Limitless Possibilities of Gender Identity and Expression

Our last FORGE social support meeting was on April 6, 2003. Thank you to the 17 people who attended this meeting! We are pleased that the discussion was lively and the attendance so high!

This email follow up is a "new feature" of the FORGE social support group. We often find that many issues come up at meetings where people would like resources or connections to providers/other resources. However, it's not always possible to provide these resources on the spot, so we hope that following up meetings with some emailed resources may be useful not only to those who attended the meeting, but also to everyone receiving this email.

Some of the issues came up at the April 6 meeting (meeting topic: The Limitless Possibilities of Gender Identity and Expression) included: health issues associated with the use of testosterone, basic SOFFA issues, dating and body acceptance (by self and potential/current partners), and the issues surrounding non-transitioning/non-'traditional' transness.

The following list of resources/information is VERY brief and not at all inclusive of many valuable resources. If you know of specific resources related to these topics, please email FORGE (info@forge-forward.org) and we will distribute that information so that others may benefit.

[Please note that this is not medical advice. If you have concerns about your health/future health/the health of your partner/s, please consult with your health care provider.]

A common concern of many people using (or considering) testosterone is what health risks they might experience as a result of altering their body's hormonal chemistry.

Many people who use testosterone may experience some undesirable side effects. Some of the most common side effects include acne, oily skin, weight gain, balding or head hair loss,and/or headaches. Some individuals may experience health conditions that need to be medically addressed, including, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and polycythemia, to name a few. The latter was a topic of discussion at the April 6 meeting.

There are 2 forms of polycythemia: 1) polycythemia vera (a pre-cancerous or cancerous blood DISEASE), and 2) secondary polycythemia (a non-cancerous CONDITION).

People who use testosterone CAN develop the non-cancerous form of polycythemia.

Polycythemia is basically the opposite of anemia. It is a condition of too many red blood cells in circulation, which results in blood being "thick". When the blood becomes "thick" with an abundance of red blood cells, the blood may not easily flow through smaller blood vessels and may result in strokes or other cardiovascular conditions.

There are some things you can fairly easily do to address polycythemia.

a. Have your blood levels checked regularly (especially hematocrit). (It is recommended that bloodwork be done at 3 months, 6, months, and then yearly after initially starting testosterone. If hematocrit levels are high at any point, you may need to be checked as often as monthly.) Hematocrit levels are considered "normal" when HCT is < 45%. [Note: There is a high degree of variation within laboratories as to what the "normal" range is. Ranges for "women" (i.e. primarily estrogenated bodies, in this case) tend to be lower than those for "men" (bodies with a higher level of testosterone, in this case). Some labs consider levels "normal" if they are below 52%. If you have other cardiovascular risk factors, it might be more important to assure that your HCT levels are lower, rather than higher.]

b. If you smoke, stop or reduce the amount you smoke (smoking is a factor which can contribute to polycythemia in people who are NOT on testosterone).

c. If you live in high altitude, consider moving to a place of lower altitude. High altitude can contribute to polycythemia in people who do or do not take testosterone.

d. Reduce the amount of testosterone injected/taken and/or vary the schedule of when it is administered.

e. Consider using a transdermal patch delivery method of testosterone instead of injection. (Some individuals have discovered that the mode of delivery influences a wide variety of side effects, including polycythemia.)

f. Phlebotimize! - giving blood at a local Blood Center and/or having your blood drawn at a hospital or clinic often is the best way to reduce the high red blood cell count and reduce hematocrit levels.

Remember that polycythemia IS treatable!

Remember SOFFA stands for Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies.

There are MANY email lists that address partner issues. One of the more active email lists is FTMSOs. You can subscribe by sending email to FTMSOs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Transfamily of Cleveland's website is a very useful place for family members of trans+ people. Transfamily was founded to provide support and education for transgendered persons, their families, friends and significant others. In association with PFLAG, they promote awareness of transgender persons and issues. They sponsor many email support lists, as well as provide online documents and links.
www.transfamily.org

"Transpositioned", an article by Loree Cook-Daniels.
This article focuses specifically on the challenges and joys of lesbian-identified partners of transitioning female-to-male individuals. Topics include how transitioning affects the partner's identity, the relationship, and the community.
http://www.forge-forward.org/handouts/Transpositioned.html

A common concern for many trans people (and people seeking trans+ people to date/partner with) is "how do I find someone who will love me". Isn't that a dilemma EVERYONE faces? Of course, people who are trans+ and possibly have non-congruent bodies may experience this concern more strongly
than others.

There are several email lists that target dating issues, including:
- FTM_Dating-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- HeteroFTM-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- trannyfags@groups.queernet.org

Both HeteroFTM and trannyfags are not specifically intended for finding partners, but they both welcome discussion about finding partners, working with body image, and getting comfortable to pursue dating. Both trans people and partners of trans folks are welcome on all 3 of the lists above.

There are also many lists that focus on butch/femme dynamics, including tgbutch and stone femmes. Check out the lists hosted by Queernet for more options. www.queernet.org

Another email list that might be of interest to some is a trans+ erotica list that can be subscribed to at TranzXXX-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

There are MANY online resources to gain more general information about FTM transness. Two popular email lists that focus on the "basics" are:
- FTMInfo_network-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- FtM-trans-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Many people do not feel comfortable with the "FTM" or "SO" label(s), do not intend to transition, do not identify as a "man" or "woman", or are lesbian identified and in love with a trans+ person, etc. Many people feel MUCH more comfortable in androgynous and/or genderqueer and/or "other" categories (if in any category at all!).

Sphere is a very popular (fairly high volume) email list that discusses a wide range of topics, all from the perspective of gender as not easily pin-downable. You can join sphere by sending email to sphere@groups.queernet.org

Another interesting group is Not100M-subscribe@yahoogroups.com