe in the righteousness of the “West’s” military force as a means for furthering human rights. They support Israel despite its Jewish citizens, not because of them, because they believe that the Zionist project more closely aligns to US and UK “western” values in regards to women, and thus will be a “civilizing” force upon the local Arab population, who they see as being a “backwards lot” that cannot respect women. No consideration, of course, for the West’s colonial history of raping and murdering Arab women and imposing upon them the conditions of life designed to bring about destruction. A marginalized group’s material conditions get worse under imperialism, but the TER cares only for the way that Zionism mirrors Manifest Destiny and British “Trade” Expansionism.

This is why when queer people and women in the “West” express concern for the treatment of women and queer people under Imperial invasion, the TER’s usual response is to tell the stupid faggots and cunts that SWANA citizens would rape us and throw us off roofs. They point and laugh, “Look at how these dumb trannies show humanity toward people who don’t respect their human rights,” as they campaign to strip us of our bodily autonomy and access to any public accommodations. “They’ll throw you off roofs,” says the man who posts about wanting to beat queers to death in bathrooms for the protection of “real women.” The “Western State” is somehow our saving grace; the best place for our human rights, but really the only threat to them.

While they feign to care about the treatment of women and queers in SWANA nations, the TER ignores the fact that our brutalization occurs in our own— supposedly “civilized”— countries at the hands of their policies and state actors who support their cause. I truly find it hard to believe that the TER cares about whether I’m thrown off a roof given how they discuss my lack of humanity. They will only ever bring forward the brutalization of people in the “West” when it serves their narrative, like when they want to justify their support for the violent weaponization of the paternalistic carceral state for the supposed protection of women (see: slogans that say “The only good criminal is a dead criminal”). Which women? Certainly not Black women. Not Indigenous women. Not immigrant women. Not queer women. Middle and upper class WASPy ladies.

[raskolnikov-moved]

Does anyone else have a split view of their gender and their body dysphoria? I feel like physically I should have had a perisex cis male body but I don't identify as a man at all. Like my sex is male but my gender and presentation is completely androgynous. I wish people would uncouple bodily sex with gender

[infernalhomo]

informed consent gender clinics sound like such a utopian concept.

like what do you mean i get to make decisions about changing my body without first having to perform every gross detail of my personal history and identity to some dickhead with a clipboard — who already decided i'm not trans enough to qualify the second i walked in, but we'll continue with this elaborate farce for several weeks anyway — until he finally stamps my records forever with a mental illness diagnosis of "sick in the head but not sick enough for medical intervention" and then sends me off on my way to be sneered at by random transphobic medical professionals for the rest of eternity every time my medical history comes up.

haha wouldn't that be so awesome, bro. maybe in like a 100 years they'll invent that sort of thing.

[feferipeixes]

vent

[local-limebug]

what the fuck is up with the rise in trans hate how are people this sensitive about what someone else wants to do with their own body