What Not to Say to a Trans Person Unless, Perhaps, You Are Trans?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

This past weekend I attended a transgender conference and several different trans people, independently from one another, asked me if I was taking testosterone.

Now this might seem like a perfectly reasonable question for a trans person to ask a trans man.  After all, that’s what some trans men do, right?  Some transsexuals take hormones.

Heck, we might even get together as a group and talk about it, or some folks will blog about it, or make videos on YouTube about it.  All this hormone business is out there in the trans-o-sphere and no one thinks twice about one trans person asking another whether they’re taking hormones?

But what if a non-trans person had asked a trans person that question?

If a non-trans person were to ask me personal questions about medical treatments, such as whether I was taking testosterone, I might put that question in a blog post, with a list of inappropriate things that non-trans people say to trans people.

Or if a non-trans person asked me whether I was taking testosterone and that person happened to be a dental hygienist, I might write a blog post about inappropriate ways that health care providers treat trans people.

But in this case, it was trans people who asked me whether I was taking hormones to medically transition.  And so now, I ask you —

Is it any more (or less) appropriate for a trans person, rather than a non-trans person, to pose these sorts of questions to someone about their medical treatments?

Is there a double standard?

Readers, what do you think?

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The Human Ovary: Steroidogenesis & Ovulation

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

When we last considered the human ovary, we were discussing a bit of anatomy and a lot of folliculogenesis. We learned about the different steps and changes that ovarian follicles undergo as they develop or become atretic.

With the information from that previous post in mind, we will now consider the functional aspects of the ovary, those being production of steroids and ovulation of a mature egg.

Continue reading →

Posted in Science/Biology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2011 in Review – from the fine folks at WordPress

Posted on January 2, 2012 by

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Happy New Year everyone!
–ATM

Posted in Stuff About This Blog | 4 Comments

Holiday Greetings Manhattan-Style

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

Times Square

I had the chance to go to New York City last weekend and I took advantage of the opportunity by checking out the holiday lights, mainly at Rockefeller Center.

To say that I was blown away would be an understatement. Not only were the lights and decorations absolutely stunningly beautiful, so were the people!

There were lots of them!, entire families, parents and children, from all over the world.  And they were happy and enjoying themselves, and laughing and talking and smiling and taking photographs, and handing their cameras to complete strangers (like me) and asking them to take photos of their families.  There were no arguments or snippy remarks or people losing their patience. People didn’t even seem to notice that it was a cold 29°F.

Radio City Music Hall - Home of the Rockettes!

The entire atmosphere was so pleasant, that I cannot adequately put it into words. Even the cops were in a good mood!

And so for my holiday greetings this year, I will post some mediocre photos I snapped with my Blackberry in Manhattan and wish you all the happiest of holidays in whatever way you celebrate them and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

–ATM

Atlas - at Rockefeller Center

The statue of Atlas in front of Rockefeller Center, taken from St. Patrick's Cathedral, across 5th Avenue

Rockefeller Plaza from W. 50th Street

The huge Christmas tree and ice rink at Rockefeller Plaza

Angels at Rockefeller Plaza

Posted in Narrative | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

What Not to Say to *This* Trans Person

Posted on December 11, 2011 by

There are myriad posts and letters on the internet that were written to educate and enlighten non-trans people on how to (or how not to) speak to trans people.  For example, Matt Kailey has a post on his blog Tranifesto, “Ten Things Not to Say to A Trans Person.“

I don’t want to reinvent the wheel here; however, some of the things that people have said to me recently have me wanting to inform the uninformed what not to say to a trans person when they meet one for the first time.  Or even the second or third time.

But then I considered the possibility, however small, that something I might suggest not to say to trans people might be the very thing that another trans person might want to hear. (It’s not likely, but I can’t rule it out 100%.)

So with that in mind, I decided to address this from a more personal perspective and changed the title of this post from, “What Not to Say to a Trans Person,” to what you have already read above, “What Not to Say to This Trans Person.”  I will frame my comments in the form of a letter…

Continue reading →

Posted in Rants | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

The Human Ovary: Anatomy & Follicular Development

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

Time flies when you’re having fun.  And commuting (which is not fun).

Well, time flies like an arrow but fruit flies like a banana…

(By the way, that doesn’t look like a fruit fly on the right.  To me, it looks like a common house fly. But I digress.)

Seems like just last week when I wrote a post about the embryonic differentiation and development of ovaries and testes, the genes that control these processes and what happens when the genetics go awry.  But actually, it was almost a year ago.

Now, it’s finally time to talk about normative functioning of the human ovary which is, hopefully, a prelude to a discussion about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) in trans men.

Continue reading →

Posted in Science/Biology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Giving Thanks

Posted on November 24, 2011 by

Is it cliché to talk about giving thanks during the Thanksgiving holiday?

I had a post all written about disrespectful and/or annoying questions that people have asked me when they’ve learned that I am trans.  But just before I posted it, I remembered the Thanksgiving holiday that is upon us and my cranky rant just didn’t seem appropriate.

And so let’s work with the cliché — what am I thankful for?

I am thankful for many things, but one of the biggies has to be the ability to finally live as my true, authentic self.  Stuck in that female persona for over four decades …  the word “prison” comes to mind.

Well, sure, that experience helped to make me what I am today, but I would not — could not — go back.  The genie is out of the bottle and he’s damn glad about it.

And so, in being thankful about being out, I thought that rather than windge about some of the negatives, I would focus on the positives and tell you about some of the best reactions I have seen, heard or received in writing when I have come out to people as trans.

Continue reading →

Posted in Narrative | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2011 & Pete Subkoviak’s Article

Posted on November 20, 2011 by


Transgender Day of Remembrance, held world-wide each year on November 20th, began in response to the 1998 murder of trans woman Rita Hester in Boston.

Each year, the community mourns the death of gender variant people and their loved ones across the world who were murdered because they were being themselves.  You can find more information about TDOR and the victims here.

In recognition of TDOR this year, I would like to call attention to a November 16th article in The Huffington Post by Pete Subkoviak entitled, “LGBT Leadership: Split Hairs and Burnt Bodies” –

When Matthew Shepard was beaten bloody, tied to a fence, and left to die alone in agony, a call was heard around the United States for tolerance toward differing sexual orientations. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community banded together, mourned and got to work to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a law that expands the definition of a hate crime to sexual orientation and gender identity. Thankfully, we’ve come to a better place and time where gays and lesbians can focus on marriage issues, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and employment discrimination. These are all extremely important issues, so naturally some other stuff is going to have to wait. Things like, say, burning bodies.

It is not surprising to me that virtually no one is familiar with the name Shelley Hilliard. Shelley’s body was just found on the side of a busy highway in Detroit last week, burned to death. Shelley’s mother, who had reported to police that her much-beloved teen was missing, had to visit the medical examiner’s office to identify her child’s torso — all that remained.

Shelley was part of a much-disparaged group whose high rates of HIV, physical and sexual abuse and murders go largely unnoticed by the LGBT community, both in terms of consciousness and in terms of programming and funding. I’m talking about transgender individuals — especially young transwomen of color. Nov. 20 is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which memorializes all individuals who were murdered because of their gender identity over the past year.

In marking this TDOR, it is time for leaders in the LGB communities to admit that they need to do more. Transgender individuals are a small minority of the LGBT community but are also the ones who need the most support this day and age. I ask you to imagine being a transwoman walking down the street and how many hateful epithets you would have to tolerate in order to pick up a gallon of milk or visit a doctor’s office. …

You can read the rest of the article here.

–ATM

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Transgender Equal Rights Bill

Posted on November 16, 2011 by

Over the past 24 hours, the Massachusetts House and Senate have both passed the bill, “An Act Relative to Transgender Equal Rights.”  Once Governor Patrick signs this bill into law, Massachusetts will be the 16th state in the nation that affords legal anti-discrimination protections to transgender individuals.  The press release from the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition reads as follows:

Transgender Equal Rights Now a Reality in Massachusetts

November 16th, 2011

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is proud to announce the passing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill in the House and the Senate extending civil rights and hate crimes protections to the state’s transgender residents.

Last night, just before 9:00 PM, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Transgender Equal Rights bill without any amendments. This morning by 10:30 AM, the bill passed in the Massachusetts Senate. The bill must still be approved once more in Senate the Governor can sign it. As we wait for Governor Deval Patrick to officially sign this bill into law, we can celebrate the impact this will have on our transgender youth, adults, and families across the Commonwealth.

MTPC thanks our legislative lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino, Representative Byron Rushing, Senator Ben Downing, and Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz; all of the House and Senate co-sponsors, and the leadership of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray for providing vital protections for approximately 33,000 transgender residents here in Massachusetts.

This bill will give transgender people equal protections when seeking employment, housing, credit, and education.The bill also expands the state’s hate crimes protections to now include transgender people; a community that experiences alarmingly disproportionate levels of harassment and violence.

The final version of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill passed by the legislature unfortunately does not include protections within public accommodations. MTPC and our coalition partners fought hard to try to get public accommodations restored in the Senate version of the bill, and were unsuccessful in doing so. Although this bill does not include public accommodations, this is a historic and important victory in the fight for achieving transgender equality in Massachusetts.

“This is not the end of our fight, and MTPC is committed to getting public accommodations protections for our transgender youth, adults, and families. MTPC plans on introducing a bill for the 2013 legislative session for those public accommodations protections,” said Gunner Scott, Executive Director of MTPC. “For now, let’s be proud of the difference this bill will make in the daily lives of thousands of people across the state who need jobs, a safe place to live and access to education.”

MTPC expresses our deepest gratitude to our community members, who have spent countless hours educating their legislators and the general public about the issues transgender people face. “It is because of the courage of our community members to come forward and tell their personal stories about themselves, their family members, and their friends that we have accomplished this milestone,” said Nancy Nangeroni, Steering Committee Chair of MTPC.

MTPC thanks the members of the Transgender Equal Rights Coalition including MassEquality, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), ACLU of Massachusetts, MassNOW, Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association, Jobs with Justice, and Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality for their tireless work on behalf of transgender equal rights.

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Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is a 501(c) 3 that works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. MTPC educates the public, advocates with state, local, and federal government, engages in political activism, and encourages empowerment of community members through collective action.

Posted in News | Tagged , | 2 Comments

What Will You Be for Halloween?

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

A friend asked me the other day if I was going to dress up for Halloween.  I said,

“I dressed as a woman for 48 years.  I’m all done wearing costumes.”

But that’s me. What about you?

Whatever your plans are for Halloween, I hope that you have a safe, fun and happy time.

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments