Or, specifically, not trans enough
As you may have figured from my interview with Art, I’m into spreading the word that surgery without T is possible; I was pretty shocked to discover I was the first patient in this situation accepted by surgeon Simon Ceber. I think broader definitions of gender, manliness, maleness and masculinity are imperative to social equality, but also for individual freedom and happiness – as I think Art and I depicted in our article.
In this vein, I wrote a detailed article explaining my experience of obtaining surgery without testosterone, based on this article I found really helpful on the FTM Australia website by William, NSW. I sent my article to FTM Australia and received this reply:
Thanks for sharing your article.
We’ve read it now and the general consensus is it really sits better within a genderqueer framework/website rather than the FTM Australia website. If you were interested in providing evidence that chest surgery without testosterone is possible, have you approached Melbourne GenderQueer to host your work? http://www.melbournegenderqueer.org/ GenderQueer Revolution might also be interested? http://www.genderqueerrevolution.org/
Also Gender Radicals, the email discussion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GenderRadicals/ might also take it in their files section.
If you want the option of linking it, we can do that with something like “Click here to read account of one genderqueer individual who is not on testosterone and secured chest surgery through the Monash system.”
kind regards,
Craig Andrews
FTM Australia Coordinator
PO Box 488 GLEBE NSW 2037 | www.ftmaustralia.org
OzGuys – National Support and Discussion Email Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OzGuys/
Follow us on Twitter – http://twitter.com/ftmaustralia
Find us on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/ftmaustralia
Seriously? I’ve been dealing with so many cool people and reading so much about how feminists aren’t transphobic and transexuals don’t rival transgender people, I’m caught off guard by their narrow mindedness. As my dear friend Gauche Sinister put it:
that’s so fucked!!! i can’t believe an ftm website has a more rigid
and narrow definition of ftm than your horrible psychologist.
No shit.
They also totally re-gender me as “Genderqueer” (a label I have not used); suggesting that I am not FTM and thus drawing a distinct boundary about what FTM is – which I think is majorly uncool, unproductive and unhelpful. THANK GOD I WORK FOR DUDE.
Oh, and here’s my article:
- on wordpress
- complete printable Max Top Surgery Sans T.pdf
Hey Dude.
I support you.
I have also been turned away from a few groups because i wasnt going to get genital construction.
i say you are who you say you are.
THANKS SO MUCH. YEAH IT’S PRETTY FUCKIN’ BAD FORM. LIKE, WAY TO TO BE THE GENDER POLICE OMG.
Bro that’s completely disappointing – guh, urrgh, yuck – serrrriously. I think that’s why publications like Dude are SO important. Of course we can be FTM if we don’t want to go on T, or if we don’t want to get surgery, or if we don’t want to do either. WTF. So dumb.
Thanks for the support Sam. Totally why we need (and have!) DUDE.
Gross. Really sucks to learn that FTM Australia are still playing the gender-police. Thanks for sharing your experience though and yeah, kudos to DUDE for being more inclusive – it’s heaps important to showcase the diverse ways in which people do gender!
Thanks for the support – so appreciated.
Actually I just linked to your DUDE magazine article in my blog. I get a lot of questions from readers regarding this specific issue.
I also got top surgery without taking T since I identify as neutrois, not male. It is interesting to hear it from your perspective navigation medical institutions in Australia, as the majority of the info I get is from the US and some UK. Thanks for putting it out there, this information is sorely needed!
~maddox
sweet, thanks for the comment (and link). I couldn’t find any material that was from Australia when I was doing research – I’m a pretty private person, but I thought putting my experience of chest surgery sans T out there was pretty important for that reason. cheers
check out Chase Ross’s video on being “trans enough”
this too