Guest Essay: Transgender Day of Visibility
When I was four years old, I asked Grandma who took care of me if I could be a girl instead since this boy thing wasn't working out for me. She laughed warmly, and said "sure". But no matter how many times I put on her slippers, nothing changed. When I got dial-up internet access at the very end of the nineties, I learned people successfully transitioned and that Thailand was known for their surgeries -- if only I could afford it. It felt like a far away dream I would revisit once a year. In the meantime, I plodded onward never quite comfortable with myself. I did give it my best shot, but I was always awkward in my own skin. When I reached 28 years old, I was pretty upset about how life was going for myself. I stayed home from work on a reluctant mental health day off, and somehow stumbled on The Gender Rebels podcast. It was like a how-to guide on transitioning in the mid-2010's. I realized then that British Columbia had transition resources available as well, with THE SURGERY available in Quebec. I had months of hoops to jump through after obtaining a referral from my doctor. I nearly gave up on the prospect of receiving hormone therapy, resigning myself to the idea that I may just be stuck with social transition alone which was dysphoria-inducing daily. Finally, during a routine visit to the supervising specialist I received my prescription along with blood work.…
