Asklemmy

I have a lot of curiosity about Trans and I'm impressed your so open to questions. I fear that my questions might come off poorly and it isn't my intention, I just don't know how to ask these in the best light.

1. I see that you mentioned there are studies that point to Trans likely being a mismatch between the brain and body at development. But, do you think there is also a link that involves childhood trauma? Or is the science very clear?

2. I often find myself uncomfortable with Trans people in person, but I often wonder if half of that is simply that I don't know how to treat someone. The ones that I met that had relatively normal behavior I found pretty easy to talk to and I felt for them. But ones that were more complicated, say neurodivergent beyond dysphoria, or they had a lot of emotional trauma, made me very uncomfortable. Do you think most of this issue is that as children we are taught how to treat people that are squarely female or male, rather than learning how to treat people as a whole?

I often wish the world wasn't so hostile, but I also find that some things that were set in motion in my childhood are the hardest to change. It's easy to change what I act on, but harder to change how I feel.

Thank you again for doing this!

Are there any self-identities which you would consider invalid? Transracial identity? Otherkin? Insincere trans identity, such as the recent case of Liebich, a transphobic neo-Nazi who legally identified as a trans woman seemingly just to avoid men's prison? Which of these should be contested and which should be validated?

I personally think transracial identity is particularly interesting when one considers that race is a fluid social concept rather than an objective concept like genetics (see how in the US and Europe different peoples have historically changed from being considered 'black' to being considered 'white' over time, see how a person can be considered a race in one society and a different race in another society, such as "mixed-race" people or people with ancestry from the edges of continents). Unfortunately most of the examples of transracialism I'm aware of are cases where deception or fame played a large part in compounding criticism, such as Dolezal and Korla Pandit, leading to claims of their transracial identity being exploitation.

Somewhat related: Australia's state-funded ABC channel produced a Q&A documentary show called "You Can't Ask That" with an episode for transgender people. It might be harder to watch outside of Australia but it's worth the effort. The semi-related Drag episode was also fascinating. Disclaimer/CW: I haven't watched the full episode in years and suspect there might have been transphobia in some questions.

Official 2 minute teaser question: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GSilokmn8zI

(A couple of other countries had localised spin-off versions of the show but I haven't watched them.)

I have exactly one question which I've never found the right venue to ask, and because it's about the internal experience, I would need to ask several trans people to get a picture:

When you meet someone who has your deadname, do you experience an initial reaction like you would meeting someone who has your ex's name?

What are the practicality regarding sport, especially during transition? There is a big trans athlete discussion, but every sport hall I went had ladies/gentlemen changing room with communal showers. People would definitely see the extra/missing bits. Moreover, I see why other people would be uncomfortable with a person suddenly going from one gender space to another.

I feel pretty comfortable asking questions IRL because over many years I've had two friends who are openly Trans. But I want to show some support for the community, so here we go:

A train leaves the station at 9pm… 😆

Love and Respect.

Questions mostly directed to FtM if possible:

I'm non-binary/transmasc, would I qualify for top surgery/sterilization as is or do I have to fully commit to HRT? Who do I even talk to about this? Will I get resistance from medical professionals?

Unfortunately, I live in the US and my health insurance is UHC. Do I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting gender affirming care covered by them?

Do you prefer visual porn, or written erotica/smutty novels?

I don't ask this both because of the obvious privateness, and because I don't want to put anyone on the spot if their choice doesn't align with what's typical for their gender identity, but I do wonder.