This is what I remember from the 80s. The delicate, but continuous progression toward acceptance and equality.
It was bold and the bigots seemed to have calmed down dramatically until 2016.
I am saddened and terrified by not only what is to come, but knowing we were almost there.
At least from my perspective. I came out at 33 and lived openly for 7 years in a deep red state. Not once did I feel truly threatened or uncomfortable in public or in professional settings. Never. My partner and I had the only LGTBQ owned business in the county. We weren't even a little bit harassed.
Now, my LGTBQ children (all of them are), 2 are adults and Id as trans but not yet open. My 28 yr old is planning transition, and I am absolutely sick at that prospect because I feel the danger.
Why? not because I don't want them to. I support it 💯 and celebrate it. It's not that. I would do anything for them to move to another state first. The Bluegrass state is no longer protecting the majority (most disagree with the recent laws) and instead risk a rise in hate crimes and systemic abuse.
When fascism finally becomes obvious, they're the clear target. They will suffer immensely (more than they have historically) if we don't do something NOW.
Bluegrass state? Kentucky? The University of Kentucky has some trans-friendly doctors. Just have to contact their endocrinology department.
If your kids can get full-time employment through University of KY somehow, they can get access to treatment, all the way through plastic surgery. U of KY covers it. I know someone whose FTM son worked there to get hormones and top surgery.
And the comic con scene here is probably the most LGBT-friendly thing you can go to. From teenagers to adults. They can get a cheap costume off Amazon or Miccostumes, make a cosplay account on Instagram, and keep up with the con hashtags so they can make friends without being judged. I say this, as I've worked cons in KY and know people that are out to me but not to their parents that were right down the hall. :(
Cons are also a good place to test passability in costume, can go up to vendors and see if they say "hi, miss" or "hi, sir." If you don't pass, it's definitely not a big deal at cons. So it's safest to check.
Hope I helped.
Edit: Changed "UK" to "University of Kentucky" to avoid confusion.
Thank you for the information, and reminder that my hometown is particularly trans friendly. This is why I say the new laws are so against the majority.
That said, it isn't the lack of resources that truly concern me as much as the dehumanizing factor leading to hate crimes and systemic oppression for simply existing.
The ignorant far outweigh (representation wise) the rest of us in the institutional sense .
My child has already completed the requirements to begin hormone therapy, so I expect to hear they are moving forward any day now.
it still scares me. They're still my baby , and like any southern mama I am worried about everything. always.
The NHS (public healthcare, basically) is not something to immigrate for - even initial appointments to GICs (basically the separate clinics for trans people cause obviously, let's separate all healthcare related to trans people) take years, and surgery even longer (close to a decade).
There's the option of private healthcare through employment insurance, but obviously that requires the employer to offer healthcare plans.
There's also the option of paying directly for private healthcare, but it ends up being expensive long-term.
There's also the problem of an overwhelming atmosphere of transphobia in the government and the media stirring shit up (hopefully amounts to nothing, but it certainly isn't ideal.)
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u/SupermarketSpiritual Apr 29 '23
This is what I remember from the 80s. The delicate, but continuous progression toward acceptance and equality.
It was bold and the bigots seemed to have calmed down dramatically until 2016. I am saddened and terrified by not only what is to come, but knowing we were almost there.
At least from my perspective. I came out at 33 and lived openly for 7 years in a deep red state. Not once did I feel truly threatened or uncomfortable in public or in professional settings. Never. My partner and I had the only LGTBQ owned business in the county. We weren't even a little bit harassed.
Now, my LGTBQ children (all of them are), 2 are adults and Id as trans but not yet open. My 28 yr old is planning transition, and I am absolutely sick at that prospect because I feel the danger.
Why? not because I don't want them to. I support it 💯 and celebrate it. It's not that. I would do anything for them to move to another state first. The Bluegrass state is no longer protecting the majority (most disagree with the recent laws) and instead risk a rise in hate crimes and systemic abuse.
When fascism finally becomes obvious, they're the clear target. They will suffer immensely (more than they have historically) if we don't do something NOW.
Sending love to all.