transguys

[transguys]

Braun advertises men’s trimmers using a trans model showing Top Surgery scars.

But images of solidarity are never enough.

With backlash rolling in and critics claiming that the ad glamorizes "cosmetic surgery", will Braun step up for us or pull a Budweiser?

[transguys]

This is a new mural in Kolkata, India that's dedicated to trans men! "These walls now stand as a living testament of our shared commitment to inclusion, diversity, and a world where everyone can express their true selves without fear or judgment. The trans cause is not just a movement, it’s a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who refuse to be defined by societal norms."

The artist is Nandini Moitra.  https://www.instagram.com/nandini.moitra/

[transguys]

Patricio Manuel, the trans-masc boxer signed with a major boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya, has once again defeated a cisgender man in a professional boxing fight, improving his record to 3 – 0.

"El Cacahuate" (The Peanut) is currently ranked 99th in the U.S. and 782 in the world. If he keeps winning, he will eventually be ranked in one of the major world boxing-sanctioning bodies.

[transguys]

Loren Cameron

Sad to hear of the passing of Loren Cameron. In the earliest days of my transition, it seemed like his photos could be found everywhere online where there was a discussion of transmasculinity. His work was so inspiring to me!

When I started Testosterone, I hung this^ photo in my closet as inspiration. 15 years later, it still hangs there.

Cameron's photography and writing was first published in the 1996 book, Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits, which not only documented his transition but also the lives of #trans men he knew. Body Alchemy became a double 1996 Lambda Literary Award winner.

Cameron also published a pioneering e-book in the late 90s, Man Tool: The Nuts and Bolts of Female-to-Male Surgery. It was one of the earliest collections of photos of transmasc surgeries along with 1st-person stories about surgery experiences and post-op erogenous sensation.

More about Cameron from Wikipedia.

[transguys]

Meet the newest superheroes of Marvel: Escapade and her trusty sidekick Morgan Red, a fashionable genius with a flying pet turtle. Morgan is the Q to Escapade's James Bond. He outfits her with all the high-tech gizmos she needs for her adventures.

Oh yeah, and one more thing: They're both transgender.

[transguys]

Pro Bono (FREE) Top Surgery for Qualifying Low Income Patients

Gender affirming Top Surgery is known to improve and save lives. However, not all medical insurance companies cover the surgery and some patients don't have access to insurance or the funds to undergo surgery. As one of the best plastic surgeons performing Top Surgery, Dr. Javad Sajan of Allure Esthetic created a program to offer pro bono Top Surgery to qualifying patients.

Patients may also not get a say in who their surgeon is or have absurd wait times to undergo care. "Many patients on state-subsidized programs have to wait years to get this life saving surgery. Through this program, we offer these patients a chance to have the freedom of choosing their provider and undergoing the surgery in a timely manner," Dr. Sajan said.

Pro bono Top Surgery is available for those below the poverty line based on the number of people in the household. For an individual who lives alone, this equates to making less than $12,880 per year.

Since Dr. Sajan is located in the Seattle area, and travel and accommodations can be very expensive, the program is mostly going to be of interest to those who live in the Pacific Northwest, although those who have family or close friends in the area may still be able to make it work for them.

To apply for the pro bono Top Surgery program, the patient will need to contact the Allure Esthetic office here to request an application form. Dr. Sajan and the review team will review to identify good surgical candidates and evaluate each applicant's unique needs.

[transguys]

The first all-India Transmen and Transmasculine Persons Summit was held yesterday.

[transguys]

Equal Play: Transgender Athletes Talk Fitness & Fairness

For trans men, the chance to participate in sport and exercise can be critical for mental well-being. Men’s Health asked six of them to share their stories.

The Surfer: Taylor Winters, 38

Winters, originally from Transylvania, is used to answering questions on his origins (‘People ask, “Does Transylvania actually exist?” ’ he laughs). After undergoing breast removal– or ‘top surgery’ – in 2019, he discovered a love of surfing, thanks to his reworked physique.

The Weightlifter: Leo Chrzanowski, 29

Growing up in the US and inspired by westerns, Chrzanowski’s first sporting passion was rodeo. After transitioning seven years ago, he feels free to pursue his twin loves of horse riding and weightlifting. His efforts have clearly paid off.

The Boxer: Danny Baker, 34

Currently in training for the World Gay Boxing Championships, Essex-born Baker has always dreamed of boxing against other men on the professional stage.

The Rugby Player: Verity Smith, 40

‘Before rugby, there was nothing. I didn’t know where to fit in,’ Smith has said. Luckily, it turned out he’s pretty good at rugby, having played in both union and league before an accident left him partially paralysed in 2018 – the same year he became the first trans person to win the national ‘Prop Star’ Award.Now playing wheelchair rugby, Smith is focused on promoting inclusion with the charity Mermaids.

The Bodybuilder: Shay Price, 23

From a young age, Price idolised bodybuilders. Now, having spent half of his life as an openly transgender man, Price has overcome genetic setbacks to match his iron-pumping heroes. The next step? Competing on the world stage.

The Martial Artist: Jordan Jackson, 30

As a PT and three-time taekwondo gold medallist, Jackson is on a mission to ‘radically reduce the suicide statistics within the trans community through fitness and a positive mindset’.

[transguys]

Meet Mauricio

Mauricio Ochieng, 30, Kisumu state, Kenya

Mauricio travels seven hours on a bus to Nairobi to collect his testosterone injections. It's a journey he's been making for over a year. It's worth it.

"With the injections my body has started changing, I look less 'feminine', my voice is deeper and I'm growing a beard," he says. "I was finally on the way to becoming myself. I am a man. I was never a woman."

Growing up in rural Kenya, about 350km from the capital Nairobi, Mauricio knew he was different. He has more than 150 cousins and couldn't relate to any of them.

"I was the black sheep of the family."

He knew that he was not a girl, despite his body. His parents believed he was a lesbian. That was bad enough, they said, but it was something they understood. When he told them that he was a man in a woman's body, they made him leave the family home.

Mauricio was 16 and homeless. He was sexually assaulted multiple times. Just over a year later, he fell pregnant from one of the rapes. People called him a "chkora", a slur for a street beggar.

He went to his mother's house and said: "Please don't make me give birth in the street like a dog."

She let him come home.

Mauricio's daughter was born in 2007. He worked at the local market, buying and selling shoes.

In 2018 he decided to begin his transition. Testosterone injections cost around 1,200 shilling per dose (about £9) - which is a day's work.

The 14-hour round trip each month to collect his medication felt like a huge achievement. Mauricio was saving up for Top Surgery: to have his breasts removed.

Then coronavirus reached Kenya, and soon lockdown restrictions followed.

Mauricio does not have his next supply of testosterone.

"I'm having sleepless nights, depression," he says. "What will happen if I cannot have access to my medication? What will all this pain have been for?

"I am a trans man in a transphobic country. If I don't get my medication what will happen to my body - it is already changing. Will I look abnormal? Who is going to fight for us to be heard in this chaos?"

[transguys]

Binding in the *1950s*

Jim McHarris was a trans man who was born in Mississippi in 1924. He transitioned in his early teens and traveled around the country taking various jobs: short order cook, cab driver, gas station attendant, auto mechanic, shipyard worker, and preacher. He eventually returned to Mississippi and settled in Kosciusko.

In 1954, he was pulled over and arrested. During the pat-down, he revealed his birth sex to the officers but they didn’t believe him, so McHarris was forced to strip naked in front of a judge and the police. He served 30 days at a prison farm. Although McHarris dressed in men’s clothes he was housed with female prisoners. After his release, he was shunned by the community and left Kosciusko, continuing to live as a man.

His story was unearthed in a 1954 issue of Ebony magazine in which Jim is quoted as having said, “I ain’t done nothing wrong and I ain’t breaking no laws.”

Source: A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilization https://transguys.com/features/ftm-trans-history Photo from Hue magazine archives.

[transguys]

10 Ways To Avoid Getting Caught Up In a Testosterone Shortage

There’s zero indication that testosterone shortages are going away, so it’s important to arm yourself with information so that you know what to do when a shortage strikes. 

1. The best way to avoid a testosterone shortage is to not let yourself run out of T to begin with. It’s a good idea to always keep a backup vial around, but this is becoming harder to do in many areas of the U.S. where 10ml and 5ml vials are no longer dispensed and only 1ml vials are available. (Seemingly all of the sudden, pharmacies are enforcing the 28-day rule that calls for multi-dose vials to be discarded 28 days after first use.) If you can, leave a spare vial in your emergency kit, and order your testosterone prescription refill BEFORE you actually run out of T!

2. Get informed about the shortage. Talk with your pharmacist and look up information about the shortage online. You may be able to find out when the shortage is expected to end. In the U.S., you can use this USA Drug Shortage Search tool. In Canada, check here.

3. Take your prescription to another pharmacy. Pharmacies don’t all run out of testosterone at the same time, so if your pharmacy can’t fill your prescription crack the phone book and start calling all the pharmacies in your area, even pharmacies in nearby cities if you have to. You’ll probably need to see your doctor to move your prescription to a different pharmacy.

4. Switch to another brand or formulation. This can be harder to do than it sounds. First, you’ll have to see your doctor for a new prescription. Don’t delay as it’s unlikely that you’ll be the first in line for the alternative brand or formulation and what often happens during a shortage is that the alternative product also becomes unavailable due to increased demand.

In Canada, there are just two brands of injectable testosterone available. They have different concentrations of testosterone requiring a different dosage, as well as different suspension oils which some people are allergic to. If you obtain an alternative brand or formulation, be sure to read the label carefully and compare it to what you normally take.

Switching between different delivery methods, ie. intramuscular vs transdermal, can also lead to difficulty in maintaining stable hormone levels and it can take months for your body to adjust to the switch.

“Switching back and forth between different products is not ideal, and many doctors do not have experience in prescribing the different forms of testosterone,” said Dr Anastacia Tomson during the recent South African shortage.

Of course, be prepared to pay more as all the alternatives to T. cypionate and T. enanthate will be more expensive.

“I noticed a difference when I switched from Reandron to Testex, but this [shortage] is much worse. It’s not just about getting my period back, which is bad enough because it means reliving everything I’ve struggled to get away from, it’s about general changes in my body. I feel more sluggish and tired. And I’ve put on weight.” —Yerai, transgender man in Spain

5. Check with your local trans health clinic. If you have access to a trans health clinic, you may find that they keep some testosterone on hand and can give you shots during a shortage (provided you have an existing prescription.)

6. Get injectable T compounded. Only certain compounding pharmacies can make injectable testosterone so you’ll need to search around. Depending on where you live in the U.S., New Era Pharmacy in Portland, OR may be able to ship to you. Some downsides are that the accuracy of testosterone concentrations in compounded T has been questioned and compounded injectable testosterone can cost twice as much as what you’re used to spending on testosterone.

7. Get T from a friend. This is illegal and would likely be frowned upon by your prescribing doctor, but when times are tough sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

8. Ration your supply of testosterone. If you can reduce your dosage or frequency of injections, you might be able to ride out the shortage, though you probably won’t feel 100%.

9. Patience. If a testosterone shortage isn’t expected to last very long, you might be able to just wait it out, although symptoms of low T will start to creep up as soon as two weeks after a shot.

10. Underground labs. This is illegal and not recommended. Buying testosterone from a rogue internet pharmacy is a dangerous way to obtain medicine, but when you’re left without options the risks can look a little less menacing. If you’re forced to resort to this, you absolutely must purchase a testosterone testing kit.

Hopefully, you’ll never feel the effects of a testosterone shortage, but if you do, at least you’ve got a game plan now.

Source: Testosterone Shortages: Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For YOU?

[transguys]

Also see Genderqueer.me’s guide to Low Dose Testosterone.

[transguys]

EZP STP Packer Giveaway

TransGuys.com is giving away an EZP by Transthetics. One lucky winner will receive one of these premium silicone stand-to-pee packers! Want to win? Enter here.

[transguys]

ICE wants Chin to believe that he's alone. We want him to know and feel that's not true.

Will you write to him?

You can address the letter to: Yuen Tsui ID: 53906 Irwin County Detention Center 132 Cotton Dr. Ocilla, GA 31774

Be sure to include your return address. Please drop us a message when you send your letter, so we can let him know its coming! If you have any questions, want to host a letter writing party, or just need some support, email sasha@nqapia.org

- National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance http://www.nqapia.org/wpp/

Sign the Petition

Donate Here

[transguys]

“To my knowledge, I’m one of the first openly transgender healthcare practitioners providing hormone therapy in the state of Texas.” -Dr. Colt Keo-Meier. Photo by Todd Spoth/Courtesy Dr. Colt Keo-Meier.

What does the informed consent model look like for patients who are seeking gender care services?

Dr. Colt Keo-Meier: We at UTMB practice the informed consent model which is outlined in the 7th edition of the WPATH Standards of Care. Patients who are over the age of 18 who come into the clinic seeking hormone therapy, barring any major health issues that would be of concern for initiating hormone treatment, will generally receive their hormone prescription and administering education within two visits. So, there’s no need for a letter from a psychotherapist for hormone treatment or any other sort of gatekeeping involved. Those patients who are under 18 will need parental consent to start hormone treatment unless there is a circumstance where they are able to provide their own consent.

https://www.spectrumsouth.com/gender-care-utmb-galveston/

[transguys]

Meet India's first transman to become a bodybuilding champion. The Delhi resident, a lawyer, came second in the Men’s Physique category at Musclemania India. https://scroll.in/article/904632/meet-aryan-pasha-indias-first-transgender-male-bodybuilding-champ