A few years ago, I met a transman who began taking hormones the year I was born, 1955. He’s now 75. I was the second trans person he’d met face-to-face (that he knew of); the first was in 1956. This man is so used to secrecy and hiding, it has become second-nature to him. He’s [...]
Pre-Order: Transition and Beyond: Second Edition
Pre-Order: Transition and Beyond: Observations on Gender Identity, Second Edition by Reid Vanderburgh, MA, LMFT
Available July 2010.
Archive for the ‘Adults Transitioning’ Category
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
Need another reason to quit?
Everyone knows the usual reasons for not smoking. “It’s bad for your breathing.” “You’re much more likely to get cancer.” “You stink.”
But if you are a transwoman taking oral versions of estrogen (pills as opposed to the injectible variety), there is another reason as well. You will probably find you have [...]
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
In early 2002, the question arose on an academic e-mail list I subscribe to, “How can I respond when a colleague questions my decision to have surgery, her argument being that trans surgeries are no different than liposuction, breast augmentation or any other form of body image-based cosmetic surgery? Her point is that women don’t [...]
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
When I was 39, my then-partner came out to me as trans, saying, “I’ve always felt like a man inside, and if I had the money, I’d have an operation tomorrow.” I had not yet realized consciously that I had gender issues of my own, and this remark began a process of my coming to [...]
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
I used to think my transition was so smooth because I chose my friends (all lesbians) wisely over the years and had a great deal of emotional support as a result. Recently, I have begun to rethink this interpretation and to consider if there might have been other factors working in my favor.
I was a [...]
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
For people who choose to transition physically via hormones and/or surgery, there are certain steps most take in order to live their lives in ways that make sense to them. Here is an outline of the general process many of my clients undertake. Some vary the order of the steps, depending on their individual circumstances; [...]
by Reid Vanderburgh MA, LMFT
In the late 1990s, I wrote an article for a queer newspaper in which I said that I thought transition was the most difficult, life-changing process a person could undertake willingly in life. A friend of mine read this article, and commented that she thought the decision to become a parent rivaled transition as a [...]
