Transgender awareness month

[Veronica]

November is Transgender Awareness Month - Denver lgbt issues | Examiner.com

I also wanted to share this video, it's the cutest thing ever!

+ YouTube Video

[Keelin]

awesome!

[Drowzee64]

I'm going to a support group for LGBT teens this Tuesday, gonna attend the subgroup they have for transgender teens with my MtF friend.

I think it's a little sad that I've been so focused on gay rights that it took a transgendered friend to remind me about the "T". It's not that I've ever been against transgender rights, it's just that I haven't advocated for transgender rights like I have gay rights. From now on I'm going to make sure to always include transgender rights in my advocacy! After all, they need the advocacy even more!

[J Snow]

I'm really jealous of that person in your video Veronica. I'd love to be able to look like that. He looked pretty feminine from the start though. I think I like like a pretty typical dude...

On a side note, has anyone heard anything about this research?

Researchers Discover Sex-Change Gene | News | The Advocate

It sounds like science fiction stuff to me.

[kiersten]

Don't forget that November 20th is Transgender Remembrance Day as well!

[DhammaGamer]

I didn't know this, how cool

I guess it's kind of serendipitous I am going to be visiting the Transgender support group here in town on wed. I also plan on coming completely out to my therapist this month. Weird lol

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Drowzee64

From now on I'm going to make sure to always include transgender rights in my advocacy!

---------- Post added 7th Nov 2011 at 11:11 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Jon Snow

On a side note, has anyone heard anything about this research?

Researchers Discover Sex-Change Gene | News | The Advocate

It sounds like science fiction stuff to me.

Intersex is a complicated issue. There are many factors behind various aspects of gender and sex. Physical sex is determined by hormones, which again depends on genetics and other factors. Testes and ovaries grow from the same starting point, and it is possible to have both or a mixture. It wouldn't be surprising if there were more ways these could vary.

I don't think this would change someone's sex in any significant way. It will probably mess with the hormone balance though. So no super SciFi solutions

[J Snow]

I'm on my phone so please excuse any grammar or spelling errors.

Veronica, from this and other articles what they are saying is that removing this gene causes complete genital reversal (at least its been shown to in mice).

Naturally I would assume that if it causes your genitals to change it would also have a profound effect on your hormone levels.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Jon Snow

I'm on my phone so please excuse any grammar or spelling errors.

Veronica, from this and other articles what they are saying is that removing this gene causes complete genital reversal (at least its been shown to in mice).

Naturally I would assume that if it causes your genitals to change it would also have a profound effect on your hormone levels.

They're talking about gonads not genitalia. Genitalia is more than gonads. They're referring to the cells inside your testicles. When you're a foetus, hormones will turn you into a boy from the default female developmental track. Ovaries and testes are made from the same base, and as I mentioned, you can have a mix of the two cell-types. What this research shows, as far as I understand, is that these cells aren't fixed, but they need to be maintained at that state by the body throughout life. That does not mean you can grow new genitalia.

[J Snow]

Upon reading the article more carefully... yeah you're right. I do believe I've seen another article about this that made bolder claims.

Regardless, developments like this are exciting and scare to someone like me who is interested but unsure on sexual transition... I'd LOVE to be a girl, but modern transition practices seem... sketchy. I guess I'm afraid if I decided to go through with it some other better procedure would come out and I'd be like... "well if I had just waited 3 years I could have been a "real" woman." >.<

[DhammaGamer]

But what if instead u wait 10 years hoping for some magic potion then the actual working process becomes less effective because u waited so long.

[11 11 11]

Wait...it's transgender aware month?!

D:

I was BORN in TG month?
<-< Suspicious...potential MtF....born in TG-aware month..

But on a more serious note - yes that video is pure un-diluted awesome.

As for the whole "constantly-progressing-surgical-procedures-means-I-should-wait issue." It's a perfectly logical argument, and a major point of contention. For a lot of T-guys and girls, by the time they've got enough money to afford a procedure, they've already had to live in their current state for so long, that the urge to undergo even an 'incomplete' surgery - is significantly diminished.

My advice? Go with it if you get the chance/money. Why? Because time is a precious commodity. I hate to draw comparison to something as superficial as an iPod, but this is a similar issue for gadget-lovers who get worried that their newly purchased device will get out-dated in a year. As most people know, this tends to lead to a vicious cycle, where people are constantly trying to update their supposedly 'worthless' device with a new one. Sure medical developments don't run ahead at that kind of speed, but it's a similar fear your voicing.

Just remember. An iPod is an iPod. Whether old or new. The same goes for any surgery you get. Sure the latest procedure may be more 'complete' - but can that completeness count for the years of enjoyment you would already have achieved with the 'incomplete' one?

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Jon Snow

Regardless, developments like this are exciting and scare to someone like me who is interested but unsure on sexual transition... I'd LOVE to be a girl, but modern transition practices seem... sketchy. I guess I'm afraid if I decided to go through with it some other better procedure would come out and I'd be like... "well if I had just waited 3 years I could have been a "real" woman." >.<

Yeah, it's a scary and big thing to consider. I have no idea myself ...

---------- Post added 8th Nov 2011 at 09:25 PM ----------

Originally Posted by 11 11 11

Wait...it's transgender aware month?!

Well, if you're anything like me, you're aware all year

From Sydney ey? I lived there for 2 years. I quite liked it there, but felt very isolated even in a 4M+ city.

[11 11 11]

Originally Posted by Veronica

Well, if you're anything like me, you're aware all year

From Sydney ey? I lived there for 2 years. I quite liked it there, but felt very isolated even in a 4M+ city.

I know precisely what you mean on both fronts XD. The last month or so I simply have been unable to stop my mind obsessing over anything TG related, and I have always maintained that Sydney, to my mind at least, is a hole. Everytime one of my Melbourne friends say their planning on visiting me I say "..so you'll be coming down to see me then?" because they'll have to travel down to reach the bottom of a hole

Mhm...to be fair it's a nice city, with a very high standard of living, and a fairly open society. But it is pretty culturally pasteurised. And plain boring a lot of the time.

[Nykoru]

Transgender Awareness Month is... awesome. It's what got me here, in fact

---------- Post added 10th Nov 2011 at 08:21 AM ----------

Also, just got back to that link.

Pleaseletitbereal. Especially the mention of the other gene, the one whose removal resulted in a change from female to male.

[Haberdasher]

Originally Posted by Jon Snow

Upon reading the article more carefully... yeah you're right. I do believe I've seen another article about this that made bolder claims.

Regardless, developments like this are exciting and scare to someone like me who is interested but unsure on sexual transition... I'd LOVE to be a girl, but modern transition practices seem... sketchy. I guess I'm afraid if I decided to go through with it some other better procedure would come out and I'd be like... "well if I had just waited 3 years I could have been a "real" woman." >.<

As is, your surgery options are pretty damn difficult to tell apart from the natural range of cis genitals anyhow. Reproduction would be the major step forward at this point and I'm not sure the aesthetic appearance would effect any surgery for fertility all too greatly.

[seeksanctuary]

Originally Posted by Haberdasher

As is, your surgery options are pretty damn difficult to tell apart from the natural range of cis genitals anyhow. Reproduction would be the major step forward at this point and I'm not sure the aesthetic appearance would effect any surgery for fertility all too greatly.

I wish the same could be said for FTM surgeries. Sigh. :[