A lion sleeps in the heart of every brave man. -- Turkish proverb
Welcome to my blog. Thanks for stopping in.
A few things about me: I am a scientist, a manager at a pharmaceutical company and a trans man. I’m not trained as a writer, but I have a little over a dozen scientific publications and I dabbled as a freelance writer for several years, so I guess I am able to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) with some success.
I am fairly active in the trans community and I like to be able to connect trans people with resources and information.
Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions or to correct me if I’m wrong. I strongly believe that incorrect information, especially in the trans community, has the potential to do harm, so I hope that people are sticklers about what I post just like I am about what others post.
I invite respectful disagreements and really like it when someone can change my mind about something, so give it a go if you are game for a healthy debate.
I’m not sure how often I will make posts. I’m shooting for once per week but I don’t know if I can meet that goal now that the nice weather has finally arrived.
It’s good to have you here. If you like what you see, please come back.
– Anderson
PS – The lion is my own idea and is not meant to be a representation of all FTMs. Some trans guys would not choose a lion as a symbol for themselves or our community.
What made you decide to start your journal here rather than at one of the more popular journaling sites such as Live Journal?
I compared several blogging sites and liked Word Press because of the high level of support, all the different functions and for the statistics. (I really dig good stats…)
Way to go, bro! This is perfect! I look forward to seeing this evolve.
Good that you are doing this. I prefer Live Journal, for the networking aspect, but I’ll try to read you when you blog here.
Thanks Alabastard. I plan to do more than journal, so WP should work well for what I have planned.
GR_transguy, thanks man.
I like your idea of the Lion…and the Quote with it. Good research. But then you are a scientist, it’s what you do…research that is. Cool Lion!!
Bruddah
That Matt Kailey is such an instigator. Oh wait there was Matt and then all those others too ;-) Well I’m glad you listened! I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts in the blogosphere.
Thanks Becki. I’m glad you like it.
Great site. What area of science are you in? I am a scientist, as well….
Thanks. Doing cancer research right now. I’m a biologist.
What kind of science are you doing?
very cool!
:) Thanks Cameron! Nice to see you here.
The case of the woman in Houston fighting for her husbands benefits led me to seek more information on the medical condition that had her declared a male at birth. I am an educator of yound children and see behavior that is considered gender specific occuring in all children. I found your writings very interesting and informative! I believe in the science of what makes people into the beings that we become. I am begining my 28th year of teaching children this school year. I have had a number of students that displayed one set of physical self and seemed to have another gender identity. Many of these young people are facing issues with the non matching sexuality and “genderality”. I think you are doing important work, facing life with humor, and trying to make it easier for people to understand each other.
Well thank you. Very kind of you to say. And thank you for being observant and open minded about the children you teach. If only my teachers had been like you…
glad to have found this place, and I will DEFENITELY be back
Cool. Thanks.
I’m writing you today to ask for your support on a personal project I’m working on. One of my oldest friends is female-to-male transgendered. His top surgery was completed about a year ago, and his next goal is metoidioplasty. I’ve taken on the challenge of helping him raise funds for this very expensive surgery.
We’re putting together a 2011 calendar of FTMs that will be sold online and in various LGBTQI-friendly businesses all over the United States. My goal is to make this an annual project for transgendered people who need help financing the medical procedures they so desperately need. In order to pay for the printing costs, I’m selling ads on the calendar and on our website to people who provide services, products, and support to the transgender community.
100% of the proceeds from the calendar sales will pay medical fees associated with Sexual Reassignment Surgery for transgendered individuals. If you’d like to donate, advertise, or pre-order a calendar, please visit our website! We’d also appreciate anything you can do to help promote the project.
I would really appreciate your support on this project. Sometimes the smallest acts can lead to the biggest changes in someone’s life. I am just one person trying to help make the lives of others better in some way, but I can’t do it alone. I appreciate your time and consideration. And I thank you for the difference you are already making in people’s lives.
Sincerely,
Maegan E. Beard
2011 Transguys Calendar Project
http://www.theTcal.org
hey_meg@hotmail.com
(828) 243-5350
Wow, hey. Is this the same Anderson from the chat forum? If so, I had no idea this was your blog. What a great surprise! I’ve been reading this for awhile now and it’s awesome, such a fun and intelligent read. I only wish you had time to update it more often, but given the fact your job has you doing cancer research I think I can let it slide, and as a cancer survivor I think I’m under some sort of contractual obligation to do so :P
Hello Len. Indeed, it is the same Anderson. Very nice to see you here. I, too, wish I could post more often. I’m hoping that after First Event I’ll have more time to do just that.
Thank you for your kind comments, and I commend you on beating cancer. That’s no small feat. And I am also very glad to know you.
Hey… I identify as a transman. It has been a long time coming, as I am about to hit my 40th birthday. I am also a mom of four. So, coming to this realization has been difficult at best and I find myself second guessing myself a lot. “Am I *really* this way?” or “How can I really be a man if I have lived as a mom and wife for so long.” I still have difficulty answering these questions. Are there many other transmen out there that didnt start off as lesbian? I have always been considered a tomboy in looks and activities. And I have always considered myself bi and now almost exclusively find women alone attractive. I havent started hormones or anything yet… I hope to soon. But ‘life’ makes it difficult at best, especially with being a single parent.
Hi Jake,
You are not alone in your past, your age at coming out to yourself, your motherhood or your transness. There are quite a few trans men who did not come from the lesbian community. I hope that if you are ready and if it’s what you want, that you find a good support group and therapist so you can work toward the answers to the questions you have posed. Best wishes to you!
I hope you’re having a great week! My name is Harrison and I work with SnagFilms.com. We are an online library of over 2100 films, free for audiences to stream. I just wanted to let you know that a film that you may have high interest in, “Red Without Blue”, a documentary that follows a pair of twins as on transitions from male to female, is now available for free streaming via this link: http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/red_without_blue/
Please consider spreading the word about this film either on or through your website. Please feel free to also email me back with questions, and would also like to know if you decide to use it so we can send it out through our network for cross promotion.
Hello Harrison.
Thank you for the information. I am aware of this film and have seen it already. I don’t think that this blog is the correct venue to highlight it, but I will make a Facebook post about it.