You've probably heard from transphobes about how "you can't change your DNA," so nothing you do in transition really matters. "Basic biology," they whinge. Well... what about intermediate biology?
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, come and see How HRT Rewrites Your DNA by just plain turning off the parts you don't need and turning on the ones you do! Now with more wedding photos, from another queer wedding.
Scientific research on people is weird and random and chaotic and unpredictable because people are weird and random and chaotic and unpredictable.
But that also means that where we don't have lots of rich research, especially on trans folks, myth and community lore creep in. This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're going to look at What We Know About Trans Brains, and talk about how we build scientific knowledge along the way!
One of the scariest parts of coming out is coming out at work. Unlike your family--blood or chosen--work is just a bunch of people who get thrown together, mishmash, and have to make things work out.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, it's a guide to give to your coworkers when they get that wide-eyed look and think "Oh, s#!t, my coworker just told me they're trans." At least, it should keep people from asking what's in your goddamned pants.
Gender dysphoria is one of the most poorly-understood parts of being trans, despite a century of research and the heroic efforts of trans activists.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're going to look at a new model for understanding gender dysphoria--one that offers hope for healing in transition, and not just from transition, in Shattered, the first article of Grinding Glass, a series on trans trauma and post-traumatic healing.
I have never before in my life read or felt seen as deeply by a feminism like that from A Short History of Trans Misogyny, and this week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're diving deep into mujerísima to understand exactly why Jules Gill-Peterson's work truly is A Love Letter To The Dolls unlike anything I've ever encountered before.
HUUUUGE news for #MtF and #nonbinary#transition#fertility! A (small, admittedly) study confirms that, even after very long-term HRT, transfeminine people should expect to be able to regain full fertility after stopping feminizing HRT. Of the test cohort, EVERY SINGLE PARTICIPANT was eventually able to produce viable sperm, and the duration of HRT was not related to how long it took for fertility to resume.
When a trans person comes out, one of the most common, and challenging, parts of doing so is responding to family members who say they need to grieve us. A lot of pain, on every side, tends to swirl around the members of a relationship when that happens.
But it's not necessarily--even commonly--a bad thing.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're talking about Letting Them Let Go--when family members grieve us in transition.
Heads up for those who take it: My pharmacist just told me that there's a nationwide shortage of micronized progesterone right now, so get your refills while you can.
Stop me if you've said this: "oh my god, I did that when I was a kid. How could I have missed that I was trans?!" And then you pop onto social media or call up a trans friend, and we collectively groan at signs missed, from a kid who was obviously trans.
That's kinda weird when you think about it, isn't it?
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we take a dive into trans identity and safety rituals, because There Were (No) Signs we were trans.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, I'm launching Facets, the beginning of an intermittent series where I cede the floor to one of the many brilliant trans writers out there.
Join us today, as the brilliant and very accomplished @Terra has a few things to say in response to men who tell her "I think your breasts are big enough." It's an exploration of sexism and bodily autonomy, and I'm thrilled to share it with you!
While some of us knew from a very, very young age that we were trans, a whole lot of us... well, we didn't. We thought that the way things were for us was normal.
And then, one day, maybe all of a sudden, maybe after a long time exploring ourselves, we said the magic words: "Oh, s#!t, I think I'm not cis."
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we've got a guide for what to do after the bottom drops out of your world, and you got your gender wrong.
We've been hearing an increasing number of reports of trans people's GPs refusing to prescribe their HRT to them - even if they have a letter from an NHS gender clinic requesting that they do.
Facing a complex trauma diagnosis is usually terrifying. After all, if we have complex trauma, it means we've endured some of the worst pain people can endure.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, the incredible Joscelyn Inton-Campbell walks us through coming to terms with complex trauma, in Complex Trauma Disorder? I hardly knew her!, a Facets article.
The first part of healing from trauma is going back over the causes of trauma, so we can understand it and reprocess it in a safe environment. It's hard. Its incredibly painful. And we often learn things about ourselves that are hard to live with for a while.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're going to talk about Growing Up Broken--how just existing as a trans kid is inherently, and terribly, traumatic.
Salut ! Je cherche à rencontrer et, je l'espère, à intégrer un groupe de personnes #trans. Si vous pouviez booster ce message afin qu'il trouve sa cible, vous seriez adorables !!! #FemmeTrans#mtf je suis dans le secteur du Nord Deux-Sèvres / Cholet. Et je peux me déplacer si besoin.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're going to be Walking the Tightrope as we take a careful look at the inherent risks DIY HRT presents to those who rely on it. By doing so, I'm hoping to help those folks to stay as safe as possible while they use it, and give everyone else some important safety knowledge, just in case it becomes necessary.
Patient self-advocacy changes depending on where you are, as a trans patient--and the therapist's office is one of the most crucial places there is for you to get great care.
Learning How To Get What You Need From Your Therapist can be a daunting task, because we generally face this when we're at our least confident, but it's also the most important step you can take in meeting your transition goals--this week on #StainedGlassWoman!
Recovering from cPTSD can be a difficult journey--but it can be the difference between surviving and thriving, for many trans people.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we'll be Holding the Girl with @JoscelynTransient as she shares one of the most tender moments I think has ever been published on SGW. Come join us to learn more about recovering from trauma, EMDR therapy, and why it's important to take the time to heal.
I want to tell you why my vow renewal meant so much to me, and why we went all-out for it.
I mean, sure, it was our tenth wedding anniversary. We've been together almost twenty years. It was always going to be a big day, and a big deal, for us. And, yeah, B-- and I really, truly are that sacchrine-sweet couple that absolutely cannot get enough of each other. We're, like, cuddle-multiple-hours-a-day absurd. Over the top demonstrations of love are 100% us.
For so many of us, coming out isn't just about ourselves--it's about the people we love most, and especially our partners.
But we do come out to them, and then the person we love the most is faced with the reality that, "Oh, s#!t, my partner just told me they're trans." What the fuck do I do?!
They deserve support in those tender first moments, and this week, I'm going to try and give them a little with a jumbo edition of #StainedGlassWoman!
One of the magical things about being trans and out it that, just by existing, you're going to help other people figure out how to embrace that part of themselves. We're everywhere! But... we're often pretty scared.
So, what do you do when someone asks you for help questioning their gender?
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, it's a guide on Being the Big Sib, so you can help them without hurting them, or yourself, in the process.
One of the biggest challenges in transition for many trans people is getting their doctors to give them the care and medicines we need.
Patient Self-Advocacy is one of the best ways to bridge that gap, but you probably don't know How To Get What You Need From Your Doctor. Come by and have a read to see what good self-advocacy looks like, as #StainedGlassWoman returns from holiday break!
I met a gentleman a bit ago, and my time talking to him about transmasculine erasure and living in deep stealth. It touched me deeply, and I think you ought to hear about his journey.
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're going to take a long, hard look at The Glass Closet, where so many of us wind up after transition, how high the price of living in stealth can be, and where the line between authenticity and privacy lies.
What happens after the end of the second year of hormonal transition, once all the doctors say you've seen everything you're going to see. Why is it that basically everyone sees... well, a heck of a lot more?
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, we're talking about Transition Timelines, and the science--and lack thereof--of later transition!
We've been hearing an increasing number of reports of trans people's GPs refusing to prescribe their HRT to them - even if they have a letter from an NHS gender clinic requesting that they do.