Download Polare 96 - The Gender Centre Inc.

Issue Ninety-Sixstatistics thrown around, but they were outdatedyears ago. Often the statistics quoted aprevalence of 1:30 000 for MTF transitions, butProfessor Lynn Conway’s debunked this figure.She estimated that MTF ranged from 1:2500 to1:2000 in the world.These figures were only based on GenderReassignment Surgery. Many transgenderedpeople, however, don’t feel the need to havesurgery, or can’t afford it. Thelack of hard information abouttransgender created prejudicebased on ignorance? Was itany wonder people wereunwilling to identify astransgender?When Dan and I sat in Hyde Park…As Dan andI sat in Hyde Park listening to the cacophony ofhissing bus brakes and rustling trees, I askedhim the question that had been niggling in theback of my head all morning - were transgenderpeople ashamed of themselves? “I think a largemajority of people who transition feel ashamedof it. Many people don’t like to acknowledge it,because they see it as something to fix, youknow what I mean? They see it as being in thewrong body.” He took a breath. “They don’t likefocusing on the fact that they weren’t born theway they felt they should’ve been.”Cross-legged, he picked at the grass. Heexplained that the root of the discomfort andshame was the body. For him, bottom dysphoriawas worse than top.From the day he began injecting testosterone,his body had become a moving image, constantlydeveloping and simultaneously fading. Underthe sun, I could take in how much his body hadchanged through the shadows that defined him- some were new and some old shadows weregone. His thin arms were wired with fresh muscle.His neck was wider, with hair creeping up to hisgrin in a 5 o’clock shadow.His binder denied any shadow as it flattened hischest entirely. The first few months of videodocumentation showed a softer boyish face, avoice dropping up and down as if it were unsureof itself. Seven months on and his voice hadlowered, dropping into husky undertones. I waseven more intrigued by his genuine laughter.Polare page 36July-September 2013Laughter is a reaction that is an integral part ofhuman behaviour, unique to each individual.When Dan laughed, his voice dropped evendeeper into a warm sound that rose from hischest. It sounded so naturally male that I wasmomentarily stunned, unaware of the bustlingcity around us. Reading paperwork, signingdotted lines and paying various professionalswas the only way Dan could get to where he wastoday.To not transition would mean thebody would forever betray themind and heart.Back at his place inthe inner west,scrawled on thebottom of my linednotebook were thecosts of his transition to date.Changing his name, hormone injections,appointments with psychiatrists andendocrinologists, packers (prosthetic genitalia)and binders formed a mind map on the paper.Underlined and circled was roughly $2020. Myjaw dropped. Dan continued to pet Oreo,unsurprised. It was simply a cost he had acceptedmonths ago, and now had to live with for the restof his life.Reflecting on everything I had learnt abouttransgender, I remembered the positiveresponses from people my age to Dan’s originalFacebook message. But I was interested to hearanother generation’s view. I told my grandmaabout Dan’s situation, and she fell silent. “Howdreadful for him. It must be so difficult.” Herquiet words stayed with me from the momentDan and I met in Hyde Park, to when I left hisplace through the broken front gate creaking onits rusty hinge. I believe now it is important forus to be open-minded, especially in areas wedon’t understand.But my grandma, with her eighty-six years ofwisdom, spoke a startling truth. There were arefinancial, physical, emotional, social and legalcosts for people who transitioned transition fromone gender to the other, but they have no otherchoice. To not transition would mean the bodywould forever betray the mind and heart.”Pip Rasmussen is a Media student atMacquarie University. She carried out thisproject as part of her degree and achieved aHigh Distinction .