“A Tokyo municipal official, the first openly transgender person to seek or win elected office in Japan. She was elected in April 2003. Kamikawa, then a 35-year-old writer, submitted her election application papers with a blank space for “sex.”
She won a four-year term as an independent under huge media attention, placing sixth of 72 candidates running for 52 seats in the Setagaya ward assembly, the most populous district in Tokyo. Despite an announcement that the government would continue to consider her male officially, she stated that she would work as a woman. Her platform was to improve rights for women, children, the elderly, the handicapped, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
In April 2007, she was re-elected to her second term, placing second of 71 candidates running for 52 in the same ward assembly. She is the only openly transgender official in Japan at this point.” xx
Ai Haruna (はるな愛)
Ai Haruna is a singer, actress, and businesswoman. Growing up she experienced a lot of pain and hardship due to the ignorance of her parents and Japanese society as a whole. However, this didn’t stop her from living out her childhood dream of becoming an idol and tv-personality. xx
Kayo Satoh (佐藤かよ)
She is a fashion model and particularly famous in the fighting game community. She was born in Nagoya and after she graduated middle school she ran away from home because of the pain she experienced in a society that didn’t understand her. That night, she went to her childhood friend’s house, who lent her clothes that suited her. She then worked at a convenience store, and 4 years later she got a job as a clerk at a women’s clothing store. Soon after, she was scouted by a modeling agency which she still works for. x
“a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, as well as being an author and actress. She is most recognised for her song ‘Tomodachi no Uta’, which was used as the theme song for the drama Watashi ga Watashi de Aru Tame ni (in which she also appeared as an actress). She’s also known for being one of the few openly [transgender] celebrities in Japan, having been [assigned male at birth], and has spoken of the struggles she underwent with issues of identity before transitioning. In 2006, she signed to popular record label avex trax, and in 2010 moved to Yamaha Music Communications.” xx
You can get hormone therapy in the United States without undergoing a long evaluation period or undergoing a ‘real life test’ if you seek out an ‘informed consent’ doctor or clinic. I waited over a year before seeking hormones because I did not want to place myself at the mercy of a mental health professional and I did not want a doctor ‘diagnosing’ my gender. Which brings me to…
They’re going to diagnose you anyway because they need an ICD code to bill your insurance company. I was furious when I found the diagnosis on my medical chart. It would have helped a lot if the doctor had asked my permission or explained that it was for insurance billing purposes only but he didn’t.
Hormone therapy drugs bought from overseas pharmacies are safe and will not cause ‘legitimate’ clinics to refuse treatment should you later decide to switch to a prescription. At the time the information I was able to find talked a lot about how trans women who use ‘black market’ hormones are not to be trusted and that a trans woman who uses such medications should be denied care until they can prove themselves ‘trustworthy,’ somehow. It is a lie.
There is absolutely zero evidence that injectable estrogens are more effective than oral estrogens. The fact is that the ‘advantage’ attributed to injectable estrogens is almost certainly placebo (and injectable placebo is known to be much more powerful than one administered orally). I could have saved myself a lot of discomfort and a serious leg injury caused by an improperly prepared injection.
Properly dosed, there is no reason that sublingual estradiol should be more effective than oral estradiol. The only thing that matters is that enough estradiol enters into your bloodstream and that is something that will be reflected in your labs.
Transdermal estradiol patches are itchy, smelly affairs that cost quite a lot of money and refuse to stay on. Knowing what I know now I would have avoided them entirely.
When I started hormone therapy my endocrinologist gave me conjugated equine estrogen because it came in smaller doses than 17β-estradiol. I was kept on conjugated estrogen for some time under the pretense that he was making sure I didn’t have any bad reactions to being on estrogen. Knowing what I know now I would have been able to argue that conjugated equine estrogen has a much worse side-effect profile than 17β-estradiol and that placing me on this drug unnecessarily endangered my body and my transition. Furthermore, the smallest doses available were far below a healthy dose needed to maintain bone and emotional well-being. Done again I would have insisted that I be started on a reasonable dose of 17β-estradiol.
Low progesterone is implicated in poor emotional health in women. Micronized progesterone is valuable to trans women for maintaining a healthy level of progesterone. I’ve personally benefited a lot, emotionally, from having it and I just wish I started using it sooner.
I wish someone had encouraged me to seek out other trans people as friends. At the time I first came out I didn’t really know there were other people out there that could really help me. The only thing I knew about being trans was what I was able to read online and in books and most of that firmly emphasized the idea that you should transition until you’ve had surgery and ‘pass’ and then disappear and that the people who ‘hung around’ the community were somehow failures. I know that’s not the truth, now, but it really messed me up early in my transition.
I wish someone told me to be cautious. I wish I was told that doctors and mental health professionals aren’t the last word and that if one decides that you’re a ‘failure’ or ‘actually a man’ it’s them that is wrong and not my own instincts regarding who I am. I also wish someone had given me a gentle nudge that some of the people I would meet in the trans community are not to be trusted and do not have my well being at heart. I feel that knowing those two things coming into that experience would have saved me a lot of grief.
I really want to talk about the unbelievable day I just had, but I don’t want to risk outing someone IRL by posting on my own blog. (If there’s a way to anonymize this submission, I would appreciate it!)
I just had lunch with my biological dad (my mom and dad’s sperm donor) to celebrate Father’s Day. He is a long-time friend of the family, and we have seen each other a couple of times a year for the past several years.
In the course of conversation, I accidentally came out as being pansexual and some variation of non-binary or genderfluid. I said something along the lines of liking people “of all different genders” and he really resonated with that phrase.
He said “well, if you’re being totally open and honest with me, I’ll be open and honest with you about something I’ve never talked about before.“ It turns out that he has questioned his gender since he was a little kid, and regularly wears "women’s clothing” secretly under his other clothes or in the privacy of his basement when his wife is at work. He has only ever told two other people (including his current wife) and neither of them supported him at all so he just keeps it totally hidden. But I was PSYCHED! I am so excited! I invited him over to try on accessories and do makeup and all that stuff, and we got to have a great conversation about each of our gender adventures.
Since he’s never been part of an LGBTQ+ community or had any education that way, but I’ve had several Gender Studies classes at my university, we use pretty different vocabulary for things. Like, he had never heard about people requesting preferred pronouns or gender-neutral pronouns before (hence why I am continuing to use he/him pronouns for now: it’s brand new territory and he doesn’t seem ready to think about being called anything else yet!) He knew the phrase “shemale” and was somewhat vaguely aware of “FTM” but had never heard “trans woman” or that “trans women are real women” before I started talking about it. It sounds like the only images of non-binary or trans bodies he has seen are the typical porn actors (young, perfect, large breasts, large penis, totally staged orgasms, etc.) and he was so fascinated when I talked about liking to look at sexual/pornographic images of real regular non-cisgender people who have body hair and fat and whatever diverse genitalia and identities and partners they actually have. Like, he has no idea where to find that kind of thing, but I do (sort of)
In his world, he’s a man who secretly likes to wear women’s clothing and sometimes feels that he doesn’t fit his gender. But in my world, *she* might be a trans woman who wears *her own* clothing, and isn’t supported to be out about it. Or “they” and genderfluid, or whatever works, but certainly not “a man wearing women’s clothing”. We have two totally different paradigms, and it is a real challenge not to think about my point of view as being correct and his as being ignorant. I want to let him be in control of his identity and how and if he wants to redefine it as we start talking about the different terms that folks use.
The fact that he’s my biological parent is amazing because, OMFG it runs in the family! This is where I get it from! But it also makes boundary issues a little weird. Like, I want this beautiful person to have all the resources to have a safe and happy and validated feminine identity and sexuality for once in their life. But also, sharing porn search terms and how to buy lingerie with a parent is super weird right? He’s really into cute shoes, and I told him that he can have some of the fancy pairs I wore once to some event but aren’t comfortable enough to wear regularly. But then there’s the issue that for him, shoes are also I guess a sexual fetish thing? Sharing healthy sexuality resources is one thing, but sharing straight up masturbation material is kind of another thing. And it’s not like we have a script to model where to draw the lines in this relationship. Who even has a relationship like this with anyone ever? What are the chances? Well, I guess the chances are slightly better than strangers meeting, because we’re related and I probably supposedly inherited the gender thing from him. If I was reading this on the internet I would probably think it was fake, it is so unlikely. And I don’t know whether I will ever find another person with a similar experience who may be able to relate to how to help a parent with this kind of thing. But I am literally the third person he has ever come out to and the only one who has ever supported him in any way, so I’ve got to do a good job of it.
I am moving across the country at the end of the summer for my PhD program, which means that we only have a month or so for him to come over and safely do girly dress-up stuff. But being optimistic, if he ever comes to visit me he could theoretically go out in public in feminine clothing for the first time because there would be almost no chance of being outed to someone he knows. I want to take him to the local transgender resource center and feminist sex shop/education center before I go so he’ll have someone to answer questions I can’t (like how do you know what size bra to order?) But this is just such a huge and improbable thing, that I am pretty overwhelmed right now. On the one hand, there’s so much to do and so little time. On the other hand, there’s a real danger of going too far and transgressing parent/child boundaries in a way that may ruin everything. I guess it’ll have to come down to good communication and making it up as we go along.
TLDR: I accidentally came out to my mom’s sperm donor and it turns out he has a secret feminine identity, and now I am teaching my bio dad how to order bras online and find ethically produced porn and do makeup and stuff. It’s not typical, but I guess this is my relationship with my parent now?
And many other kinds of bracelets for different LGBT colours and I also accept custom orders (which are also on sale) so everyone can show their pride!!
Every bracelet is handmade by a non-binary person looking to save up enough money to buy a chest binder! This sale won’t last long so get them while you can! I ship all over the globe, is there’s a mailbox it’ll get to you and every package is decorated by hand!
I hope some of you are interested in these bracelets and showing your pride with these!
- get your eyebrows waxed/threaded, it changes your face a lot!
- try groupon or w/e for cheap laser hair removal sessions, dont get IPL, it doesn’t last
- if you’re going to see a doctor about trans stuff, go to one advertised as an informed consent clinic or similar
- the WPATH standards of care have lots of info about confirmed effects and side effects of HRT, the drugs used, dosages and will let you know what to expect from your doctor.
- its okay to lie to doctors and spout off the traditional binary trans narrative if you suspect they might be gatekeepery pieces of shit!
- if you wear traditionally fem clothes to your first apptment and tell the doctor you’ve done a few months of ~real life experience~ you may get extra ~truetrans points~ and get on hormones faster!
- when looking for other resources online, avoid susans place, its very gross and binarist and very much pushes the traditional trans narrative, /asktransgender and /mtf on reddit are better, as is tsroadmap and tumblr
- when shaving legs etc for the first time, don’t use a normal razor on long hair. trim/wax or use a depilation cream first!
- if u can, bring a friend when u go out all femmed up the first few times, for confidence, and so they can fight mean people!
- you don’t have to subscribe to gender roles, traditional understandings of femininity, or beauty standards!
- go at your own pace, don’t let anyone rush you or hold you back!
-avoid terfs like the fuckening plague!
- ur cute as frick!
-you can message me if you ever want help or advice!
- i believe in you!
plz add advice or boost!
- If someone, especially another trans woman, criticizes or ‘questions’ your gender they are not your friend. They dress it up as concern for your well-being but it’s not. It is abuse designed to validate the abuser by invalidating you. Only you can determine your own gender.
- Likewise, when someone criticizes your ‘passability,’ they are not your friend. A good friend would help educate you on how to survive and how to maintain a positive body image in spite of your ability to conform to cissexist beauty standards.
- Seriously, there are trans women who lurk around support groups and do nothing but bully and demean newbie trans women. We call them ‘truescum’ for a reason. Sometimes the scum can form entire enclaves centered around demeaning newcomers. If you find yourself feeling belittled over your gender or gendered presentation, it’s because you’re in the wrong environment.
- It’s okay not to be able to emotionally stand on your own yet. In fact, it’s normal. Your first job as a budding trans woman is to find a supportive community of people to nurture and grow you into a self-realized person. Be prepared to walk out if you feel belittled or put down. The moderator or leader of the group should take steps to protect you if you are being ‘criticized.’
- Supportive and safe spaces exist, I promise.
- You are transgender and you are a woman, provided you want to be.
Hey there, my name is Erin and I run a small stop called “Thready To Go” on Etsy! There I make woven bracelets and right now for a limited time I’m holding a sale where all stock is 25% off!
What does this mean for the community? Well, I sell all kinds of LGBTQ pride bracelets!
Tadaaaa!
And right now all of these bracelets are on 25% off with code, GIMME25
I’ve been told that these bracelets are an excellent way to show your pride, and I also accept custom orders if you find an identity that isn’t shown!
-support trans women who have pattern baldness and can't wear their hair in "feminine" styles.
-support trans women who have sensitive skin and can't shave every day.
-support trans women who have pigment allergies and can't wear tons of makeup.
-support trans women who have blood disorders and other health problems that make surgery a preventively high risk.
-also, support trans women who do not have these problems but still do not feel obligated to live up to your cissexist standards of femininity.
A fresh wave of compassionate, insightful feminist discussion debuted January 1 with the launch of the Conversations Project, housed on a special section of trans author Cristan Williams’s TransAdvocate blog.
The groundbreaking online history venture, found at Radfem.TransAdvocate.com, unearths extensive proof that radical feminism has always welcomed transgender people. […]
