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howeirdAbout the two transgendered people I know. People who have had The Operation. I knew & liked them Before and After. Both went from female to male. I know many (more than 6) men who live as women, but have not had The Operation. I don't know any women who live as men, but I know a lot of masculine lesbians and two androgynous women who keep one guessing with their clothing choices.
But I digress.
The think I was thinging about is how much they have changed, the two post-op friends. One was a heartbreakingly beautiful woman with a flute-like singing voice and long flowing red hair who is now a very handsome, masculine, muscled, dirty blonde tenor who could power half of New Jersey if someone hooked his fiddle to the power grid. The other was a chubby, friendly and assertive woman who wrote and sang very clever paleontological songs who is now a slim, bearded man, still friendly and assertive but in a more quiet way. He is just getting back to singing, but I'm not sure if his muse is back.
It is a brave thing they did, and had I been planted in the wrong body I doubt I would have had the same courage. I know a lot of men living as women, but none of them have gone the whole program. Interesting, because most of the fiction I have read in the genre features men becoming women. Myra Breckinridge. Various late Heinlein books.
But I digress.
The think I was thinging about is how much they have changed, the two post-op friends. One was a heartbreakingly beautiful woman with a flute-like singing voice and long flowing red hair who is now a very handsome, masculine, muscled, dirty blonde tenor who could power half of New Jersey if someone hooked his fiddle to the power grid. The other was a chubby, friendly and assertive woman who wrote and sang very clever paleontological songs who is now a slim, bearded man, still friendly and assertive but in a more quiet way. He is just getting back to singing, but I'm not sure if his muse is back.
It is a brave thing they did, and had I been planted in the wrong body I doubt I would have had the same courage. I know a lot of men living as women, but none of them have gone the whole program. Interesting, because most of the fiction I have read in the genre features men becoming women. Myra Breckinridge. Various late Heinlein books.
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Date: 2011-11-29 01:32 am (UTC)There's pre-op, post-op and non-op (for transfolk who don't plan to have any surgery, but it's not in common usage, and a lot of people don't understand the concept). I know a number of people who haven't done anything besides hormone therapy and never plan to have any surgery.
Most transfolk break surgery down into "top surgery" and "bottom surgery." A lot of transfolk have top surgery, it's relatively conventional cosmetic surgery. Many transfolk don't have bottom surgery, it's technically very complicated and there are a lot of different options and results to consider.
Some people consider having top surgery to put them into the post-op category and never plan to have bottom surgery. Some people consider having top surgery to put them into the post-op category but are at some point planning bottom surgery. Some people don't consider anything but the whole shebang to be post-op.
If it weren't for my close and personal connection to a number of trans activists, I probably wouldn't think about it much. As it is, unless there's naked hot-tubbing involved I generally don't even consider possible physical irregularities.
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Date: 2011-11-29 07:41 pm (UTC)