Thinking more clearly on HRT? You’re not imagining it

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesOne commonly reported experience on trans support forums like Reddit’s AskTransgender is difficulty with focusing and concentration, with symptoms that are often described as a kind of cognitive fog or “brain fog”. Notably, many trans people have reported that these symptoms begin to abate after starting hormone therapy, and that they are able to think more clearly and focus more easily: Continue reading →

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Effectiveness of vaginoplasty for trans women confirmed once again in new study

Posted on June 30, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesVaginoplasty for trans women, the surgical construction of a vagina and labia from penile and scrotal tissue, is a highly effective treatment for gender dysphoria. For decades, numerous large studies have found that vaginoplasty is associated with a significant reduction in gender dysphoria as well as associated psychiatric comorbidities. This wide-ranging body of research includes these findings, among many others:
Continue reading →

Posted in Outcomes of transition, Surgery, Transgender medicine | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Am I a Satanist? Are you? How Satanism is empowering the trans community

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesAm I, Zinnia Jones, a Satanist? Here’s some rather interesting commentary on this subject that I found while browsing Tumblr:

I was somewhat surprised to discover Zinnia Jones is not really an atheist but has a satanist tattoo (why?) . . . I think most of the trans activists probably do worship satan and Zinnia simply let the cat out of the bag. “satan = father of lies”… of course they worship him.  The tattoo was to let other satanists know who they are–its usually visible in their photos.

That… is one hell of a theory. Trans people worshiping the devil and flashing secret symbols at each other like some kind of Masonic conspiracy? To be fair, this same person also accused me of being in cahoots with “Big Pharma” and getting high on mood stabilizers, so good old-fashioned Satanic panic is probably not that unusual of an idea within their particular worldview. But this isn’t the first time the Satan question has come up, and it does raise some questions worth exploring. Continue reading →

Posted in Faith and religion, Politics and law, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling: When everything is a “sincere religious belief”

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesLast week’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of a homophobic Christian baker who refused to sell wedding cakes to same-sex couples is very disappointing, and not for the reasons you might think. This wasn’t a catastrophic blow against the LGBT community – instead, this is a ruling so narrow that it almost seems evasive. What it left in place isn’t all that great, and what it does address is concerning. Continue reading →

Posted in Faith and religion, Politics and law, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Nifty finds: Super-fast-acting hormone blockers used in Sweden

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesGnRH agonists are a class of drugs sometimes used as part of medical transition for trans people in order to block the sex hormones produced by their own bodies (Hembree et al., 2017). These are long-acting medications, typically given as a depot injection or as a subcutaneous implant. Lupron injections and histrelin implants have been used as puberty blockers for trans youth (Stevens, Gomez-Lobo, & Pine-Twaddell, 2015), and Decapeptyl and Zoladex have been used (particularly in the UK) to block testosterone in adult trans women and estrogen and progesterone in adult trans men (NGICNS, 2016). While individual treatment needs can vary – for instance, trans women will often instead take other testosterone blockers like spironolactone, and trans men may only need testosterone to suppress their estrogen – GnRH agonists are generally very effective at eliminating the body’s production of these hormones, clearing the way for cross-sex hormones to produce their desired effects. Continue reading →

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