Re: If you are transsexual and poor in the United States you are doomed!!!!

[patstar]

Well, is one absolutely doomed?  No.  Is one in a seemingly hopeless predicament?  You bet.  Even the expenses for FFS are very daunting.  I am well past college age. So, even as imperfect (and unrealistic?) as that solution is, it's really not an option for me and I'm sure many other TGs out there.  In a world with starving masses, one should not complain too much.  However, why in a country of plenty—which all too frequently puts good money to bad use—are there not better resources and solutions for those with genuine transgender issues?  Or am I (we) missing something?

[AbraCadabra]

Good morning, or good night at your side of the world :-)

I hear what you are saying, though imagine the situation in other parts of the world, like South Africa where I reside.

For low income earners (a lot of folks of colour too) it is COMPLETELY out of the question to even get through a 'gatekeeper' (the only one appointed) for free of charge GRS (with very questionable results IMHO). Having to go 1 year through 'gatekeeper mill' with R 1000-00 cost per hour, R 500-00 for 15 minutes! not supported by medical aid, no inclination to issue HRT before one year "therapy" is over, and then asking to be on RLE for the full year of having high price "therapy" (which is a tick-box joke...).

Not sure if any of the above makes you feel much better - yet the US is a technically bankrupt country... SA actually is NOT.

Food for thought?
Yes, and life IS a bitch if you don't have $$$ to get what you NEED.
Hug,
Axélle

[Felix]

Isn't it the same thing for poor people with any serious illness?

[patstar]

Isn't it the same thing for poor people with any serious illness?

Having finally really given myself some (any?) time to reflect on it, I think in their case the right help will often sooner or later be found and provided for them.  I also reason that this can be the case for us as well.  Although in our case, I think that it is we ourselves who must do the finding.  So what conclusion(s) might at least began to be drawn here......?  Let's start with: whether it's a matter of something deeply needed, wanted, or both—we must NEVER give up.

[Felix]

I agree on never giving up, and on it's easier to figure out how to pay for most other serious stuff. My daughter needed facial surgery when she was a toddler, and none of the local specialists would take medicaid, so I kept asking around until I found a doctor who would do it pro bono. I still had to pay the anesthesiologists and the hospital, but it helped a lot. I'm fairly certain I could ask around for an eternity and not get pro bono transition-related surgery for myself. Transfolk are a misunderstood and marginalized group, subject to different standards and value judgements.