Quick updates

I’ll continue posting quick updates here for Jacky

I’m seeing the endocrinologist on april 7th (I’ll probably take my first shot the same day) and I have a meeting with the surgeon (for chest reconstruction) on march 26th.

LiveJournal

I’m tired of wordpress. I like the LJ friendspagethingy better.
Thats where I’ll be posting stuff (and im too lazy to cross post).

greengeishaman.livejournal.com <–

Effects of testosterone

Joshua Klipp sent me this:

quantifying the impact of androgen therapy on the female larynx 1

Might be interesting.

On Israel and judaism

My friend Ayden posted this on facebook. Ive decided not to write anything about the Israeli attacks for various reasons, but I like this text.

“Every bomb dropped, every concrete slab of wall built, every acre of land illegally taken, every demolition of a Palestinian home, should force us to come to grips with the fact that to be Jewish in 2008 is no longer about our cultural ties one to the other, our shared values, our collective history. To be Jewish is now measured by our allegiance to Israel; if it was more than that, then our communities would be alive with protests about what we are doing in Gaza.

…

We are like the child who has been abused and grows up to recycle the abuse on a less powerful woman or child. We make all kinds of excuses for why we have to be abusive; we run the familiar tapes about the threat of anti-Semitism, the hatred of Hamas, the continued shelling of rockets from Gaza into Israel… the list is long and familiar. Yet I have not met a single American Jew (or American, for that matter) who has spent any time in Palestine who continues to recite this list.

…

As a Jew, I take to heart the teachings of Rabbi Hillel, who instructs us across the ages not to do to others that which we would not want done to us. As a Jew, I understand our invocation of “never again” as universal, a lesson from the Holocaust we should apply to all people. As a Jew, I am proud of our strong cultural commitment to justice. I thought once that these were the things that defined what it meant to be Jewish.

…

I refuse to conflate Judaism with Israel. I am driven by my deep concern for our future as a people. We may have already gone too far to reclaim Judaism to itself. I do not know. I only know I do not want us to lose ourselves to the continued justification of that which cannot be justified.”

Geekery.

I’m neglecting the blog, but its ok.. cause I’ve been spending time listening to Harry Potter audiobooks read by Stephen Fry, reading Les Miserables and hanging out with the local transguys.

Oh yeah, and.. prefects are hot.

ICD F64.0

I can has diagnosis now. I can has referral letters to the endocrinologist, plastic surgeon and speech therapist.

I threw up and cried, and I dont know what to write cause I feel kinda.. shaky. O_o

Personality, autism and transsexualism

If you like academic language, I think you should read the doctoral thesis “On the influence of serotonin- and sex steroid-related genetic variation on mood, anxiety, personality, autism and transsexualism” written by Susanne Henningsson.  “Influence of sex-steroid-related genetic variation on personality, autism and transsexualism” on page 49.

Read read and translate it into non-academic language for me!

oh, and thanks Trollhare

Other blogs about transsexualism, autism, adhd, neuropsychiatry, asperger’s syndrom, transgender, testosterone, hormones, biology, research, psychiatry, Autism spectrum disorders

Dear parents/guardians!

Someone asked me “Is 15 too young to know if you are a trans?“

No. Definitely not. Many (but not all!) transgendered individuals have known about their identity since they were kids. Many of them as young as 3 or 4 years old. So 15 is not young. I heard about transsexualism when I was 17, and knew for certain that I was transgendered before I turned 18. Some people might even consider this a bit late, but that’s bull crap in my opinion (several of my friends didnt know before their late 30s).

Ok, so you suspect that your child/teenager might be transgendered.

What to do? First of all, what IS transgender and how do you know that its not a phase?

- Everyone has a gender identity. Gender identity is our internal sense of being male or female. For most people, our basic awareness that we are male or female matches our physical body. When we’re born, people decide if we’re male or female based on our genitals. But for children and adults who are transgender, their basic sense of being male or female – their gender identity – does not match their body. So a transgender person may have a male body, but feel inside that they are female. Or a transgender person may have a female body, but feel inside that they are truly male. Some people (but not all!) choose to take hormones or have surgeries to make their bodies match with their insides. Most people have a sense of their gender identity between ages two and four. If your child expresses a transgender identity since early childhood, it is unlikely they will change their mind as they age.

But, I thought only adults could be transgendered and.. that all transgendered people were men who wanted to be women

- Children understand gender differences from a very early age. And transgender children strongly identify with the other gender, often from age two or three. Because we don’t talk about transgender people with children, adolescents or even adults, children who are transgender lack basic information about who they are, and struggle with feeling like they were born in the wrong body. And adults typically react as if there were something wrong with these children, as well.

Transgender children who express their “real” gender identity can become extremely unhappy and depressed when adults try to prevent them being their true selves. Being transgender is not the cause of their distress. Instead, not being understood and feeling like there is something wrong with them causes them to suffer. And pressure to change their core sense of who they are causes emotional suffering, as well.

What should I do? How should I respond?

Research shows how parents and caregivers should respond to having a transgender child. The most important thing parents can do to promote their child’s well-being and to reduce their risk is to love and accept them. This means allowing them to live in ways that make them happy — just as you would with any child. For example, let your transgender child play with the toys they enjoy. Let your transgender child dress and wear their hair in the way that is most comfortable for them.

Supporting your child’s transgender behavior is not easy. But research shows that by loving and accepting your children as they are, you can help them lead happier, healthier lives – and literally save their lives.

In families where parents highly pressured their children to conform to gender expectations, young people were five times more likely to report symptoms of depression, nearly four times as likely to attempt suicide and to use illegal drugs, and twice as likely to be at high risk for HIV infection, compared with those who parents did not pressure them to conform.

More answers here

If you’re child or teenager has come out to you and told you that they are transgendered you should be PROUD.

More stuff you can read/watch:

Transgender terms and definitons

Transgender Children (Lauras Playground)

Gender Spectrum Family Conference

“My secret self” part one, two, three, four and five

All in the family: Born in the wrong body

Transgender Organizations

Understanding transgender issues (Human Rights Campaign)

Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG): Transgender

Good luck!

Read other blogs about transgender, coming out, PFLAG, transsexualism, transsexuality, LGBT, parents, support, acceptance

Swedish blogs about transgender, coming out, PFLAG, transsexualism, transsexuality, LGBT, parents, support, acceptance

“Just one hundred percent correct in my body”

I was surprised, you know? I saw the ultrasound. I knew I was pregnant. I was getting bigger.  I knew I had to fit into like these other clothes.  And then, still.. when I was in the delivery room – and I look down and there’s actually a person coming out of me.. and I’m like “Woah, woaah I’m really pregnant. Wow, that really happened! God, oh my God!”. And so, it really didnt occur to me that  it was actually happening to me, I was me looking at this other person being pregnant and handling it by a remote control in some other control room some where. It was really… yeah

-

That is the only time in my whole life when Ive felt right in my body. When I was pregnant and nursing. I nursed for almost nine months, I would have nursed for a year.. as long as she wanted – but that, uhm.. my body was doing what it was supposed to be doing, it was doing it by itself and it felt absolutely right and that was the only time in my life when I for about a year  of feeling really, realy right in my body. Just one hundred percent correct in my body.

-

….And I was very clear that there was men in my life who said to me “I’m really jealous, I wish I could have my own kid!”. And I think that, uhm.. it was nice for them to sorta get to see some parts of that in day to day life as being my friends. That they didnt necessarily get to see because they didnt have pregnant people in their lives or automatic distance with a pregnant woman because they assume that they are not going to understand. I was like “well..you know there’s no great big secret..excuse me I have to go barf”. It was nothing glamorous or..so it was to find the men in my life who really, really were supportive in me trying to have a kid.

From the movie “Transparent: the movie” by Jules Rosskam. Of course the entire movie is very interesting, but I especially like these quotes. I’m glad I bought it.

Other interesting (Swedish) blogs about transgender, gender roles, giving birth, pregnancy, movies, parents, families

The art of manliness

Ive found a great blog. The art of manliness.

“Welcome to The Art of Manliness- a blog dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man.

The Art of Manliness is authored by husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay. It features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men. In our search to uncover the lost art of manliness, we’ll look to the past to find examples of manliness in action. We’ll analyze the lives of great men who knew what it meant to “man up” and hopefully learn from them. Every week we seek to uncover  the essential skills and knowledge today’s man needs to know. Since beginning in January 2008, The Art of Manliness has already gained 17,000+ subscribers and continues to grow each wee”

They have written entries about the history of male friendship, Are the suburbs killing your manhood?, 100 Must-read books: The essential man’s library, the mechanics of the man-hug and 9 ways to start a fire without matches

I love it. Go check it out.

Interesting entries about manlighet, maskulinitet, män, könsroller, USA, mansideal