It’s always really interesting to read short stories from the 1960s that deal with gender identity. Take Day Million, by Frederik Pohl, for instance—one of the characters is Dora, a trans woman. From the text (excuse some cissexist aspects of it; this was the 1960s and he’s writing for a largely cis audience who just doesn’t “get” this kinda stuff):

About this business of her being a boy. It didn’t matter to her audiences that genetically she was male. It wouldn’t matter to you, if you were among them, because you wouldn’t know it—not unless you took a biopsy cutting of her flesh and put it under an electron microscope to find the XY chromosomes—and it didn’t matter to them because they didn’t care. Though techniques which are not only complex but haven’t yet been discovered, these people were able to determine a great deal about the aptitudes and easements of babies quite a long time before they were born—at about the second horizon of cell-division, to be exact, when the segmenting egg is becoming a free blastocyst—and then they naturally helped those aptitudes along. Wouldn’t we? If we find a child with an aptitude for music we give him a scholarship to Juilliard. If they found a child whose aptitudes were for being a woman, they made him one. As sex had long been dissociated from reproduction this was relatively easy to do and caused no trouble and no, or at least very little, comment.

How much is “very little”? Oh, about as much as would be caused by our own tampering with Divine Will by filling a tooth. Less than would be caused by wearing a hearing aid. Does it still sound awful? Then look closely at the next busty babe you meet and reflect that she may be a Dora, for adults who are genetically male but somatically female are far from unknown even in our own time.

This brings up some interesting ideas. With the studies of genetics becoming more and more exact, it might be possible to determine whether or not a person will be transgender from a very early stage. Hopefully, then, parents and doctors will be able to assist the child with their transition, which would spare the child from a lot of pain.

It’s also interesting in that transitioning in Pohl’s world is treated with the same attitude as a tooth being filled. There’s nothing taboo about it, and clearly people have realized that it’s a medical necessity. 

Anyway, I thought I’d share that. You can read the full text here if you so desire.

I’m just confused and kind of concerned about this letter. Basically in order to have a consultation regarding HRT with my primary care physician, they needed a letter detailing what was discussed in therapy, my history, current mental state, ETC. 

And it says right here in the letter that my therapist would “support hormone treatment because of the relief I hope that would provide.”

Does this mean I have the go-ahead for HRT?

Does this mean my doctor can potentially prescribe testosterone?

Help I am confuse????

My dad tried to use this argument with me when I came out as transgender. It really bothers me because the people who tend to make the argument that “gender doesn’t matter!” are the types who have never once questioned their gender, never experimented with their gender presentation, or—perhaps most importantly—have never experienced gender dysphoria. They’re also the same types of people who get upset over someone misgendering them, yet INSIST on using the wrong pronouns/name for trans* people. Gender is and can be an extremely important of a person’s identity. And not just trans* people—cis people can place a lot of value on their gender identity as well! Plus, in this world, gender can affect how much you’ll get paid, who wants to start a relationship/have sex with you, and how you’ll be treated in your career field, among other things. To act like it doesn’t matter at all is foolish. Absolutely necessary disclaimer so people who are cis don’t shit their pants with rage: Cis ppl =/= cis people or cis allies. Cis ppl are the idiots who believe this argument, the idiots who believe trans* individuals are just confused, the idiots who believe that HRT or surgeries are “just cosmetic,” the idiots who believe in the “womyn born womyn” bullshit, the idiots who don’t respect a trans* person’s preferred pronouns, and so on. 
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My dad tried to use this argument with me when I came out as transgender. It really bothers me because the people who tend to make the argument that “gender doesn’t matter!” are the types who have never once questioned their gender, never experimented with their gender presentation, or—perhaps most importantly—have never experienced gender dysphoria. They’re also the same types of people who get upset over someone misgendering them, yet INSIST on using the wrong pronouns/name for trans* people.

Gender is and can be an extremely important of a person’s identity. And not just trans* people—cis people can place a lot of value on their gender identity as well! Plus, in this world, gender can affect how much you’ll get paid, who wants to start a relationship/have sex with you, and how you’ll be treated in your career field, among other things. To act like it doesn’t matter at all is foolish.

Absolutely necessary disclaimer so people who are cis don’t shit their pants with rage: Cis ppl =/= cis people or cis allies. Cis ppl are the idiots who believe this argument, the idiots who believe trans* individuals are just confused, the idiots who believe that HRT or surgeries are “just cosmetic,” the idiots who believe in the “womyn born womyn” bullshit, the idiots who don’t respect a trans* person’s preferred pronouns, and so on. 

THIS MESSAGE NEED TO BE REBLOGGED IF YOU GIVE A SLIVER OF A DAMN ABOUT TRANS RIGHTS

jillygolightly:

If you know of individuals who have been in a correctional/prison facility in Nevada who were/are transgender and subjected to any sort of problematic treatment (particularly being segregated from the rest of the inmates in a solitary-confinement situation) please contact me as soon as possible. The ACLU is doing some important research and documentation on this issue, and we need to get in touch with folks quickly for potential interviews or written reports. Please spread the word far and wide, and contact me directly with any leads at the information below:

Phil Hooper
ACLU of Nevada
702.366.1536 x204
hooper@aclunv.org



THE NEVADA ACLU IS STARTING A CASE THAT WILL END TRANSGENDER CIVIL RIGHT VIOLATIONS IN PRISONS. IT IS BEGINNING HERE IN NEVADA BUT THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCITE MAJOR CHANGE


I CARE NOT WHERE YOU LIVE< WHAT CITY< WHAT STATE< WHAT COUNTRY  PLEASE REBLOG


this will help trans women be housed where we should be housed, this has the potential to help persons like CeCe McDonald


PLEASE PLEASE REBLOG

THIS WORD NEEDS TO GET OUT THROUGH EVERY MEDIUM WE CAN

PLEASE

SIGNED 

Jillian James

(via brashblacknonbeliever)

I’m really trying to be a positive role model for trans people and it upsets me that after I SPECIFICALLY asked the producers of “Cake Boss” NOT to disrespect me or trans people. Before I agreed to do this show, I was assured and then reassured that it wasn’t going to be like the JERRY SPRINGER show or MAURY. Let me make this clear. CALLING A TRANSGENDER WOMAN A MAN IS WRONG. Period. Its degrading, its rude, and its very hurtful. I may not have been born a woman, but im NOT a man. I told them I would mind if they said “born male” or “was a male”. After taking this journey its not fair at all to be lied to by the producers. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG. EDUCATE AND PROMOTE EQUALITY AND RESPECT!!!!!!!

Carmen Carrera on her appearance on “Cake Boss” (via fuckyeahdragrace)

sign the petition here!

(via karynchaotic)

cake boss why :(

(via brogigayo)

omg ew wtf cake boss

(via thesavagesalad)

The fact that they STILL misgendered her after she SPECIFICALLY told them not to is absolutely despicable. I urge you to call them out on this on their Facebook page.

(via loveisforthebourgeoisie-deactiv)

Source: fuckyeahdragrace