News and Events => Opinions & Editorials => Topic started by: Shana A on August 30, 2012, 02:39:22 PM Return to Full Version
Title: Transgender journey: time for sex reassignment surgery at last
Post by: Shana A on August 30, 2012, 02:39:22 PM
Post by: Shana A on August 30, 2012, 02:39:22 PM
Transgender journey: time for sex reassignment surgery at last
The day of the operation has finally arrived. Juliet Jacques recounts the final preparations, the surgery itself and the aftermath
Juliet Jacques
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 August 2012 04.00 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/30/sex-reassignment-surgery-transgender-journey?fb=optOut (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/30/sex-reassignment-surgery-transgender-journey?fb=optOut)
Six weeks before sex reassignment surgery (SRS), I am obliged to stop taking my hormones. I suddenly feel very differently about my forthcoming operation. I'd previously seen transition as a marathon: surgery was like breaking the tape, but the race was won far earlier. Now I reconsider: perhaps this is more like a difficult cup final after some hard previous rounds.
The surgery completely dominates my planning and thinking. My temporary job ended in March, and the knowledge that I'd be incapacitated for at least two months from mid-July made it difficult to find another. Ineligible for Employment and Support Allowance until after surgery, I sign on, the whole scenario feeling farcical as both my case worker and I know that I am unlikely to get a job, but still have to fulfil the jobseekers' criteria to get my weekly allowance, haemorrhaging money all the while.
It consumes my conversations as it inches closer. I am constantly asked how I feel: everyone expects a mixture of excited and nervous, and they are right. Above all, I'll be glad when it is over. I take a little holiday in late June, staying with friends in Scotland, and travel back on the first day of July. Then, for the next fortnight, my concerns over the practical, physical and psychological effects of SRS intensify by the day.
The day of the operation has finally arrived. Juliet Jacques recounts the final preparations, the surgery itself and the aftermath
Juliet Jacques
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 August 2012 04.00 EDT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/30/sex-reassignment-surgery-transgender-journey?fb=optOut (http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/aug/30/sex-reassignment-surgery-transgender-journey?fb=optOut)
Six weeks before sex reassignment surgery (SRS), I am obliged to stop taking my hormones. I suddenly feel very differently about my forthcoming operation. I'd previously seen transition as a marathon: surgery was like breaking the tape, but the race was won far earlier. Now I reconsider: perhaps this is more like a difficult cup final after some hard previous rounds.
The surgery completely dominates my planning and thinking. My temporary job ended in March, and the knowledge that I'd be incapacitated for at least two months from mid-July made it difficult to find another. Ineligible for Employment and Support Allowance until after surgery, I sign on, the whole scenario feeling farcical as both my case worker and I know that I am unlikely to get a job, but still have to fulfil the jobseekers' criteria to get my weekly allowance, haemorrhaging money all the while.
It consumes my conversations as it inches closer. I am constantly asked how I feel: everyone expects a mixture of excited and nervous, and they are right. Above all, I'll be glad when it is over. I take a little holiday in late June, staying with friends in Scotland, and travel back on the first day of July. Then, for the next fortnight, my concerns over the practical, physical and psychological effects of SRS intensify by the day.
Title: Re: Transgender journey: time for sex reassignment surgery at last
Post by: Elena G on August 30, 2012, 06:13:22 PM
Post by: Elena G on August 30, 2012, 06:13:22 PM
It's been a month and a half now, already. Hope she's doing well.