What facial changes can trans people expect from HRT?

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Yes, HRT does change your facial features – and a new study has actually measured this.

One of the most exciting aspects of HRT for trans people is seeing the physical changes in facial appearance, with trans women typically experiencing a reduction in masculine features while developing more prominent feminine features, and vice versa for trans men. It’s one of the topics most commonly asked about in support forums like Reddit’s AskTransgender: many trans people wait eagerly for the gradual changes in their face over months and years, and often wonder what the various details of their facial features will look like. Continue reading →

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Blaire White and Arielle Scarcella don’t want cis people to love trans women

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

A few months back, Blaire White and Arielle Scarcella had some thoughts to offer on the subject of cis people’s attractions to trans women:

Continue reading →

Posted in Sexuality, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What is natural? An indictment of the vitalist resurgence

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

by Heather McNamara

Our globe is warming. Polar ice caps steadily drip into the ocean and wash up on the shores of Miami. Beijing’s air quality is so poor that its non-smoking citizens develop lung cancer at nearly the same rates as smokers. Human beings are increasingly dependent upon technology – the production of which increasingly harms our environment and by proxy, ourselves. The desire to eschew unnecessary luxuries like plastic grocery bags, processed foods, straws, paper cups, etc. is an understandable one. Unfortunately, this distrust of technological progress has come hand in hand with a distrust of science and has led to a resurgence of vitalist thought. This resurgence sometimes manifests in a mostly harmless fashion: leading people to paleo dieting and unpasteurized milk. Unfortunately, however, it has also wormed its way into medical discussions and anti-trans discourse. Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy and language, Transphobia and prejudice | 1 Comment

Real solutions for self-medication: Expanding access to transition care via family physicians and informed consent protocols

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

If you’ve perused the British press lately, you’ve probably noticed that mixed in with the daily barrage of cookie-cutter anti-trans opinion pieces was this alarming headline: “Cowboy chemists are selling ‘DIY trans’ pills to teenagers as more and more are ‘risking their lives’ by taking black market drugs”. This subsequently led to the closure of the online pharmacy QHI. The issue of self-medication via online pharmacies by trans people, particularly trans youth, is not new: the Independent published a similar investigation in 2016, and I’ve received plenty of outraged tweets from transphobes who were unhappy with my own post collecting studies of generic medications that have been used as a substitute for puberty blockers in clinical practice.

I trust that these people recognize and value the importance of access to safe and competent gender-affirming care – and so do I. No one should be placed in a situation where this is their only means of obtaining timely transition treatment. Fortunately, if you’re worried about trans people and youth self-medicating unsafely, there are already many known ways to reduce the prevalence of this phenomenon. It’s simple: just meet the needs that aren’t being met for them. Continue reading →

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Book review: “My Dinner with Andrea” by Jen Durbent

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

by Heather McNamara

Overall: 4/5 

Trans Narrative: 5/5

“My Dinner With Andrea” is mostly a love story. Faith is a transgender woman who is trying out dating for the first time in a while. Since coming out and starting hormones, Faith’s marriage to her wife, Michelle, has remained rich in love but no longer involves physical affection. Both parties have turned to others to meet this need for them, but until now, only Michelle has had success. Then Andrea showed up. Continue reading →

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