Gender basics: How sex hormones work, and their use by trans people

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Zinnia Jones

Previously: 3 years of HRT, and 8 things I’ve learned

Over the past several years, I’ve heard countless comments which reveal a surprising unawareness of some basic facts of the human endocrine system. In particular, it’s clear that many people don’t entirely understand what estrogen and testosterone actually are, how they work, and their effects on trans people. Not all trans people take hormones, and it’s always a personal choice based on individual needs and preferences. That said, most of us do. Trans people likely already know everything that’ll be covered here, so you can go ahead and skip this episode if you want. Cis people: this one’s for you. Please pay attention. Continue reading →

Posted in Biology of transition, Transgender medicine | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Book review: “Becoming Nicole” by Amy Ellis Nutt (Gender Analysis)

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Zinnia Jones

becomingnicolecoverI’ve often been asked which books I would recommend for those who are interested in learning more about transgender topics. Usually, there aren’t many I can suggest – popular coverage of these issues often contains deficiencies that misinform readers about key aspects of our lives and experiences. I’m happy to say that “Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family” by Amy Ellis Nutt is an absolute breath of fresh air.

The book documents the story of Nicole Maines, a transgender woman who came out and began living as a girl in her childhood and started transitioning in adolescence. Nicole and her family became involved in a landmark human rights case in the state of Maine after her elementary school prohibited her from using the girls’ restroom. The case was ultimately decided in her favor when the state Supreme Court ruled that the Maine Human Rights Act did protect the right of trans students to use the school restroom for their gender.

While much of the existing media on trans people treats us as isolated entities, focusing on the more superficial aspects of our bodies and the many changes we undergo, this book’s coverage isn’t limited to Nicole as an individual. The body is just an interface between our self and the world, and the physical procedures of her transition, including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery, are explained thoroughly but without sensationalization or unnecessary detail. Instead, this book devotes far more time to exploring larger social systems and their processes viewed through the lens of their impact on one person. Continue reading →

Posted in Bathrooms and public accommodations, Book reviews, Faith and religion, History, Politics and law, Trans youth, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lamentations (Gender Analysis)

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Zinnia Jones

Hi. Usually when I do a video, it’s meant to explain and help viewers better understand various important topics. But right now, I’m the one trying to reach an understanding of something that happened in my life. Right now, I just really need to be heard, and I’m hoping that you can listen and extend me your own understanding as well.

Many of you might not know this, but Gender Analysis is based in Orlando, Florida. Heather, Penny, and I all live here. On the Saturday night before the shooting at Pulse, we were deciding where we should spend the evening downtown. We were looking into getting a hotel room near Pulse and going out to the club that night. Heather has been there many times before – it was the first gay club she went to after she came out as a lesbian, and prior to our wedding in 2014, she had her bachelorette party there.

The booking site ended up giving us a slightly lower price for a hotel near Universal Studios CityWalk, so that’s where went on Saturday night. If we’d had even a slightly stronger preference for going out clubbing that night, if we’d been just a little more willing to pay extra, if the booking site had priced and sorted its listings differently, if we’d looked 10 minutes earlier or later and missed seeing the results reorder themselves right before our eyes, there was every reason that we would have been at Pulse that night. That is how close this came to me, to Heather, to Penny. Death came that close to us. Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Personal, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

The social paradox of passing (Gender Analysis 23)

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Zinnia Jones

Previously: Trans passing tips for cis people, Bathrooms and locker rooms: the transgender witch hunt, Debunking JoeySalads’ transgender bathroom hoax

We’re halfway through 2016, and the completely unnecessary controversy over trans people in public restrooms has not gone away. North Carolina and the Department of Justice are suing one another over H.B. 2. Several more states filed suit against the Obama administration over the federal directive that trans students be allowed to use the public school facilities matching their gender. And in the midst of this, the forces of transphobia are working tirelessly to paint a more moderate face on their naked hostility toward innocent people.

It’s common nowadays to hear someone make the apparent concession that, for instance, a transgender woman should be allowed to use women’s restrooms – provided she “looks like a woman”. This standard has been advanced by opinionated cis people ranging from Joey Salads to Peter Sprigg, a spokesman with the Family Research Council. Continue reading →

Posted in Bathrooms and public accommodations, Media, Perception and cognitive science, Politics and law, Sociological research, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

0.3% is not 0.03%: representations of transgender frequencies in online publications (Gender Analysis 21)

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Zinnia Jones

In 2011, the Williams Institute at UCLA published an estimate of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population of the United States. Reviewing various surveys and studies, the report estimated that about 0.3% of adults in the U.S. are trans. Since then, this figure has been repeatedly misquoted as “.03%”, often by conservative commentators who oppose trans rights. Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Hoaxes, Media, Sociological research, Statistics and demographics, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments