LGBTQ+ youth in Santa Clarita discussed being transgender and the unique experience that comes with it this Pride Month.
Someone who is transgender is someone who does not identify with their sex assigned at birth. Being transgender can involve a myriad of things and it is different for every individual.
“Once I found out what transgender was, I was like that’s it. That’s what I am,” said Harrison T. P.
At the word transgender, the first thing that comes to mind for many might be the concept of medically transitioning, including surgery or hormone therapy. While some transgender people choose to transition in this way, others decide not to.
“Trans people do not have to transition medically,” Harrison said. “Trans people don’t owe you anything, whether that be medically transitioning or gender expression.”
Medically transitioning is not a requirement for being transgender, and it is always up to the individual person to decide what being transgender looks and feels like for them.
Oftentimes surgery and hormones can be expensive or inaccessible for transgender people. Chest binding is a practice some choose to use in order to feel more comfortable and does not involve surgery.
“Transmasculine people bind to feel a little more comfortable. I bind for myself, and also so I can be able to pass in public,” said Pars Watson.
Oftentimes being transgender can be a battle between how one identifies and how one is perceived by society. Feelings of discomfort or distress due to the mismatch between their gender identity and sex assigned at birth is defined as gender dysphoria. This can have a big impact on mental health, Harrison said.
Among this, transgender people can face social discrimination on many different levels, such as deadnaming or invasive questions. Both Harrison and Watson described the type of questions they have received and advise against these types of questions.
“Questions you shouldn’t ask trans people is just anything you wouldn’t ask someone regularly, any private question,” said Watson.
Above all, acceptance and understanding are emphasized as important for transgender individuals’ experiences: “I just suggest being very level-minded, trying to understand them,” Watson said.
Harrison added, “Acceptance is more impactful than you think it is.”
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