The Catch 22 of Transgender Care and Acceptance
Filed by: Amber Crowder
March 31, 2009 8:00 PM
http://indiana.bilerico.com/2009/03/the_catch_22_of_transgender_care_and_acc.phpFinding yourself is financially stupid.
Being financially independent is a long-term goal of mine. I'm sure it's on the minds of many people, but I've made a hobby of reading financial advice. Dave Ramsey has helped me turn my finances around, particularly. Yet I'm spitting in the face of my own financial advice in going through with transition: changing gender is just not a financially sound move. Being transgender carries a heavy, heavy tax.
People mean well by tolerating who we are, sure, but it's always worrisome to hear their hesitation when the topic of surgery comes up. Why is it important that transgender care be recognized? After all, we're just asking for someone to fulfill a strange need or a sexual fantasy or severing the last connection to our poor, confused selves. No matter how justified it may be, the majority of insurance companies refuse to see the utility of SRS. If we want it badly enough, we should pay for it ourselves.
Yet to be accepted by law in our proper gender, we must get the surgery - insurance or no. Without the insurance we have little in the way of rights, and without the rights we are bereft of job opportunities. And that is what begins and ends the cycle of transgender discrimination.
