Gender Designation Change 1.0

Yesterday was my transman social group.  We meet the first and third Tuesday of each month.  Kyle (a friend and co-facilitator for the group) and I had some time to kill waiting for other folks to show up, so we decided to go online and see what was involved in getting my gender designation changed in Washington.  Kyle's from California, so his process in terms of paperwork was a bit different from what mine will be.  We were both please to note that the process in Washington is actually fairly easy and straight forward.

Changine your official gender designation is much easier in WA than CA. According to the Ingersoll Gender Center (www.ingersollcenter.org), all that's required is to have a licensed professional write a letter stating that you are undergoing "appropriate clinical treatment" for Gender Identity Disorder.  The professional who writes the letter can be a medical professional or mental health professional, depending on the treatment to which they're referring (hormones, counseling, and/or surgery).  Besides, this letter all that is required is the expected documents verifying that you are who you say you are (birth certificate, etc.)  Additionally, you can apply for a name change at the same time as changing your gender designation, saving money and time.

Just a quick note about "appropriate clinical treatment" for Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Identity Dysphoria (either way GID).  Being slapped with a mental disorder is a spot of a fair amount of contention (understandably) in the trans community.  There are many pros and cons to being labeled with GID which I won't go into at the moment.  I will say that I don't regard myself as having a mental disorder.  I don't think there is anything wrong with me, nor do many mental health professionals who provide counseling for GID.

WELCOME!

Hello. I just want to say welcome to my trans-blog!

Okay, so initially, it'll be centered around my transition from female-to-male (FTM), but in the long term will probably just become a blog about Laura's and my life in general.

Initially I'm hoping to help people understand the process of transitioning and understand some of the obstacles that transpeople face in life. I will try to provide resources you can use to look information up on your own or find the answer to any questions you may have. If you have any personal questions for me about my transition, I want you know that you are more than welcome to ask any questions (and mean ANY) you want. I know you all well enough to know, I can trust you to be respectful.

Sometimes, Laura may post as well.

To start off, I just want to go over some key terms I'll probably use. Sometimes, I'll use these terms out of the context list below if I'm referring to a particular source that uses them differently.

• sex - refers to one's biological sex.
  
• gender - refers to how one feels and sees oneself fitting their given culture.
  
• FTM - female-to-male transgender person.
  
• MTF - male-to-female transgender person.
  
• Transman - female-to-male transgender person.
• Transwoman - male-to-female transgender person.
• Transgender - an umbrella term for anyone who considers themselves someone who crosses conventional or cultural/societal gender boundaries.
  
• Transsexual - someone who plans to permanently alter their physical appearance through surgery and hormones to change sexes. Usually this will also include people who alter their bodies through hormones only.
• Cisgender - someone who is not transgendered.
• Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Heterosexual/etc. - these are designations that refer to attraction only. This may seem obvious, but they have no bearing at all on how someone perceives their own gender. There are just as many (some say more) transmen out there who are attracted to men, thus "gay", as there are transmen who are attracted to women, thus heterosexual. Likewise a transwoman attracted to women might consider herself a lesbian. A transwoman attracted to men would probably consider herself heterosexual.
• Top Surgery - refers to surgery performed on the chest to remove breast and surgically sculpt a transman's chest to resemble a typical male chest. Essentially a double mastectomy. The equivalent for transwomen would be breast enhancements.
• Bottom Surgery - refers to surgery performed to alter the genitals of the transperson to more closely resemble the genitals of the gender they feels themselves to be.
• T - this is a shortening of the word testosterone. It's a long word to write, and just as long to say, so often, I'll simply say "T". Testosterone is the hormone I'll be taking as part of my transition. It's also, what will cause the majority of the changes in my body.

Many of these designations (gay, lesbian, transgender) are ultimately just labels that we put on people. It's important to remember that while we may think someone fits into a particular category, they may not see themselves are part of that category. Hopefully, I haven't left any major terms off, but if I have I'll be sure to fill them in as I think of them.

I hope you all enjoy this blog and find it informative. I know I'll enjoy updating it.

- Henry Lee Heather Waymack