Oof, that’s harsh. I’m glad you managed to trudge through it. It’s not unlike how difficult, if not impossible (and expensive) it is in some states (mine included :/) to get a legal name and/or gender marker changed.

They just gotta make it as hard as they can, don’t they… 🙃

Do they? I guess they’d have to figure out why they’re so set on getting that surgery, if it isn’t a matter of skewed body image. Any treatment is going to have to depend on that, I’d imagine. Has there been research on this subject?

I sincerely doubt a doctor’s first response would be to encourage the patient to get a BBL. Gender-affirming care (specifically here, hrt and surgery) has been extensively scrutinized and researched and has been proven effective for treating gender dysphoria, and other treatments (like conversion therapy) have proven ineffective. As far as I’m aware, the same isn’t true of BBLs and (is there a name for this phenomenon?). From what you said, it sounds like BBLs aren’t nearly as safe as gender-affirming care, so that might make it more difficult to justify. It’s also worth mentioning that gender-affirming care is justified by just how bad the outcomes are without it (e.g. suicide rates, persistent mental health struggles, quality of life). Afaik, similarly negative outcomes haven’t been observed in this case, but please correct me if I’m wrong.

*I’m typing this on my phone, but if you do want sources on the effectiveness and safety of gender-affirming care, effects of conversion therapy, etc., I’d be happy to provide them once I get home.

I just want to point out, gender dysphoria is different from body dysmorphia, though the words look very similar. A person with dysphoria (eg, a trans person) sees their body the way it really is, but is uncomfortable with it. A person with dysmorphia (eg, someone with an eating disorder) sees their body as different than it actually is, and is uncomfortable with that perception.

That said, you can’t effectively treat someone experiencing body dysmorphia the same way you’d treat someone experiencing gender dysphoria, and vice versa.

Just to add, although the US allows informed consent for adults, some of us are still required to do a certain number of months in therapy and/or provide letters from mental health professionals before we can access hrt or surgery, because that’s what some health insurance companies require. Even then, ofc, the option does exist to do informed consent and pay out of pocket.

/s? 🤔

As a gay man- at least in my local community, the loophole does exist, and I’ve heard a good number of queer people use it (though only in conversations with people they know will be comfortable with it). 🤷

I don’t necessarily take issue with it being used in a clinical tone like this. Context is context tho, and I don’t speak for everybody ofc. °⁠_⁠o

Ah well. Thanks!

I don’t get it. What good reason is there for the state to make a law like this?

during the day, when there’s plenty of light anyway

b- because of the sun, no? or is that the joke i’m missing lol

Ah fuck, I worded that poorly. No, talking about it is fine, but thanks for asking! I don’t mean the physical sensation is the same, like how you can feel a bug on your arm. Speaking for myself, it’s like the mental reaction of “ick there’s a bug on my arm, I have to get it off”. There’s no physical itch or tickle on my skin. I was trying to make that comparison because generally when there’s a bug on you, it doesn’t bother you if you don’t notice it, and you might not even realize it’s there for a while. But once you notice it or someone points it out, it’d be hard to just ignore it, even if you couldn’t feel it on your skin at all.

As I’m typing this out, I’m realizing that it’s possible that not everyone experiences quite as strong a reaction to having a bug on their skin that I do, especially as a person with ocd, lmao. But if you do, well, hopefully this helps!