One Year Later...

Categories: future-plans, uncertainty, mental-health-issues, stereotypes, gender-issues, relationships, madness, milton-keynes, life-stuff

Tags: TractorGirl, Transgender, Gender Reassignment, GIC

Date: 02 March 2013 20:59:25

On Thursday, I was preparing for my first appointment at the Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) and gathering together the papers that demonstrate that I've been living as a man, openly and publicly in every aspect of my life, for some time. I came across a letter I'd asked my then boss to write for me, containing the date on which I came out at work and so began my 'official' real-life experience. My appointment happened to be one year on exactly from that day, which is quite a coincidence. Following this, my first experience of the GIC and the suggestion of a friend on Facebook, I've decided to reflect a bit on what this year has brought along and where I'm at.

Prior to coming out to my colleagues, I'd told a few people but otherwise kept things secret. Knowing that transgender people have been hounded out of jobs and faced discrimination, I was very nervous about how people would react to me. On the whole, I needn't have been. The vast, vast majority have either been overtly supportive, or just quietly got on with using the right name and correct pronouns without saying anything specific about it all. I've had to deal with a couple of idiots outside of my department and some guys being jerks when it comes to my using the gents' loos, but that has been very rare, thankfully. It's been a similar story with church and the rest of my life down here in Milton Keynes.

Being able to be completely open about who I am has been an incredibly liberating experience, which has freed me from having to pretend all the time and repress part of myself. I think I've grown in confidence and am much more settled as a result. I've now got a whole new wardrobe and very few of my 'female clothes' have survived the cull. When I've got the money, I'll get a new suit, which is really the last big purchase; the rest of my stuff is either from the blokes' sections of stores, or as near as damned it. This outward change, together with my new hairdo (short and spiky) has helped me to feel more settled as Karl and again boosted my confidence.

In terms of everyday life, little has changed, though there are specific issues which were previously uncomplicated but now take thought:

Toilets: which to use and when. When it's safe to do so, I use male toilets, but that's not always practical. For example, in busy public places like the shopping centre and the cinema, I worry I'm more likely to encounter a member of the public with 'Daily Mail views', and get a hard time. This is more of a fear in places where alcohol feeds in, and not all pubs have an easily accessible disabled toilet. Wetherspoons pubs are particularly bad for this, so I have to find strategies when I go there. Generally there is the back-up option of a disabled toilet elsewhere, but I'm always worried I'm stopping someone with a disability from using it, and so it gets complicated.

Changing rooms. These are even more awkward, due to the lack of privacy and need for nudity. I don't want to use the female facilities, can't yet use the male ones, and some disabled changing rooms are rubbish. I'm yet to find a gym where this isn't a problem.

Clothes shopping: trans-friendly stores. My early experiences of trying to buy men's clothes were complicated by not knowing my sizes, and also by not passing, which meant store staff often didn't know how to deal with me. One shop (BHS) accused me of shoplifting because I tried on a men's shirt. Another (H&M) wouldn't let me use the male changing rooms or take men's clothes into female changing rooms. I do wonder if I should've just changed in the middle of that store to make the point, but I didn't dare! (Probably for the best!). Now I've learnt that stores like House of Fraser are very good and let me use the right changing rooms without hassle, but as I know my sizes, I can usually get away with trying things at home with the reasonable hope of them fitting.

Dealing with the NHS. In the absence of being able to get my paws on testosterone, I've been taking female contraceptives to stop my menstruation. My GP practice have been fine with this, but I am amused by always getting the lecture on safe sex, as if Tractorgirl could be the source of a sort of virgin birth part two! People just don't get LGBT relationships sometimes... Moreover, one has to be the expert most of the time - my GP had never met a trans person till I walked in - and one of the nice things about going to the GIC was being able to be the patient for once!

Being allowed to leave the country. To get a new passport with the correct gender marker, I've needed a letter from my GP. Not a problem, but another little thing that makes transgender life more .... hard work/time-consuming/bureaucratic. There are also places such as Canada where travel can be complicated for someone like me who is yet to begin treatment, which is a bugger when planning a honeymoon!

Telephones. As my voice still sounds female, I sometimes have trouble getting people to believe I am who I say I am over the phone. For example, one time at work someone was convinced they'd got the wrong number, even when a colleague grabbed the phone and told them otherwise! More recently, I had a phone call from a recruitment consultant who refused to believe I was me, and asked what name to call me despite having my CV in front of him with 'Karl' looming up at him! Clearly his firm need better diversity training.

Inane questions. Most of the time, when people ask me about what being transgender/transsexual means and is like, they're genuinely interested and do so sensitively. As I reckon it's best they hear what it's all about from me rather than the Daily (Hate) Mail, I'm happy to chat and share my experiences. However, questions about my genitals are not acceptable - would you quiz anyone else on what they've got in their trousers? No. Well, mind your own business when you're talking to me then! It is odd how one's body can be viewed as public property as the NHS is the gatekeeper of gender reassignment...

Transgender media coverage. Some of the rubbish written about trans people of all shades can be quite hard to deal with, especially when it filters through to the popular imagination (see above). For example, in the week I came out, there was a big fuss being whipped up by the Sun about a trans man giving birth, and I remember hearing some vicious negative comments at work. Hopefully having to deal with a real live trans man has helped dispel some of that nonsense and prejudice, but it made me feel scared. I imagine this is even worse for trans women, who in the early stages of their transitions are usually more visible than I've been - chatting to others suggests they do get more flack, not helped by the press portrayl of us.

Correcting people on pronouns. Trans men at this pre-hormones stage often get mistaken for women and have to spend time correcting people. 95% of stuff shouted at me in the street has been homophobic, not transphobic, and I understand this is other people's experience too. I suppose it's a product of the much wider range of gender expression which is usually considered acceptable for women that people look at me and assume I'm a woman, and sometimes think I must be a lesbian. However, for me, it's a pain in the backside, and means I spend a lot of time telling people off for making assumptions. Getting my chest binder has given me more confidence to do so.

Waiting lists. Going forward, I need to go through a second assessment at the GIC, this time with two shrinks, before I can start hormones. At least this time I have a date for my grilling. The uncertainty of the waiting and not knowing has been tough on both of us, especially with the move to GP commissing and worries about funding. It has felt at times like living in limbo.

That's just a few of my niggles! It's important to stress though that this has been an incredibly positive year on the whole, despite the above. Looking to the future, I can begin to see the end point, at which I'll be able to live as a normal bloke, post second-puberty, chest operation and hysterectomy. I do worry whether Tractorgirl will still find me attractive when all is said and done, which is miles scarier than anything a surgeon could do, but we're taking it day by day (cliche time - sorry!) and getting there. I take comfort from the fact we wouldn't be getting hitched if she wasn't, like me, willing to give it a bloody good go! I think we've also grown closer through this and having to deal with our feelings when they've risen to the surface, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

So. that's year one in the life of a transsexual man. I've run out of things to type now, so I'll stop!