One thing that pisses me off a lot as a trans teen is the straight up ignorance that so many people have when it comes to prescribing hormones.
Everywhere you go, you’ll hear right-wingers say that “children are being mutilated” and that “children are forced to take hormones” and while in the trans, perisex, healthy perspective that is untrue, intersex people and folks with problems in their organs often ARE forced to do those things, and take hormones SO much easier that trans teens.Last week, I visited an OBGYN for missed periods. After a quick ultrasound, she straight up signed a paper and gave me progesterone. You know, one of the “scary”, “mutilating” hormones (not birth control btw, the opposite of that).
I did not consent to this. I never wanted to take those hormones. And it’s bone-chilling how quickly they rushed to give me the pills once they assumed I’m a cis girl. And frankly, this is way more dangerous than testosterone. To put it simply, I’m 3x more likely to have a stroke, heart attack, thrombosis, and some forms of cancers and it came with a whole LIST of side effects.
Say I’m a trans girl instead. Do you have any idea how long this would’ve taken for me to get? While my doctor mindlessly signed a paper, if I were a trans girl I would’ve had months if not YEARS of waiting, visiting different doctors and psychiatrist, and a whole struggle of trying to get the same exact substance.
And the progesterone they gave me isn’t even necessary. It was not something they knew my body needed. Even my doctor admitted it was to “see if it works and what it will do”
The ignorance of bigots is more and more visible day by day, but by along with them, many allies are also ignorant about hormones.
Hormone therapy is like eating more protein to push muscle growth faster. Except instead of animal muscle. You’re injecting a specific chemical.
It’s like, insulin pumping but with the logic of eating protein.
By injecting female hormones you grow more female gendered, male to grow more male. And stuff.
And like. These are just the generic brands that mark your body for more or less “masculine” and “feminine” parts.
Some people. They go full ham and change completely.
Some people do barely anything and just enough to look a little more. Manly, or feminine and whatever.