Lets make a checklist of stuff for transitioning.

[michelleinktown]

So I think that we should be able to compile a list of stuff and that we could put that information into some sort of checklist of things to do while transitioning.  It doesn't need to be in a logical order right now because everybody is different, but it should include coming out and to who, HRT when to start, wardrobe, when we go fulltime, when FFS is complete if we choose to do that, name change, etc. etc.

So here is a start

1. Coming out to Parents (date)
                       Friends
                       Work
                       Siblings
                       Full-time
2. Informing Dr.

3. Therapy

4. HRT Start Date

5. Electrolysis Start
                    Finished

6. Wardrobe enough to wear

7.   Exercise

8.  Quit smoking

9.  Name change checklist???
    Driver's license
    Passport
    Government ID

10.  FFS
      Consultation
      Fees
      Surgery date

Michelle 

[Stephe]

You left out one of THE most important parts, just like about 75% of people who transition do. Your voice training. That should be like #2 or 3 on the list.. Might also consider moving -quit smoking- up before starting HRT. Also FFS is optional even if you have heard otherwise and for some people electrolysis can be too.

[michelleinktown]

You left out one of THE most important parts, just like about 75% of people who transition do. Your voice training. That should be like #2 or 3 on the list.. Might also consider moving -quit smoking- up before starting HRT. Also FFS is optional even if you have heard otherwise and for some people electrolysis can be too.

I am not in this alone I am looking for help and yes I agree, voice training is very important and yes there is no order to this now and can be tweaked in time.  First lets have some fun with it and then maybe we could come up with a good checklist if anybody would care to use it.

Michelle

[Colleen Ireland]

Your name change checklist should start with Legal Name Change (however that needs to be done where you live).  Where I live, I had to fill out a form, which had to be filled out EXACTLY right, and send it in along with a fee to the appropriate government department, and the certificate arrived a couple of months later (after getting the form back once due to an error).  The form also had sections that had to be filled out and signed by my doctor and my wife.  Procedure where you are might be completely different.  Once my name was legally changed, I could then proceed to change other documents, such as bank information, credit cards, driver's license, car ownership, insurance, health card, passports, SIN/SSN (I'm a dual citizen), etc.  All documents other than SSN and health card have the new gender marker as well.  I'm holding off changing my birth certificate until after surgery, because there's a fee for changing the name, and I don't want to pay the fee twice (changing the name, and then changing the gender marker after).  With documents, I've found the exact order to be unimportant, but they require the legal name change certificate first.  And be prepared to produce the name change certificate at the border, for instance, if all your documentation doesn't line up.

[0451]

Move exercise, electrolysis, and quit smoking to the beginning.  Smoking will cause trouble with E absorbtion.

[Chloe]

lol Somewhere between #1 and #4 i'd put:

Buy & Have A Family ( or at very least Bank kid material )

[michelleinktown]

Nip over to Andrea's site. She has a section on building your transition timetable

http://www.tsroadmap.com/start/timetable.html

Beverley

Thanks Beverley, I did find this after I posted and it sure is handy.

Michelle

[Colleen Ireland]

What I found is that all the planning in the world goes only so far.  I found I did various things when I felt the need and had the opportunity to do them.  I did some things "out of order" because for me it worked that way.  Some things I wanted to do earlier, but found other things I had to do first.  Each transition is unique, and the order of things, IMHO, will largely take care of itself.

For example.  In December 2010, I bought my first pair of women's glasses.  Because I had no immediate (or near-future) plans to go full-time, I "cheaped-out" and didn't get the bifocals I needed, because I didn't think I'd be wearing them much.  Less than 2 months later, my marriage had ended and I had moved out, two events I knew were coming, but came a LOT sooner than I thought they would.  So then I needed to exchange my glasses for ones with bifocals, because I knew I'd be going full-time much sooner than expected.  When I went to LensCrafters to exchange them, the lady who was helping me got a surprise when she plugged in my phone number and saw the name there - my male name.  She said "This can't be right...", which told me I passed much better than I thought, and solidified my plan to go full-time ASAP.  I was full-time less than 3 months later, and that delay was largely for the benefit of the company I work for, to let them plan things out on their end.  I also had thought I'd need to be on HRT for months or a year before being passable enough to go full-time - WRONG!  I went on HRT less than a month before I went full-time.

Transition can be a wonderful time of exploration and discovery, if you treat it that way. 

[eli77]

All documents other than SSN and health card have the new gender marker as well.

You can change the gender on your health card before bottom surgery in Ontario if you want to, fyi.

Getting all that stuff changed was such a pain.

[Didee]

1 gender therapy
2 self-acceptance.
3 learn how to deal whit some issues about coming out to anthers.
4 hrt. and  voice trainning
5 social transition.
6 save money for srs, and some cosmetic surgeries that i could need in case to adjust my passability or more self acceptance!

[rachl]

You can change the gender on your health card before bottom surgery in Ontario if you want to, fyi.

Getting all that stuff changed was such a pain.

Can you explain? All of the information I can find requires SRS (or perhaps scheduled SRS within a year).

Thanks

[eli77]

Can you explain? All of the information I can find requires SRS (or perhaps scheduled SRS within a year).

Thanks

Get a letter from your HRT doctor saying you are in treatment and transitioning. Take this to Service Ontario and get your driver's license gender marker changed.
Get the form from Passport Canada to fill out to get a temporary passport in your correct gender (though actually I got a full five year one, I don't know if that was a mistake or if they have quietly changed the rules).
Wait to receive your new passport and driver's license.
Take your corrected passport and driver's license to Service Ontario and use them to get a new health card. If they ask for your birth certificate, remind them that a passport and driver's license are sufficient identification.

Extra marks if you do it at the same time as getting your name changed!

(Yes, I have personally done all this. The only remaining piece of ID that I have with my incorrect gender marker is my birth certificate.)

[rachl]

Get a letter from your HRT doctor saying you are in treatment and transitioning. Take this to Service Ontario and get your driver's license gender marker changed.
Get the form from Passport Canada to fill out to get a temporary passport in your correct gender (though actually I got a full five year one, I don't know if that was a mistake or if they have quietly changed the rules).
Wait to receive your new passport and driver's license.
Take your corrected passport and driver's license to Service Ontario and use them to get a new health card. If they ask for your birth certificate, remind them that a passport and driver's license are sufficient identification.

Extra marks if you do it at the same time as getting your name changed!

(Yes, I have personally done all this. The only remaining piece of ID that I have with my incorrect gender marker is my birth certificate.)

Thanks, I appreciate that. My confusion arises from everything I've read indicating that in order to change one's passport, one needs a birth certificate; and in order to get the birth certificate changed, one needs SRS (or have it scheduled within a year). So perhaps my primary question is: how did you manage to get the passport to indicate 'F' without a birth certificate? Did they merely take the doctor's letter and the driver's licence as sufficient?

Is this perhaps a loophole in the passport rule: one can obtain a temporary passport, but they are supposed to decline a full one?

Thanks!!

[eli77]

Thanks, I appreciate that. My confusion arises from everything I've read indicating that in order to change one's passport, one needs a birth certificate; and in order to get the birth certificate changed, one needs SRS (or have it scheduled within a year). So perhaps my primary question is: how did you manage to get the passport to indicate 'F' without a birth certificate? Did they merely take the doctor's letter and the driver's licence as sufficient?

Is this perhaps a loophole in the passport rule: one can obtain a temporary passport, but they are supposed to decline a full one?

Thanks!!

There is a huge amount of misinformation out there about the rules for gender markers on Canadian Passports. Yes, it used to be a thing that you had to have SRS scheduled within a year in order to get the temporary 2-year passport. This is no longer the case. You just need to sign a form (which you can get from Service Canada) that says you will not hold Passport Canada responsible if you have any problems due to your passport not matching your birth certificate. Then you get your 2-year passport. (I really don't know why they gave me a 5-year one - must have been my winning smile.)

Note, I can't guarantee that any given Service Canada representative is going to have a ->-bleeped-<-ing clue what you are talking about or how this is supposed to work. For me it was incredibly straightforward. My GT had a copy of the form, I brought it in with my name change form, birth certificate (with incorrect gender marker), driver's license (with correct gender marker), old passport and passport application. The person I got suffered from no confusion and seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

For changing your birth certificate you need to have had surgery and two doctor's letters confirming it - one from the person who performed the surgery, and one from another doctor. You can't change it in advance. What constitutes surgery is a bit complicated. Generally vaginoplasty is required for trans women, I haven't heard yet of someone successfully changing it with only an orchie. For guys it seems totally confused, and varies wildly by province.

[rachl]

Awesome. Thanks so much.

[eli77]

Awesome. Thanks so much.

No worries.

[EmilyElizabeth]

why is full-time before Talking to a doctor, therapy, HRT and hair removal?

[EmilyElizabeth]

and ESPECIALLY before having a decent wardrobe

that actually might be one of the most important things to get if you want to truly fit in... a diverse and stylish wardrobe that gives you the options that you want/need

[MyKa]

the one thing i regret is not taking more pictures