Transgender Health Care

In response to the Cyrsti's Condo post "Are You", which concerned my conversation on the phone with the VA receptionist who was scheduling my mammogram. She asked if I was male or female, to which I replied "transgender."

Connie wrote about her experience at the doctor:

FABULOUSCONNIEDEEJanuary 7, 2018 at 4:12 PM

"When it comes to health care, nothing short of full disclosure should be deemed acceptable - even at the expense of hurt feelings or embarrassment. Still, discreteness should not be sacrificed for the sake of disclosure.

When I first saw my current GP, he had never had a transgender patient. He obviously had received some training on how to talk to a trans woman, but he was very awkward about it. The second time I had an appointment, he had either done some research or asked some questions, which made him even more careful in how he talked to me - worried more about offending me than in dealing with my health issue, it seemed to me. 

Interestingly, I was suffering from a urinary tract infection at the time, and he hadn't known the source of it until all of the lab results had come in. UTIs are more common with women than with men, but the source of mine was my prostate gland - something he neglected to check on my first visit. The antibiotic he prescribed, therefore, was ineffective. I told him that I was totally aware that my biological makeup was male, and that he could not offend me in the least by treating it as such. Although he never admitted it, I believe he avoided doing a prostate exam for fear of offending me.

My very first physical exam, early in my transition, was done by a doctor who is very popular with trans women in my area. I had not yet changed my name or gender marker, but I arrived for my appointment appearing to be all the woman I could muster. As I sat waiting in the exam room, the nurse wheeled in a tray that was covered by a white towel. The doctor, after a discussion with me concerning my general health and trans issues, lifted the towel to reveal a complete set of instruments for a gynecological exam! She held up the speculum and said, "I don't think we need this...yet." We both got a good laugh out of it, and she proceeded with a digital exam of my prostate (talk about killing a laugh...). 

Even if I ever get to experience the need for a gynecological exam one day, I hope to still have to suffer through the prostate exam. The alternative would be to be permanently connected to a colostomy bag, which is not the image of femininity I have for myself."

Thanks for your experience!

Let's Be Careful out There!

Tragically, what is believed to be the first transgender Murder/death of the year has been recorded in Massachusetts.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien was found stabbed to death in her home on Friday evening. Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, has been arrested on suspicion of the murder after he confessed to police that he had killed her.

An autopsy sound that she died from a loss of blood from a stab wound.

She also had blunt force trauma to the head.

The 42-year-old’s death has been ruled a homicide.

Let's be careful out there! Remember you don't carry the old male privilege with you anymore which helped to curtail violence . 

When you see all the cis women protesting against sexual harassment and violence,  don't think the protest doesn't apply to you too! 

Busy Week!

This is one of those weeks when everything seems to back up on me.

Even though the bitter cold is going away, we are expecting some ice today, which to me, is the worst of all possible weather worlds. Nearly impossible to drive on of course. Later on in the week though, we are expected to have temperatures rising into the mid 50's (F). Seeing as how I have the mammogram on Thursday, that is good news because I always get lost and have to walk a fairly long distance from the parking garage to the hospital annex I'm going to. I have the unique ability to go the wrong way almost every time.

Looking ahead towards the weekend, Liz and I have a social meetup meeting Friday and a pending small moving trip up to Springfield to move some pieces back down here to our storage unit in Cincinnati which is a round trip of about 150 miles.

Also, we have Liz's work holiday party (better late than never) this week to go to. It's a casual affair, so I won't have to plan much ahead for what I want to wear. However, Liz bought our tickets for her "Black Belt" karate dinner late in the month. It is more of a formal dinner and I have a couple of potential outfits in mind. I wonder if there are name tags we make, if I should add my preferred gender pronouns...not!

Many times I am torn between decisions and/or the idea of this is what I Mtf transgender transitioned for. It becomes fun until the night of the event, since inwardly I am so painfully shy. Unless, I make a concerted effort to smile, I come off sometimes like a snooty bitch. Not good.

On the financial side, this is the week I am changing banking institutions for various reasons. The only main drawback/hassle is changing over where my Social Security check is direct deposited into.

Also this week, are the final days to enroll in a couple on line blogging courses that are deeply discounted. I am interested to discover if I can learn more about the more technical aspects of blogging. We will see how that works!

So as you can tell, the week will fly by! 

More Transgender Power?

From the Washington Blade, these are the sort of transgender stories I love to share!

"When Danica Roem takes the oath of office in Virginia’s statehouse on Jan. 10, the country will finally have an LGBT legislative caucus where the “T” isn’t simply aspirational. For her historic accomplishment, Roem deserves the acclaim and unmitigated respect of the entire LGBT community. Not only did she demonstrate great courage in running as an openly trans candidate against a 13-term incumbent, but in defeating Robert Marshall she banished from public office a man who had brazenly styled himself “chief homophobe” of the Old Dominion.

From across the Potomac, we Marylanders who have long hoped to put the “T” in our own caucus, will find the day to be bittersweet as well. On Jan. 10, the Maryland General Assembly will commence yet another session without a trans lawmaker.

If we choose to do so, however, we can make it the last.

At the end of session, Sen. Rich Madaleno – in his pursuit of the governorship – will be vacating the Senate seat representing Montgomery County’s 18th Legislative District. Longtime trans activist and local political operative, Dr. Dana Beyer, has announced that she will run to succeed him."

For more, follow the link above!

Are You?

The other day when I was setting up my mammogram appointment, the receptionist finally asked the magic question...are you male or female?

Until I improve my phone voice, I have pretty much resigned myself to getting at least one "sir" before I correct them. This time, after I told the woman I was transgender, she was very respectful and said would "Ms. Hart" be OK?

After I said it would, her final question was, did I have any breast implants to work around.

Another person educated!

When the World Fades Away

This morning I tagged along with Liz to her karate class.

The class is split into two groups, one for teens through adults and one for kids. So, I get to encounter all sorts of age groups. Again this morning I encountered very little (if any) reaction to a transgender woman in their midst. I guess the ultimate test for going stealth.

As I write about here in Cyrsti's Condo, I always thought I would be the last person to write about going stealth in any kind of a positive manner.

These days, I see the stealth process as a natural progression into yet another stage of a Mtf transgender transition. Buoyed by positive comments from my friends and acquaintances (un-solicited), I have gained the confidence to move forward in the world.
Now it seems, the world is repaying me the favor, by getting out of my way and just fading away.

As Connie has written: "A trans girl's best accessory is her smile." I would add, once you get to the point of not caring what the other person thinks, your smile becomes even more important!

At that point, stealth becomes you.

Spring Can't be that Far Away!

I just received the word that the Trans Ohio Symposium has opened it's call for workshop presenters in April.

I have written here in Cyrsti's Condo in the past concerning my desire to be a presenter again this year at the Symposium in Columbus, Ohio. I have done it a couple times in the past.

My topic is going to revolve around three basic points:

1.- Surviving a half century in a transgender closet.
2.- No one is more trans than another.
3,- The different levels within a transgender transition.

Plus, if I have any time left, I would also like to discuss cross dressing as a transgender survival tool.

With only 50 minutes of time, I think I will have plenty of material.

If you are in the area, the Symposium will be held April 27th-29th in The Ohio State University Student Union and this year is the Tenth Annual. Friday is for professionals (therapists etc.) Saturday and Sunday, the general workshops are held. A very informative weekend!

Follow the link above for more!

We Got Mail

As you all probably already know, I am a fan of sarcasm and I found some in the Cyrsti's Condo comment box:

The first concerns my Mammogram post from Connie of course:

FABULOUSCONNIEDEEJanuary 4, 2018 at 9:17 PM

"Does this have anything to do with the old saying, "cold as a witch's tit?"

I just caught the advance forcast for next week when the "Mammy" is scheduled and the temperature is supposed to be near 50 degrees (f), so maybe we can leave the witch out of it! I hope :)

The most comments came from my recent "Thought of the Day":

Cyrsti's Condo "Thought of the Day"

"Just because you didn't see it, or hear it, does not mean it's not happening."

Jessiie(Cyrsti)

Transgender Congress Woman?

From Newsweek:

"In 2017, the U.S. elected its first ever openly transgender woman to the Virginia State House. In 2018, it might elect its first out transgender woman to Congress—Alexandra Chandler.

“I recognize that I would be a first, and I will say it is a humbling responsibility that I take very seriously both as a candidate and if elected that I would be a first,” Chandler, who's running for office in Massachusetts, told Newsweek.

Chandler was one of the military’s top intelligence analysts. She spent the past five years leading a team of analysts charged with combating arms smuggling and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She’s the mother of two children, and a wife.

She also was born biologically male and raised by her family as a boy. She transitioned from living as a man to living as a woman while she was working at the Defense Department."

Wouldn't her election be great!

For more, go here.