You keep asserting that “cross-sex hormones cause long-term damage”, but you haven’t cited any evidence because there isn’t strong evidence to support that claim. Feminising hormone therapy has been prescribed for decades, not just to trans women but to cis women and cis men in other medical contexts, and when properly monitored the long-term risk profile is well understood. Outcomes are comparable to those of cis women on HRT. If you believe there is robust evidence showing inevitable or severe long-term harm, you are welcome to point to it, but at present that claim rests more on intuition than data.
On funding, we actually agree. I have never expected the taxpayer to pay for my surgeries, and I don’t believe they should. I pay for everything myself. Cosmetic or elective procedures are personal choices. If someone wants breast augmentation, whether they’re cis or trans, then yes, they pay for it themselves. That has always been my position.
Where I part company with you is the leap from “I don’t like this” to “this is insane” or “this is my business”. My medical care does not take anything from you. It does not intrude into your life, your body, or your rights. I am not asking you to approve of it, celebrate it, or fund it. I am simply living my life and dealing with a medical reality as best I can.
You are free to hold libertarian views. So am I, in practice, when it comes to bodily autonomy. But libertarianism cuts both ways. If my choices are self-funded and harm no one else, then they are, by definition, not your concern.
Disagree if you like. But disagreement is not evidence, and disapproval does not turn my healthcare into a public threat.
My sister in this most wondrous journey, I intend the best for you and I look forward to your commentary and poetry post surgery. We could even share stories of our new enhanced womanhood.
Wishing you a successful surgery and recovery Stevie. I’m following so closely and appreciate all the details and feelings you’re going through. I always feel that this will be me a little down the line, although still not brave enough to commit.
Also, I'd invite you to have a look at this one. I think halfway down I wrote a standalone essay on what it felt like to have your body parts unveiled, what a strange, magical, bonkers, profound experience it is. I quite enjoyed writing that bit.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You cheered me up. I'm sat here alone in my post-vaginoplasty apartment recovering for the next 10 days on my own, actually working UK hours on my job remotely, which is really annoying. I have to finish at 11 o'clock at night. And to read nice comments like that really makes my day, so thank you very much.
You're so welcome. I only realised after writing this comment that there's a whole wealth of posts in your archive that I can look forward to reading, too, when I get the time.
Thinking of you! Having to work while recovering cannot be fun.
Why in the world would anyone damage their health with hormones and surgeries? You won't have a vagina. You'll have a high-maintenance wound where your penis used to be. It may even kill you some day, with sepsis. Gadz... So sorry to hear about this.
I’ll correct a few things here, because almost everything you’ve written is simply wrong.
First, hormone therapy in trans women is not experimental, new, or unstudied. It has decades of clinical data behind it, and when properly monitored it does not “destroy health”. In many cases, overall mental and physical health outcomes improve.
Second, vaginoplasty is not “a wound”. There are multiple surgical techniques, not just penile inversion, and no, it does not require endless maintenance forever. Like many reconstructive surgeries, there is a healing and adaptation phase, after which the body settles. Millions of cis women also live with vaginas that require medical care, dilation, or treatment. That does not make them wounds.
In an ideal world, yes, I would have been born a woman and none of this would have been necessary. That wasn’t an option. The actual choice was not between “perfect” and “damaged”, it was between living an inauthentic life or addressing a congenital mismatch with modern medicine. I chose the latter.
Finally, and most importantly: my body, my medical decisions, and my anatomy are not your business. They do not affect you in any way. If you don’t understand something, curiosity is one thing. Pronouncing judgement based on misinformation is another entirely.
I appreciate your cogent reply. Turns out that women's hormones given to males like yourself cause long term damage, not surprisingly. So do the operations. You hope on balance it will help you. Maybe so. From the outside, it looks insane, and I am not about to pretend otherwise.
But yes, you are an adult, and I am of a libertarian persuasion. Your body is your business, as long as you pay for your modifications youself, and don't expect the taxpayers to pick up the tab. But the trans ideologues have made this my business, unfortunately. They have barged into our private spaces, stolen girls' and women's sports trophies and records, forced themselves into women's prisons, and gone after the kids. Unacceptable. You (plural) have transgressed too many boundaries and are about to lose this war.
Oh dear, more statements without real facts? Again as Stevie says, no actual proof of long term damage, umless you woud like to cite a few independently reseached and published, peer reviewed examples? SPORT... Please name examples where trans women have taken trophies from cisgender women over lets say the 30-40 years? Even THE big pubic scandal of swimmer of Lea Thomas taking 6th place (once) in a race has been vilified beyond reason. Not even in the top 3 and we now have the whole athletics and sports commitees reversing common sense policies, bowing down to (again) to right wing pressure, fanning the flame of anti trans sentiment for political gain. There is more and more scientific proof that trans women who have been on HRT for a number of years, and espcially when puberty blockers have been used (which are resarched as a harmless reversable way to reduce male development) do not have any significant advantage over cisgender women in many sports - Not all - however blanket bans are really discrimatory and unfair. Of course if trans women did have significant advantages, we would be having far more examples coming forward. WOMEN SPACES: Your comment about Trans women barging in to womens spaces - well actually I have news for you... trans women have been occupying womens spaces for far longer than you realise without any issue, until nasty right wing politics started using it as a tool to stir up hate against the LGBTQ commmunity. The only difference in the last number of years is that the law, thanks to trans activitists, has started to be applied to give trans women and trans men the same basic human rights as everyone else, particularly in the face of biggoted hateful indivuals seeking to cast their own principles and beliefs. And "war", what sort of of free society do you live in where you think asking for equality and human rights is creating a war. I know, the binary man -woman family ideal which is so sacred, which actually if you look acros humanity is really not so standard that you want to beleive. Again more right wing and christian propaganda that feeds on hate and derision. And finally if we want to share real info, The number of crimes committed against girls and women are astronomical. Did you know that there were over 71,000 "recorded" cases or rape in the UK last year ? (https://www.statista.com/statistics/283100/recorded-rape-offences-in-england-and-wales/) let that number sink in. Recorded rapes, not including sexual violence and other forms of violence. Do you have any idea how many of the perpetrators included trans women ? No because the number is completly insignant to the problem here of CIS men. AND how many many trans women /or immigrants / drag queens / queer people are listed in the EP*T*IN files where there are over 1000 survivors whose lives have been made a living nightmare by the same crooked system that is manipulating people and scapegoating easy minority groups to avoid blame responisbilty. Lets face it, the true 'war' on our societies and the lives of individuals are with these males. So don't talk about transgressing boundaries. Start talking about accountability, faireness and addressing the problem that patriachy and biggoted male power has over women and girls. and leave trans women alone to live their own lives in peace.
Might I ask for paragraphs? It would be so much easier to decipher.
Sex is fixed in utero. "Transwomen" are men. Our language, our private spaces, and our safety is not yours to redefine. If you have to "define" yourself as a woman, it's a sure sign you aren't. Good men stay out so that bad men stand out!
Yes, male power and domination has historically been a problem for women. Now men who declared themselves women cuz they feel like it are adding to it.
Erin, no one is denying that trans women were born with male sex characteristics although even nature is not alway that clear.
However the point that you and many others get stuck on is what gender that person identifies as. Sex and gender are separate. Its a well researched and documented subject. The evidence stretches way beyond our limited view of civilisation and you can look through any civilisation on record and find evidence of gender variation.
It does not suit your (or western religeous docrine) narrative that there can be deviations to the binary MAN - WOMAN. I am for sure not going to convince you here as quite clearly you have views and comments that are not even close to be able to debate openly. Do you really think trans woman want to go through the pain and suffering of transition, humiliation, violence, loss of relationships, ridicule, and in some cases death to fulfil a life that feels right?
Male power and domination 'historically'" are you serious: WTF is happening in the world right now.... History is happening right around all of us. And yes I understand that women are really pissed with men taking over everything, and now so it seems that womens spaces and even their own validation is being challenged.
But let me tell you, trans women are not declaring anything. They are finding waya to live authentically, and the majority of who are not looking to diminish the value or definition of women. Quite the contrary wish to uphold the values of women.
Once we tackle male violence against women as a behavioral and cultrual issue, the fear / rejection or hatrated of trans women by cis women may be dimiinshed.
"no one is denying that trans women were born with male sex characteristics although even nature is not alway that clear"
Actually, there are quite a few trans ideologues who deny that sex is binary. It iis actually quite clear. The ideologues make hay from the tiny percentage of inborn abnormalities. And even in people with those abnormalities, they either fall into the fertilize vs be fertilized category. There is no other, and no one falls into both. If they are telling you otherwise, they are lying.
"Sex and gender are separate." Yay, now we agree. :-)
Could I persuade you to stop calling me cis? I find it misleading and insulting.
By historically, I mean history until today. Sorry if that was unclear.
"And yes I understand that women are really pissed with men taking over everything, and now so it seems that womens spaces and even their own validation is being challenged."
You got that right.
"Do you really think trans woman want to go through the pain and suffering of transition, humiliation, violence, loss of relationships, ridicule, and in some cases death to fulfil a life that feels right?"
It's painful to see this unfolding. Tell me... if you can have any gender you wish, as you are, why are so many trans driven to self-inflict Big Pharma potions and to self mutilate in the quest to somewhat resemble the other sex?
You keep asserting that “cross-sex hormones cause long-term damage”, but you haven’t cited any evidence because there isn’t strong evidence to support that claim. Feminising hormone therapy has been prescribed for decades, not just to trans women but to cis women and cis men in other medical contexts, and when properly monitored the long-term risk profile is well understood. Outcomes are comparable to those of cis women on HRT. If you believe there is robust evidence showing inevitable or severe long-term harm, you are welcome to point to it, but at present that claim rests more on intuition than data.
On funding, we actually agree. I have never expected the taxpayer to pay for my surgeries, and I don’t believe they should. I pay for everything myself. Cosmetic or elective procedures are personal choices. If someone wants breast augmentation, whether they’re cis or trans, then yes, they pay for it themselves. That has always been my position.
Where I part company with you is the leap from “I don’t like this” to “this is insane” or “this is my business”. My medical care does not take anything from you. It does not intrude into your life, your body, or your rights. I am not asking you to approve of it, celebrate it, or fund it. I am simply living my life and dealing with a medical reality as best I can.
You are free to hold libertarian views. So am I, in practice, when it comes to bodily autonomy. But libertarianism cuts both ways. If my choices are self-funded and harm no one else, then they are, by definition, not your concern.
Disagree if you like. But disagreement is not evidence, and disapproval does not turn my healthcare into a public threat.
My sister in this most wondrous journey, I intend the best for you and I look forward to your commentary and poetry post surgery. We could even share stories of our new enhanced womanhood.
🩷 Maharani Parivarta
Wishing you a successful surgery and recovery Stevie. I’m following so closely and appreciate all the details and feelings you’re going through. I always feel that this will be me a little down the line, although still not brave enough to commit.
all the best, hope you have a quick recovery, if you dont mind me asking who is your doctor.
good way to start of 26.
One of the most impactful blog posts I've read, it's so rare to gain these insights – congrats Miss Stevie and I'm wishing you well for your recovery.
https://fasttrackfemme.substack.com/p/the-day-i-had-my-penis-removed
Also, I'd invite you to have a look at this one. I think halfway down I wrote a standalone essay on what it felt like to have your body parts unveiled, what a strange, magical, bonkers, profound experience it is. I quite enjoyed writing that bit.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You cheered me up. I'm sat here alone in my post-vaginoplasty apartment recovering for the next 10 days on my own, actually working UK hours on my job remotely, which is really annoying. I have to finish at 11 o'clock at night. And to read nice comments like that really makes my day, so thank you very much.
You're so welcome. I only realised after writing this comment that there's a whole wealth of posts in your archive that I can look forward to reading, too, when I get the time.
Thinking of you! Having to work while recovering cannot be fun.
Why in the world would anyone damage their health with hormones and surgeries? You won't have a vagina. You'll have a high-maintenance wound where your penis used to be. It may even kill you some day, with sepsis. Gadz... So sorry to hear about this.
I’ll correct a few things here, because almost everything you’ve written is simply wrong.
First, hormone therapy in trans women is not experimental, new, or unstudied. It has decades of clinical data behind it, and when properly monitored it does not “destroy health”. In many cases, overall mental and physical health outcomes improve.
Second, vaginoplasty is not “a wound”. There are multiple surgical techniques, not just penile inversion, and no, it does not require endless maintenance forever. Like many reconstructive surgeries, there is a healing and adaptation phase, after which the body settles. Millions of cis women also live with vaginas that require medical care, dilation, or treatment. That does not make them wounds.
In an ideal world, yes, I would have been born a woman and none of this would have been necessary. That wasn’t an option. The actual choice was not between “perfect” and “damaged”, it was between living an inauthentic life or addressing a congenital mismatch with modern medicine. I chose the latter.
Finally, and most importantly: my body, my medical decisions, and my anatomy are not your business. They do not affect you in any way. If you don’t understand something, curiosity is one thing. Pronouncing judgement based on misinformation is another entirely.
Please don’t do that again.
I appreciate your cogent reply. Turns out that women's hormones given to males like yourself cause long term damage, not surprisingly. So do the operations. You hope on balance it will help you. Maybe so. From the outside, it looks insane, and I am not about to pretend otherwise.
But yes, you are an adult, and I am of a libertarian persuasion. Your body is your business, as long as you pay for your modifications youself, and don't expect the taxpayers to pick up the tab. But the trans ideologues have made this my business, unfortunately. They have barged into our private spaces, stolen girls' and women's sports trophies and records, forced themselves into women's prisons, and gone after the kids. Unacceptable. You (plural) have transgressed too many boundaries and are about to lose this war.
Oh dear, more statements without real facts? Again as Stevie says, no actual proof of long term damage, umless you woud like to cite a few independently reseached and published, peer reviewed examples? SPORT... Please name examples where trans women have taken trophies from cisgender women over lets say the 30-40 years? Even THE big pubic scandal of swimmer of Lea Thomas taking 6th place (once) in a race has been vilified beyond reason. Not even in the top 3 and we now have the whole athletics and sports commitees reversing common sense policies, bowing down to (again) to right wing pressure, fanning the flame of anti trans sentiment for political gain. There is more and more scientific proof that trans women who have been on HRT for a number of years, and espcially when puberty blockers have been used (which are resarched as a harmless reversable way to reduce male development) do not have any significant advantage over cisgender women in many sports - Not all - however blanket bans are really discrimatory and unfair. Of course if trans women did have significant advantages, we would be having far more examples coming forward. WOMEN SPACES: Your comment about Trans women barging in to womens spaces - well actually I have news for you... trans women have been occupying womens spaces for far longer than you realise without any issue, until nasty right wing politics started using it as a tool to stir up hate against the LGBTQ commmunity. The only difference in the last number of years is that the law, thanks to trans activitists, has started to be applied to give trans women and trans men the same basic human rights as everyone else, particularly in the face of biggoted hateful indivuals seeking to cast their own principles and beliefs. And "war", what sort of of free society do you live in where you think asking for equality and human rights is creating a war. I know, the binary man -woman family ideal which is so sacred, which actually if you look acros humanity is really not so standard that you want to beleive. Again more right wing and christian propaganda that feeds on hate and derision. And finally if we want to share real info, The number of crimes committed against girls and women are astronomical. Did you know that there were over 71,000 "recorded" cases or rape in the UK last year ? (https://www.statista.com/statistics/283100/recorded-rape-offences-in-england-and-wales/) let that number sink in. Recorded rapes, not including sexual violence and other forms of violence. Do you have any idea how many of the perpetrators included trans women ? No because the number is completly insignant to the problem here of CIS men. AND how many many trans women /or immigrants / drag queens / queer people are listed in the EP*T*IN files where there are over 1000 survivors whose lives have been made a living nightmare by the same crooked system that is manipulating people and scapegoating easy minority groups to avoid blame responisbilty. Lets face it, the true 'war' on our societies and the lives of individuals are with these males. So don't talk about transgressing boundaries. Start talking about accountability, faireness and addressing the problem that patriachy and biggoted male power has over women and girls. and leave trans women alone to live their own lives in peace.
Exactly, 100%. I've got a shitload of work to do today. Otherwise I would reply in more detail!!!:
Might I ask for paragraphs? It would be so much easier to decipher.
Sex is fixed in utero. "Transwomen" are men. Our language, our private spaces, and our safety is not yours to redefine. If you have to "define" yourself as a woman, it's a sure sign you aren't. Good men stay out so that bad men stand out!
Yes, male power and domination has historically been a problem for women. Now men who declared themselves women cuz they feel like it are adding to it.
Erin, no one is denying that trans women were born with male sex characteristics although even nature is not alway that clear.
However the point that you and many others get stuck on is what gender that person identifies as. Sex and gender are separate. Its a well researched and documented subject. The evidence stretches way beyond our limited view of civilisation and you can look through any civilisation on record and find evidence of gender variation.
It does not suit your (or western religeous docrine) narrative that there can be deviations to the binary MAN - WOMAN. I am for sure not going to convince you here as quite clearly you have views and comments that are not even close to be able to debate openly. Do you really think trans woman want to go through the pain and suffering of transition, humiliation, violence, loss of relationships, ridicule, and in some cases death to fulfil a life that feels right?
Male power and domination 'historically'" are you serious: WTF is happening in the world right now.... History is happening right around all of us. And yes I understand that women are really pissed with men taking over everything, and now so it seems that womens spaces and even their own validation is being challenged.
But let me tell you, trans women are not declaring anything. They are finding waya to live authentically, and the majority of who are not looking to diminish the value or definition of women. Quite the contrary wish to uphold the values of women.
Once we tackle male violence against women as a behavioral and cultrual issue, the fear / rejection or hatrated of trans women by cis women may be dimiinshed.
"no one is denying that trans women were born with male sex characteristics although even nature is not alway that clear"
Actually, there are quite a few trans ideologues who deny that sex is binary. It iis actually quite clear. The ideologues make hay from the tiny percentage of inborn abnormalities. And even in people with those abnormalities, they either fall into the fertilize vs be fertilized category. There is no other, and no one falls into both. If they are telling you otherwise, they are lying.
"Sex and gender are separate." Yay, now we agree. :-)
Could I persuade you to stop calling me cis? I find it misleading and insulting.
By historically, I mean history until today. Sorry if that was unclear.
"And yes I understand that women are really pissed with men taking over everything, and now so it seems that womens spaces and even their own validation is being challenged."
You got that right.
"Do you really think trans woman want to go through the pain and suffering of transition, humiliation, violence, loss of relationships, ridicule, and in some cases death to fulfil a life that feels right?"
It's painful to see this unfolding. Tell me... if you can have any gender you wish, as you are, why are so many trans driven to self-inflict Big Pharma potions and to self mutilate in the quest to somewhat resemble the other sex?