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Date Posted: 08:11:33 10/14/15 Wed
Author: Aelita
Subject: Re: Question not to be rude, but info needed (Aileta)
In reply to: April_Case 's message, "Re: Question not to be rude, but info needed (Aileta)" on 20:42:56 10/12/15 Mon

It took a long time for information to show up on the internet. My dad got a computer for us when I was seven and we did have access to the internet via AOL but that was for just e-mail and news. The World Wide Web didn't show up until I was eleven or twelve. No one ever mentioned words about trans or gender issues so I never heard them. There was nothing in the library and no adult in my life ever talked about people being born with the wrong parts. It was a totally taboo topic. When I was nine I saw an old original Star Trek episode where Kirk was swapped into a woman's body and I though something like that must have happened to me. Not too long after that I saw Caroline Cossey on CNN and that was the first time I'd heard about transsexuality or intersex conditions. When I went to the school library to find out if they had any books I could read the librarian called my mother. That's how the world was then. I did find some books (one negative and one that was postive) from a used book store -- most notably "The Transsexual Phenomenon" by Dr Harry Benjamin. That's when I found out about the history, surgery, etc.

Because of my family situation I wasn't able to get any medical treatment until after I left home for university at sixteen/seventeen. People just assumed I was female. When I went to get a new driver's license I told them the "M" was a typo and they (thankfully) changed it to "F." I had to wait until I was eighteen to get hormone treatment and I had to undergo lots of tests. An ultrasound revealed I had internally trapped testes that were later surgically removed.

The information age has changed things. Today, you can just look up how to use tape to hide your birth defect, how to dress, how to determine your bra size, how to wear make-up, etc. I had to find out by trial and error alone. There are even organisations for trans kids now. My college counsellor sent me to a psychologist who directed me to a support group -- but it was for cross dressing men who were trying to "stop" -- not for a girl who was born with the wrong parts. The world has changed. Hopefully it will keep changing for the better.

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