no doubt you’ve come across this “news“, about a 16 year old german pop singer who has had gender reassignment surgery, commonly known as a “sex change” in our vernacular.

i have a few problems, as you’ve probably surmised by now. not only with the headlines that are being perpetrated by the media, and the underlying assumptions behind them, but by how the term “transsexual” is used against us, transsexuals.

apparently, the media has unilaterally changed the meaning of the term “transsexual” to a person who has undergone surgery and hormone treatments in order to acquire the physical characteristics of the opposite sex. so here’s a news flash to y’all who haven’t had surgery – you’re not a transsexual. and to those who have, you are transsexual. hooray.

little did i realize that before i had surgery, i really wasn’t transsexual, despite all the medical treatment and diagnoses to the contrary. i shudder to think of all the stigma and torment i could have avoided, had i been aware of this newly developed definition.

the above linked post has more gems of insight. jennifer lance, the illustrious author of the piece, states:

I am not sure how I feel about this news. On one hand, I want to respect Kim and her decision. I am an open-minded person, at least I like to think I am. On the other hand, 16-years-old is awful young to be making life changing decisions. I can’t even remember what I wanted at 16, other than to drive a car and hang out with my friends while listening to music. I am not for elective, cosmetic surgery, but some may argue this is not cosmetic for Kim. I believe we should accept our natural bodies.

i suppose jennifer would prefer that the world use her experience as the model of experience with which all other experiences should be compared. after all, if she “can’t even remember what [she] wanted at 16″, then all us bat shit trannys certainly can’t know. oh, i’m sorry, i guess we really weren’t trannys back then. maybe wannabe transsexuals. or worse, shemales.

and regarding our “natural bodies”, jennifer goes on to say:

One thing I do know, I can’t help but feel like I should move to Germany. My son is considered “uninsurable” because he has a congenital heart defect, and our government offers no support because we are not a low income family, yet Germany pays for a teenager’s sex change! I wish Kim and her family well, and I try to have compassion for her gender issues.

um, jennifer, i’m very sorry to hear that your son has a congenital heart defect, but “i believe we should accept our natural bodies.”

yeah, sounds pretty stupid when it’s put that way, doesn’t it.

but hey, if a government pays for something as petty as a teenager’s sex change, then surely they should pay for a “real” disorder like a congenital heart defect. and yeah, thanks for your “compassion” for my “gender issues”!

apparently, if you’re born in illinois, and you get your gender reassignment surgery outside the united states, you can’t change your gender marker on your birth certificate. via the aclu:

For more than four decades, Illinois has permitted individuals who have gender confirmation surgery to change the gender “marker” on an original birth certificate; the Department of Vital Records, however, recently started interpreting the law to provide this option only if an individual has the surgery by a United States-licensed physician. This creates an unnecessary and unfair burden for the growing number of persons who select a surgeon from Europe, South America or Asia.

the aclu lawsuit states:

The complaint notes that “(c)hanging the name and gender on a person’s identity documents is another important aspect of sex reassignment, since those documents are crucial to that person’s ability to function successfully in the new gender.” An accurate birth certificate is important not only in those situations where an employer may require a birth certificate to start a new job, but also – especially under REAL ID proposals approved by Congress – may be necessary in the future to secure identification to drive a car, enter a federal building or board an airplane.

and to think, that illinois is “the land of lincoln”. i think he’d roll over in his grave.

i went to the doctor yesterday for my annual check-up. as it turns out, i hadn’t been since november of ’06, so i was over due. i had the usual prodding, poking and peeking, blood tests, and extensive questioning that accompanies any thorough medical exam. i am fortunate and privileged to have the medical insurance that covers this (besides a $20 co-pay, and a small co-pay for the blood work), and i feel extremely lucky to have found an excellent medical group that specializes in lgbt medicine.

actually, i schedule my visits with the resident nurse practitioner as opposed to the doctor there. i usually prefer female medical personnel when it comes to someone poking in and around my body, and i’ve been seeing her since i moved to phoenix, so she knows my history.

at this visit, i met their new assistant, who performed most of the exam. she was quite personable, and she put me at ease immediately. apparently, she’s in training, and i was her first post-op trans woman. which was quite the experience since i was past due for an internal exam, and i haven’t found a gyno in the area with whom i was comfortable.

she did quite well, wielding that speculum like a pro, making this the most painless internal exam and pap smear i’ve had. well, it’s not actually a pap smear, since i don’t have a cervix – they’re just testing to make sure there are no abnormal cells floating around in there.

anyway, it seems i’m doing my part in helping to educate the next generation of medical personnel in trans health care. perhaps they should pay me next time

so the discussion on real transbigotry over at pam’s house blend turned into a shouting match, and was shut down, with all comments deleted. i can totally understand why that decision was made. i read pam’s every day, and the mud slinging and back stabbing that occurred from both sides in that thread was totally out of line. it’s just amazing to me how certain groups of grown women can’t hold a civil discussion.

i do wish they’d have kept the comments though. it was a perfect example of how not to have a discussion, and who the perps were. well, based on the heat, i imagine that this type of thing will rear it’s ugly head before too long.

i was going to wait until i finished it, but i just can’t. this book is amazing. julia serano is insightful, intellegent, and cuts right to the root of the issues. i was amazed even after the introduction and the trans woman manifesto, which are even before part one, chapter one. she rocks. this is required reading for *everyone*. and it’s even available on amazon. buy it and read it. now.

i was going to write a post on my unexpected troubles in finding some lube for dilating, since the many cases of surgilube i bought soon after my surgery 5 years ago finally ran out, and the fact that it costs more for 3 tubes of the ky at the drug store than a case of 12 surgilubes at amazon, but i realized that my privilege was showing. so i stopped myself and had a gin and tonic instead.