Author: Trans* Jersey

Trans* Jersey

What is gender?

Firstly, your gender is not the same as your sex. It seems obvious but it is so deeply embedded in all of us that most people don’t think about it and use the terms interchangeably. According to the OED, sex is “either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions”. A look at the reproductive organs or chromosomes of an animal will scientifically prove what sex they are. (There are a number of rare and specialist medical conditions where this is not the case. They are called intersex conditions, sometimes wrongly termed “disorders of sexual development” (DSDs), and occur before birth.) The OED defines gender as “the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)”. There are two parts to gender: how you perceive yourself, i.e. man or woman, and how society receives your gender presentation, i.e. masculine or feminine. The genderbreadman (below) calls this your gender identity and your gender expression. To find out whether someone is a man or a woman, you have to ask them. Where sex is a physical state, gender is a mental state. It is about how you feel. Do you feel like a man or a woman? The answer to this question will, of course, be informed by the individual’s definition of what a man and a woman are, their life experiences, the society in which they live, etc. To decide what someone’s gender expression is you simply look at the way that an individual presents themselves to the world. Do they act, react, dress, in a more feminine or masculine way? This is all about society’s definition of what constitutes masculine/feminine behaviour and it changes as one moves around the world through other countries, tribes, and cultures. For a man to wear a skirt in Edinburgh is acceptable masculine behaviour but may not be so in Chelsea! It is about how an individual conforms to society’s norms for masculine/feminine behaviour, or chooses not to conform, and how other members of that society receive that individual’s presentation. genderbread So, to recap: Sex is biological – male or female Gender is psychological – man or woman Presentation or expression is an external representation of sex and/or gender – masculine or feminine Gender is how you would like to be perceived but, crucially, it is also how society receives your expression of that.

Trans* Jersey

Glossary

Acquired gender: see Recognised Gender below. A legal/bureaucractic term used to distinguish between the gender someone was assigned at birth and the gender they feel themselves to be. Not widely used in the trans* community because of its implication that a trans* person “acquires” their gender, rather than has always been of that gender.

Assigned gender: see Acquired Gender above. Again, not widely used in the trans* community because of its implication that a trans* person can have their gender “assigned” to them by a third party, rather than has always been of that gender.

Androgynous: the gender expression of a person who has both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Bigender: a person who tends to flexibly shift between the gender behaviour typically associated with men and women depending on context.

Cis or cisgender: a person whose gender conforms to their birth sex, i.e. a male who identifies as a man or a female who identifies as a woman. The opposite of transgender.

Drag (queen or king): this refers to an actor or actress who dresses as the opposite sex for the purposes of entertainment. Not related to being trans*.

FtM or F2M: see Transman below.

Gender dysphoria: the medical term for the feeling that a trans* person has that their biological sex is not aligned with their gender identity.

Gender expression or presentation: the gender that a person appears to other people to be, selected from a spectrum of genders.

Gender identity: the gender that a person feels themselves to be, selected from a spectrum of genders.

Genderqueer: anyone with a gender identity that is non-binary, i.e. not man or woman. Genderqueer people may identify as one or more of the following: having an overlap of, or indefinite lines between, gender identity and sexual and romantic orientation; two or more genders (bigender, trigender, pangender); without a gender (nongendered, genderless, agender, neutrois); moving between genders or with a fluctuating gender identity (genderfluid); third gender or other-gendered. It also includes those who do not place a name to their gender.

Gender recognition certificate or GRC: a document certifying that for all purposes a transgender person is to be treated as the gender they feel themselves to be. In the UK, the document enables a transgender person to amend their birth certificate if they so choose.

Gender variance: a term for the feeling that a trans* person has that their biological sex is not aligned with their gender identity.

dictionary_1633840cMtF or M2F: see Transwoman below.

Passing: the act of successfully being accepted by society as the gender that you wish to present.

Pronouns: he/him/his/his, she/her/her/hers, they/them/their/theirs. There are a range of gender neutral pronouns that have been suggested over the years. A list can be found here. Never ever use “it” when referring to a trans* person.

Recognised gender: An acceptable term used to distinguish between the gender someone was assigned at birth and the gender they feel themselves to be. The term acknowledges not only the trans person’s recognition of their “true” gender but also society’s recognition of their gender.

Sex: the biological or chromosomal sex of a person, as distinct from their gender identity or expression.

Sex-change: out-dated and unacceptable now.

She-male: unacceptable description of a transwoman.

Stealth: the condition whereby a trans* individual passes so completely that they elect not to reveal they are trans*.

Tranny: unacceptable shortened form of the word transgender or transsexual.

Trans: an acceptable shortened form of the word transgender or transsexual.

Trans*: this has replaced trans in recent years. It has been adopted by the trans* community to encompass more groups than just transsexual and transgender individuals. Trans* encompasses anyone whose gender is non-binary or fluid, i.e. androgynous, bigender, genderqueer and some intersex people.

Transgender: a term that describes someone whose gender identity is not aligned with their biological/chromosomal sex. Transgender should never be used as a noun (“I met a transgender today”). Transgender is an adjective (“I met a transgender person today”). Transgendered is also not correct (“I met a transgendered person today”) and should be avoided.

Transsexual: a term that used to be used to distinguish between someone who had undergone gender reassignment surgery and someone who had not (who would have been referred to as transgender). This has fallen out of favour as people have begun to emphasise the plurality of gender rather than accepting it as binary.

Transition: the process that a transgender person undertakes to move from being accepted as one gender to being accepted as the gender they feel themselves to be. It usually includes hormone therapy to make physical changes to the body but may or may not involve surgical procedures.

Transman: a transgender person born female but living as a man. Synonymous with the term FtM (female to male).

Transwoman: a transgender person born male but living as a woman. Synonymous with the term MtF (male to female).

Trans* Jersey

MtF finance

Even if you take the publicly funded healthcare route to manage your transition, the costs are higher for trans* islanders than for trans* individuals in the UK because we have to travel to see the specialists who can assist us to transition.

For those transwomen with island medical insurance policies, you will find that they specifically do not cover any treatment relating to gender reassignment.

Below are some of the costs that you will need to fund whichever transition route you follow:

Travel
Flights to the UK for consultations with your therapist. You will need to budget for more than one visit. Depending on how your therapy goes, you could be visiting regularly for a while. The cheapest flights from Jersey to the UK are on the Gatwick route so take this into consideration when you and your GP select your therapist. Your appointment should only be an hour so you should be able to get over and back in the day. Also, remember to budget for the Gatwick Express into London and transport in London.

GP visits
You will need to visit your GP more regularly than usual to keep them updated on progress, to ask for referrals, to have bloods taken to check your hormone levels and to ask their advice on a range of issues. Budget for about one every two months during your first two years of transition.

Change of name
The costs given below are approximate. They may change.

Deed poll prepared by Jersey advocate and sworn in Royal Court: £435
New driving licence: £40
New passport: £75
Passport photographs: £5

See the change of name page for more details.

Devices for passing
Some transwomen like to use breastforms and gaffs to assist them in passing. Breastforms start at about £30 and can go up as high as £750 for realistic skin tone, shape and nipples. Gaffs are around £35-£50. For more information about suppliers see the help page.

financeBelow are some of the costs that are optional depending on how you manage your transition. You may elect to go completely private, completely public through the States and NHS systems, or do a mixture of private and public:

Gender therapy
For those who wish to see a gender therapist privately in the UK, an hour’s consultation will cost about £200.

Hormone therapy
For those who wish to see an endocrinologist privately in Jersey, an hour’s consultation will cost about £280.

Surgery
Bottom surgery (GRS): costs vary depending on the surgical procedure being undertaken. Orchiectomy: £3,000 app. Cosmetic genital reconstruction surgery without vaginoplasty: £9,500 app. Vaginoplasty (penile inversion): £10,800 app. Colon vaginoplasty: £13,000 app.

If you go abroad for surgery, don’t forget to add in the travel, accommodation and food costs. For GRS, for example, you won’t be able to fly for a least a week afterwards, which means a hotel bill. Full recovery time is six to twelve weeks.

Top surgery: costs vary depending on the type of breast augmentation surgery being undertaken. There are two types of implant commonly used. However, you can expect to pay between £3,500 and £5,000.
Facial feminising surgery: costs vary depending on the surgery being undertaken, and there is a large range of procedures you can have done. You can pay anything from £1,000 for a minor procedure to £10,000 for a full facelift.

See the surgery page for more details of MtF surgery.

Funding
The truth is transitioning costs the trans* individual and, because it is still seen as a choice rather than a necessity, especially by insurers, there is little financial help available.

Try to put away £100 of your salary every month into a transition fund or hold a ‘transition fund’ event where friends and family show their support by donating as much or as little as they want without embarrassment.

Don’t fund your transition through credit cards or pay-day loans. These are the worst ways to borrow money as the interest rates are so high. If you need to borrow, talk to your bank about a loan. Trans* Jersey has contacted NatWest bank in Jersey and they have confirmed that they would do a personal loan for treatment or surgery and that anyone who approached them would be treated sensitively and with discretion. Criteria for the loan would be the standard requirements, ie. any person wanting a loan will need to bank with NatWest for 6 months, have a regular income mandated to the account and be able to afford the loan. Anyone seeking this sort of facility can contact Tanya Nerac, Assistant Relationship Manager, in the first instance who is one of our trans* allies.

Trans* Jersey

MtF hormones

In order to transition from male to female, transwomen usually take two hormones for the rest of their lives: estrogen and progesterone.Pre-orchidectomy surgery they may also take anti-androgens. This is usually the first medical step on your transition journey after changing your name and possibly living as your preferred gender for a short period of time. The Looking Glass Society has detailed information about HRT (hormone replacement therapy) here.

Your GP or doctor in Jersey is very unlikely to prescribe hormone replacement therapy for you. They will not have the necessary skills in gender care to decide whether hormone therapy is right for you. It will be your gender therapist who will start you on HRT. However, they will need to send their recommendation for your starting dose and the subsequent progress of your dose to your GP or psychiatrist in Jersey. Depending on what versions of HRT you have been advised to take, your GP or psychiatrist may be able to write the prescription for you or arrange for you to see the island’s endocrinologist, either privately or through the health service, who will write the prescription for you. HRT is a life-long commitment for transwomen and the cost of the hormones is not cheap so the majority of transwomen will elect to get help through the States of Jersey’s usual free prescription scheme.

hormonesThere are a number of different forms in which HRT can be administered (injections, subcutaneous slow-release capsules, gels, patches) and Jersey offers most of the versions available. However, not all the versions of HRT delivery are on the GPs’ list of drugs they can prescribe. The States of Jersey’s endocrinologist has access to a much wider range of HRT delivery methods through the hospital’s pharmacy.

Whether your GP or psychiatrist can prescribe the type of HRT delivery recommended by your gender therapist or not, they will almost inevitably have to refer you to Jersey’s endocrinologist at some point for monitoring of your hormone levels. The endocrinologist is based at Overdale in the Department of Metabolic Medicine or can be seen privately at the Little Grove, St Lawrence.

Even if you start by seeing the endocrinologist privately, you can ask them to refer you through the health service for all follow ups. You will need to see the endocrinologist regularly, at least to begin with. The endocrinologist will monitor your blood to ensure that the hormones are being absorbed and used correctly by your system. They will ask you to ask your GP to arrange to take blood tests as needed. The results will be returned to the endocrinologist who will then discuss them with you. Once your hormone levels are steady and at the same level as a natal female, your visits to the endocrinologist will become less frequent and you need only telephone their office to request repeat prescriptions, which are sent down to the hospital pharmacy where they are filled within about 48 hours and where you collect them.

Trans* Jersey

Press and media advice

Trans* Jersey is very happy to answer questions from the press and media about trans* issues. All enquiries should be addressed to: admin@transjersey.org in the first instance.

The following interview is a parody of typical media interviews with transgender people, with Janet Mock asking Alicia Menendez – who is cisgender – many of the same questions she routinely has to deal with as a transgender woman. The video highlights the way that even trans-welcoming media personalities can objectify and dehumanize their transgender guests by focusing on their bodies and medical histories. Take 5 minutes to watch it here before you plan your interview questions.

Janet-MockResources for journalists reporting on transgender issues or interviewing transgender people from –

Trans Media Watch
GLAAD
Press Complaints Commission

Resources for transgender interviewees from –

Trans Media Watch
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

 

Trans* Jersey

MtF resources

UK Charities
GIRES
The Gender Trust
Gendys Network
Gender Matters
The Beaumont Society
Mermaids (for children and teen support)
Depend (for friends and family support)
Press for Change (for legal issues)

Links
NHS transgender advice – NHS Transhealth
Transitioning on the NHS information from a transwoman – Writings of a Trans Activist
UK based forum predominantly for MtF friends and advice – TransgenderZone
UK based advice for transwomen – The Angels
UK comprehensive medical advice for transwomen – Looking Glass Society

US based resource for all things MtF – Transsexual Road Map
US based online magazine for transwomen – Femme Secrets
US based online magazine for transwoman – Lynn’s Place
US based advice for transwomen – Susan’s Place
US based advice for transwomen – Laura’s Playground
US based advice for trans* people – Trans Health

Wigs – Alternative Hair, Jersey
Laser hair removal – Aesthetic Laser Clinic, Jersey

Complete make-over service, dresses, shoes, lingerie, cosmetics, wigs, breastforms – TransLife
Dresses, shoes, lingerie, cosmetics, wigs, breastforms – Suddenly Fem
Shoes, lingerie, cosmetics, wigs, breastforms – The Fantasy Girl
Shoes, lingerie, breastforms – Classic Curves

booksBooks
On Becoming a Woman: A Transsexual and Transgender Guide for Transitioning From Male to Female by Jennifer Corbett (2014)
My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity by Kate Bornstein (2013)
Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue by Nicholas Teich (2012)
Grrl Alex: A Personal Journey to a Transgender Identity by Alex Drummond (2012)
Helping Your Transgender Teen: A Guide for Parents by Irwin Krieger (2011)
The Transgender Guidebook: Keys to a Successful Transition by Anne Boedecker (2011)
Becoming Drusilla: One Life, Two Friends, Three Genders by Richard Beard (2009)
The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals by Brill (2008)
She’s Not the Man I Married: My Life With a Transgender Husband by Helen Boyd (2007)
The Transgender Companion (Male to Female): The Complete Guide to Becoming the Woman You Want to Be by Jennifer Seeley (2007)
Finding the Real Me: True Tales of Sex and Gender Diversity by Tracie O’Keefe (2003)

Trans* Jersey

MtF timeline

For those who are still questioning their gender, take some time to read this site, to surf the Internet and watch video clips uploaded by transwomen, to read some of the excellent personal accounts of transitioning available as books from Amazon, and to feel comfortable with the idea that you are trans*. This is an important step and not one that should be hurried. It can take years to reach a point of ease with who you are.

However, it is worth reaching that point before you more forward with your transition, especially in Jersey. We all know how quickly news travels in small communities, more so than in a big city. You are unlikely to be able to keep your transition a secret in the island. You need to be prepared to ‘out’ yourself to all sorts of people in order to get their help and you can only do that if you are proud and confident about who you are.

Having reached a place where you know that you are transgender, your first point of contact is your doctor/GP in Jersey. Explain to them that you are unhappy with the gender assigned to you at birth and that you would like to start the process of transitioning. Ask your GP to write a letter of referral to a gender therapist (if going the privately funded route) or to a psychiatrist within the health services in Jersey (if going the publicly funded route).

There are no gender therapists in Jersey so you will have to go to the UK for counselling. Your GP can either refer you privately to a gender clinic of your choice or your Jersey psychiatrist can refer you through the NHS to the Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic. The advantages of going private are that you control the timetable and can get things moving as quickly as you need to. The disadvantage is that you pay for private consultations (see the finance page). The NHS route is free but you are stuck with their timescale.

Remember that your therapist is not there to ‘judge’ you. They are there to help you make sure that transitioning is what you want to do. Therapy is a time for you to ask questions about transitioning, to be honest with yourself and answer the therapist’s questions as openly as you can, to think about alternatives to transitioning and to understand why they are not an option for you, and to double-check your feelings with an impartial and skilled observer.

Depending on how you and your therapist feel about your readiness to transition, the next step is either to change your name by deed poll to the name by which you want to be known going forward or to commence hormone therapy.

For more information about changing your name and all your documents, see the change of name page.

evolution-womanJersey has the necessary skills on the island to administer your hormone therapy, which will be a lifelong commitment to taking estrogen, progestogen and antiandrogen in some form. Your therapist will need to provide a letter to your GP or psychiatrist recommending that you commence hormone therapy, the appropriate delivery method of the hormones and the doses that you require. Your GP or psychiatrist can then refer you to the island’s endocrinologist. This can be done privately, for which you will pay, or you can be referred through the States system, which is free.

For more information about hormone therapy, see the hormones page.

This may be as far as you wish to go in your transition. You may consider the changes made by the hormone therapy sufficient to allow you to pass as a woman. However, you may elect to undergo one or more surgical procedures to further feminise your body. If so, you will need to leave the island again for your operation(s). Jersey has no surgeons who can perform this specialist surgery. You will need to decide whether you wish to pay for surgery privately or whether you are prepared to wait for surgery in the UK through the NHS.

If you elect to have surgery through the NHS, you need to ask your NHS therapist to place you on the NHS waiting list.

If you elect to have private surgery there are two advantages: you can choose your surgeon, so you can choose to see anyone in the world who takes private patients, and the timing of your surgery is your choice. You should research your surgeon carefully, taking time to read testimonials from transwomen who have had surgery with them. If you are unsure about your choice, ask your GP for their opinion.

Once you have selected your surgeon, contact them directly. You do not need to go back to your GP for a referral. However, the surgeon will undoubtedly want a letter from your therapist or GP referring you after you have made the initial contact.

For more information about surgery, see the surgery page.

Finally, take ownership of your transition. If you are not getting the answers you require from your health professional, keep asking until you do. Research as much as you can and prepare the questions you want answered before every consultation. Your Jersey GP may never have taken a patient through a transition process so you may need to guide them on what they need to do next for you.