Archives

More Great Results from Yeson

Nov27

Yeson Voice Center has a new pitch centric technique for adjusting pitch for male-to-female transsexuals. I’ve been following the progress of several transwomen who have gone there and have been just floored at the improvements in their voices as they’ve healed and continued voice therapy afterwards.

This is Sarah’s voice experience thread and she’s begun posting about her progress now that she’s a bit more than 2 weeks post-op for her voice. Already her voice sounds great. Jenny, another poster at Susans forums, also has experienced great results as have several others.

For someone with an actual physical problem that hinders voice retraining, this looks like a god-send. The patient still has to retrain to focus on head voice (female) rather than chest voice (male) but I’ve found that is not all that hard to do.

I am looking forward to having saved enough to go there in a year or two.

More Brain Differences in Transsexuals

Nov23

As the evidence grows and grows that being transsexual is a true medical condition and not a “sinful lifestyle choice” that the bigots and haters like to claim, I try to document some of that here, as references.

A new study, from Taipei in Taiwan, adds further weight to the discussion about the biological differences between trans folk and other people.

For those who are interested in these things, I also highly recommend the A.E. Brain blog, an excellent reference point for many, many more studies that further document our medical condition.

When people make claims to the contrary, you can use the peer reviewed, scientific medical studies available to present your position that being trans is a recognized medical condition, and that for many of us, transitioning to live as the gender we identify as is the most successful therapy available.

About HRC.ORG and why I refuse to donate

Nov21

I support a number of trans supportive organizations, but not one of the largest ones, the Human Rights Campaign. People sometimes ask me why and it’s because HRC has frequently, in the past, treated the ‘T’ in GLBT as a stepchild not worthy of full consideration.

Now, I would love to support HRC but because of their past actions, they need to make that up to the trans community. The presence of trans folk on their staff has always been minimized. They’ve released trans staff over what appear to be minor issues while retaining gay staff, some of whom have been openly transphobic.

So, since I could find no place on the HRC website to provide feedback to their email they sent soliciting donations, I’ll state it clearly here – HRC will get my support when they prove that trans folk matter as much as gay folk to them. And until they do that, my donations will go elsewhere.

A Small Smile in November

Nov18

This last weekend, I bought and tried on my first pair of leggings. I got a black set and a purple set, and of course, I chose to wear the purple set the first time. They fit wonderfully and I love the feel on my legs. I think they look pretty good too.

This prompted me to revisit an outfit I’d put together but wasn’t quite happy with at the time. It’s a knee length black skirt and a purple mid-sleeve blouse. I put those together with my favorite open toed sandals and everything clicked! It was right and I felt right about it.

This got me to thinking about my own comfort zones. I’ve been really reluctant to wear mid-length or shorter skirts, preferring longer skirts and dresses. I’m critical of my own legs though two different cisgender female friends have insisted that I have “great pins”, as one of them said. So I’m beginning to think that leggings, and later maybe stockings might be a way to get past those hyper critical thoughts about my legs.

We’ll see. In the end, I enjoyed that moment for what it was. Looking in the mirror, I see more and more of Liz and less and less of him staring back at me. Yes, there are some things that still trigger me, like the heavy beard shadow, but that too shall pass over the next year or so.

Next big goal? Losing 15-20 more pounds. At 5 foot, 10 inches, I want to be around 155 to 160 pounds, not 175 pounds. Honestly, I’d love 150 even but I’m not sure if I can get there. Again, we’ll see.

And the final observation? Estrogen, finasteride, and spiro, plus minoxidil and now adding microneedling of the scalp with a dermaroller do appear to be thickening my hair slowly. This could be a multi-year process before I feel comfortable without a wig, if I ever even get there, but it does seem I’m moving in the right direction.