Ask a MtF TG a question

[Escierto]

That goes for you too!!!

I was thinking the same thing actually

 

[Crios]

As a Trans Woman Sailing Around the World, Storms Are the Least of Her Worries

To reach Panama from her home in Washington’s San Juan Islands, Bower will have to sail her 30-foot-long 1977 San Juan Class custom cutter rig, Swirl, for roughly 5,000 miles. To prepare, she spent $35,000 retrofitting the Swirl’s interior, doing the carpentry and fiberglass work herself. She plans to sail on a meager budget, funding the trip with earnings from various jobs, including a stint at a bookstore, along with a few sponsorships from private businesses, personal donations, and the $400 a month she receives from her Patreon account.

Looks like she'll beat me to it.

@stickygirl your posts are so intelligent, thought-provoking and uplifting, unlike most of the drivel that passes for online conversation these days. Thank you!

 

[stickygirl]

@stickygirl your posts are so intelligent, thought-provoking and uplifting, unlike most of the drivel that passes for online conversation these days. Thank you!

There's so much bad shit going on the world and I don't need reminding of it. Politics keeps vomiting itself into our everyday lives and while it has a place, it's not here
Nuff said I think

 

[AlexBailey]

Looks like she'll beat me to it.

Sticky, are you a sailor? ️️

 

[stickygirl]

Sticky, are you a sailor? ️️

Sure am. I've sailed dinghies for years but help the bf sail his little yacht

 

[AlexBailey]

Sure am. I've sailed dinghies for years but help the bf sail his little yacht

Nice! You’ve got a keeper!

I love sailing, though it’s been years. The last time was a rough day on a J-24. Bobbing like a cork, I thought we were going to drown! So exciting!

 

[AlexBailey]

Speaking of sailing…

There is a great historic YA novel book series called “Bloody Jack” by L.A. Meyer

Bloody Jack: Being An Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship's Boy

The MC is a London street orphan in the 1790s who passes herself off as a boy to get aboard a Navy frigate.

Lots of fun and adventure with deep descriptions of sailing details.

I related to it feeling like I was a girl trying to pass myself as a boy for so much of my life.

It’s listed as young adult but it has attracted a much larger audience.

 

[stickygirl]

You should try my story Under the Sky - there's a biographical whimsy woven throughout and it's full of proper sailing stuff!

 

[Zrosey]

In light of my own lovely experience with E thought I'd share this delightful piece

 

[stickygirl]

Bloody Jack: Being An Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship's Boy

S/H copy now ordered!

 

[stickygirl]

De-transitioning: the elephant in the room

It's difficult to avoid the glee of some anti-trans commentators who point towards the 'huge' number of people de-transitioning as proof of ... something. As with most 'anti-anything's there is an underlying grain of truth.

I did some reading and most studies show the number of de-transitioners at less than 1%, but those studies were based on pre-2016 stats. Since then, numbers have increased and cited as being between 1-8% depending on a number of factors.

First, you need to look at how the study defines detransition: is it after surgery, after hrt, after social transition or simply kids who've grown out of the idea? What age groups were studied; how many in the group simply disappeared from the study; was the change permanent? Additionally was the study biased, with a pre-determined agenda?

It's hard to deny the change and there could be a variety of reasons

• overwhelmed clinics not screening adequately
• ideation of transgender as a cure-all ( kids seeing it as a solution for various gender issues )
• easier access to online drugs
• transphobia in society, leading to social pressure to stop

It's easy to blame social media, but there's no doubt that trends become amplified quickly. The phenomena isn't new - people jump to rash conclusions like taking 1000mg of Vit.C to cure cancer or that Autism is caused by vaccinations. Even the medical and scientific world gets caught up by hubris - Thalidomide, Vioxx, routine surgery to Intersex babies.

The existing screening for those presenting with possible gender dysphoria is pretty thorough and supportive. There just isn't enough staffing or funding to cope in most countries, so queues lengthen. A suggested fix is to remove any gate-keeping and allow people free, legal gender expression. I've agonised over this, because one the one hand, I don't want to be unfair to any trans person by making their life more difficult. On the other, given that an increasing percentage now de-transition, then clearly more screening is needed.

No one transitions on a whim, but there can be so many other pressures, especially on the young, that is easy for the individual, and their family, to imagine being transgender is the only solution. Spending time and putting heart into something that is inappropriate to their needs is a cruel dawn.

Anyhow - that's my thoughts. Convince me I am wrong in my assumption, because I'm out of ideas.

 

[Escierto]

De-transitioning: the elephant in the room

It's difficult to avoid the glee of some anti-trans commentators who point towards the 'huge' number of people de-transitioning as proof of ... something. As with most 'anti-anything's there is an underlying grain of truth.

I did some reading and most studies show the number of de-transitioners at less than 1%, but those studies were based on pre-2016 stats. Since then, numbers have increased and cited as being between 1-8% depending on a number of factors.

First, you need to look at how the study defines detransition: is it after surgery, after hrt, after social transition or simply kids who've grown out of the idea? What age groups were studied; how many in the group simply disappeared from the study; was the change permanent? Additionally was the study biased, with a pre-determined agenda?

It's hard to deny the change and there could be a variety of reasons

• overwhelmed clinics not screening adequately
• ideation of transgender as a cure-all ( kids seeing it as a solution for various gender issues )
• easier access to online drugs
• transphobia in society, leading to social pressure to stop

It's easy to blame social media, but there's no doubt that trends become amplified quickly. The phenomena isn't new - people jump to rash conclusions like taking 1000mg of Vit.C to cure cancer or that Autism is caused by vaccinations. Even the medical and scientific world gets caught up by hubris - Thalidomide, Vioxx, routine surgery to Intersex babies.

The existing screening for those presenting with possible gender dysphoria is pretty thorough and supportive. There just isn't enough staffing or funding to cope in most countries, so queues lengthen. A suggested fix is to remove any gate-keeping and allow people free, legal gender expression. I've agonised over this, because one the one hand, I don't want to be unfair to any trans person by making their life more difficult. On the other, given that an increasing percentage now de-transition, then clearly more screening is needed.

No one transitions on a whim, but there can be so many other pressures, especially on the young, that is easy for the individual, and their family, to imagine being transgender is the only solution. Spending time and putting heart into something that is inappropriate to their needs is a cruel dawn.

Anyhow - that's my thoughts. Convince me I am wrong in my assumption, because I'm out of ideas.

How do they define transition and de-transition?

 

[stickygirl]

How do they define transition and de-transition?

It depends: most will regard transitioning as at least social transitioning, while other studies focus on hrt & surgery.
Maybe that's what is affecting the stats as well, because if you start at a lower level of intervention then it is both easier to drop out ( de-transition ) or give it a try to see if socially transitioning helps. Hadn't thought about that effect.... actually IME socially transitioning was hell.
The earlier pre-2016 studies included hrt and surgery, but I wonder if they bothered to report social transition? Hmmm

 

[Zrosey]

De-transitioning: the elephant in the room

Just a quick "seat of the pants" response.....
Yeah the numbers of de- transition are up from 2016 and earlier.
Also the availability, knowledge and acceptance of transgender life is up, so it seems to me it's natural to find more de-trans.

 

[Zrosey]

The painful thing is that the anti LGBTQ crowd is taking these numbers, amplifying them, and twisting the relevance to fit their message.

I'm curious to know, in the medical community what percentage of drop outs, or fails in another therapy would be high enough to cause the sensationalism trans therapy does.

 

[stickygirl]

Just a quick "seat of the pants" response.....
Yeah the numbers of de- transition are up from 2016 and earlier.
Also the availability, knowledge and acceptance of transgender life is up, so it seems to me it's natural to find more de-trans.

I think it's important to remember that detransitioning isn't by itself 'failure'. If a process isn't working you don't keep doing the wrong thing.
All the same, I wish individuals could be better advised

 

[Zrosey]

So very true! Gender exploration can be a path to mental wellness, not necessarily the only one.
Thankfully in my case, this has been beyond awesome how well my transition has moved me to a better place

 

[stickygirl]

So very true! Gender exploration can be a path to mental wellness, not necessarily the only one.
Thankfully in my case, this has been beyond awesome how well my transition has moved me to a better place

You know as well as I do, sometimes the better place keeps damn well moving.

When I was transitioning, my goal was always for surgery. I suppose I wanted my transness to disappear, so I could vanish into the cis-world with barely a ripple. Of course I knew that couldn't really happen, but surgery meant most of my prayers were answered: I never did wake the next day with a magical transformation - it was bloody hard work!
As the same, some mornings when I catch sight of myself wearing knickers and see a crease instead of a bulge, I do still smile. I've been lucky in so many ways and count my stars accordingly.

 

[Zrosey]

I suppose I wanted my transness to disappear, so I could vanish into the cis-world with barely a ripple.

I so much feel this! And you also make mention of the "magical transformation"....how many of us wished we could just wake up and all would be right.....there were so many times I cried myself to sleep hoping for that transformation, sleep was my one escape. A chance to be away from all the meanness of the world.

Transition is difficult. It's physically and mentally hard. Many times I've wished I could have been happy and secure as a cis- male, how much easier the world would be that way!
Thankfully I don't often feel that way anymore, I've come so far, acceptance and love of myself, partly because of therapy no doubt, but I am sure my hrt plays no small part as well. At almost one year now on hrt, I've only become more confident that now I am living my true self and I love it!

Now, at this one year mark, occasionally I look in my mirror and I see that feminine soul that was hidden for so long, looking back and smiling at me. She is thrilled to be out!

 

[stickygirl]

Now, at this one year mark, occasionally I look in my mirror and I see that feminine soul that was hidden for so long, looking back and smiling at me. She is thrilled to be out!

 

[Paradox]

It seems the vast majority of people don't realize that statistics without context are essentially meaningless. And, without context, it makes it easy to twist the stats to say pretty much whatever you want.

 

[TheF1x3r]

It seems the vast majority of people don't realize that statistics without context are essentially meaningless. And, without context, it makes it easy to twist the stats to say pretty much whatever you want.

What do you mean?

 

[Paradox]

I probably should have quoted Sticky instead of just making the comment.

"First, you need to look at how the study defines detransition: is it after surgery, after hrt, after social transition or simply kids who've grown out of the idea? What age groups were studied; how many in the group simply disappeared from the study; was the change permanent? Additionally was the study biased, with a pre-determined agenda?"


Statistics are thrown around all the time, but if you don't have the background for how the statistics were obtained, they are don't really tell anything. Most people don't seem to understand this, but are happy to use the statistic if it confirms their bias. I like to think those in the news media should know this, but they don't seem to because most of them don't bother to explain how the research was conducted.

From Wikipedia:
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments, "one of the best, and best-known" critiques of applied statistics.[2] It is also sometimes colloquially used to doubt statistics used to prove an opponent's point.

The phrase was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.[1] However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Several other people have been listed as originators of the quote, and it is often attributed to Twain himself.[3]

 

[stickygirl]

I probably should have quoted Sticky instead of just making the comment.

"First, you need to look at how the study defines detransition: is it after surgery, after hrt, after social transition or simply kids who've grown out of the idea? What age groups were studied; how many in the group simply disappeared from the study; was the change permanent? Additionally was the study biased, with a pre-determined agenda?"


Statistics are thrown around all the time, but if you don't have the background for how the statistics were obtained, they are don't really tell anything. Most people don't seem to understand this, but are happy to use the statistic if it confirms their bias. I like to think those in the news media should know this, but they don't seem to because most of them don't bother to explain how the research was conducted.

From Wikipedia:
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments, "one of the best, and best-known" critiques of applied statistics.[2] It is also sometimes colloquially used to doubt statistics used to prove an opponent's point.

The phrase was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.[1] However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Several other people have been listed as originators of the quote, and it is often attributed to Twain himself.[3]

I don't know of any news media that isn't biased: they're all owned by plutocrats. The BBC left the Stonewall Diversity program in 2021 that supports LGBTQ+ employers, but a number of queer and trans staff had already left, finding the political culture anti-trans... and that's before you mention the Murdoch mob.

 

[TheF1x3r]

I don't know of any news media that isn't biased: they're all owned by plutocrats. The BBC left the Stonewall Diversity program in 2021 that supports LGBTQ+ employers, but a number of queer and trans staff had already left, finding the political culture anti-trans... and that's before you mention the Murdoch mob.

The BBC are absolutely nuts right now.

The last... 2... 3 programs portrayed British people in the worst possible light. The last one, and the final straw for me, was "World on Fire" where they portrayed the British as being more racist and less civil than... wait for it... the Third Reich.

I didn't hear about them leaving Stonewall Diversity program, that's a bit of a surprise to me. They *seemed* to be very much on the side of LGBT+, but maybe it was a charade.