I just wanted to alert folks interested in facial feminization surgery to a terrific article appearing in the current issue of the New Yorker. It's long and detailed and shows lots of sensitivity and awareness of why trans women may be interested in facial procedures (with also a few insights into the converse procedures applying to trans men).
The article follows a trans woman ("Abby") through facial procedures performed recently in San Francisco. The author of the article actually attended and observed the procedures.
The article explores the development and motivation of this one trans woman's desire for surgery. It also gives some biographical background on the surgeon (Dr. Jordan Deschamps-Braly, a craniofacial surgeon) and what led him to specialize in feminization procedures. Also, the article describes in some detail the step-by-step process of carrying out several procedures in a long, single day of surgery.
This is a VERY well-written, VERY readable article. I was pleased to see an article this good in a major mass-circulation magazine.
The Story of a Trans Woman's Face
For one patient, facial-feminization surgery gave her what she needed to just be herself.
By Rebecca Mead
March 19, 2018
The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/the-story-of-a-trans-womans-face?reload=true
". . . Despite the physical changes wrought by the hormones, Abby continued to suffer from a profound self-consciousness about her face. She felt that when she was seen from the front she looked persuasively feminine, and even striking, with abundant hair that framed her face, and wide-set eyes. But when she turned her head she looked far more masculine: the bossing of her brow showed in profile, as did the length of her jaw. She was so conscious of her Adam's apple that she tucked her chin down, to conceal it, and refrained from turning her head, looking to the side with only her eyes. With her dipped head and her inhibited range of motion, her mannerisms became those of a demure Victorian.
"Abby's self-consciousness in the company of others was nothing compared with the unhappiness she felt when faced with her own reflection. Whenever she passed a mirror, she saw the ghost of her former self, and it appalled her. Though Ousterhout had developed his procedures on the premise that his trans patients wished to move through the world without attracting unwelcome notice, Abby's desire to undergo the process was more interior. The person whose reaction to her face she most wanted to change was herself. . . ."
WOW
That was a great story, thanks for sharing bit 😊
This might be a good article to share with a friend or family member who doesn't understand why a person is considering surgery like this. It puts things in a way that makes it more comprehensible to folks who haven't experienced these feelings.
Quote from: itsApril on March 18, 2018, 02:21:53 PM
This might be a good article to share with a friend or family member who doesn't understand why a person is considering surgery like this. It puts things in a way that makes it more comprehensible to folks who haven't experienced these feelings.
I shared this yesterday on FB with a long comment directed at my cis friends and family. I asked them to read it because it so well explains why we choose (or need) to go through surgery. And it is a very very close approximation to my own experience with dysphoria.
Quote from: Becca Kay on March 17, 2018, 06:51:26 PM
WOW
Yes... Wow. Amazing that this ended up as the feature story for an issue of the New Yorker. As sensitive and perceptive as one could ever wish in this type of narrative. Really well written. The last paragraph is especially well done.
Great article. There were things I hadn't even known about Dr D....my own surgeon haha.
I'm not really sure exactly what hit me, but I completely broke down crying midway through. (Not a bad cry.)
Quote from: Roll on April 14, 2018, 01:03:12 PM
I'm not really sure exactly what hit me, but I completely broke down crying midway through. (Not a bad cry.)
This is the Public Broadcasting Service link to the audio version of the magazine story. I think it was just posted in the last day or so.
http://www.wnycstudios.org/story/trans-woman-finds-her-true-face-through-surgery/
Also really well done. The author narrates the story, but includes audio recordings from her conversations with "Abby" and also from her time in the operating room. She manages to capture the emotion of the story rather well for an audio presentation.
Might generate another "good" cry!
I'm going to have to read/listen to this on my lunch break, or after work...
Quote from: AshleyPixune on April 16, 2018, 11:48:49 AM
I'm going to have to read/listen to this on my lunch break, or after work...
Did you ever get a chance to listen to or to read this article ? If so, what was your "take" on it ?