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With gender, as with witchcraft, we, most of us, believe what appears to be true.

Someone looks at your genitalia. (That’s the test.) You’re a girl. Or a boy. How do they know? You look like one.

But how do you know? There’s something inside your head that tells you. You don’t have to look. You don’t need the test. You know. And as some of us know from personal experience, the “test” isn’t necessarily a reliable one. The world tells us we are male or female, and they treat us accordingly, but we know it isn’t so. In life, nothing is as simple as it seems. Gender is no exception.

Sadly, no. Despite the impression given on the final Global news item in their Transformation series, MSP has not changed their policy for MTF patients seeking breast augmentation.

All this week, Global news has been airing a series on what it is like to be transgender, specifically, what it is like if you are TS. If you have missed seeing these mini-documentaries, they can still be viewed on the Global webpage as of Friday, April 22. The final(?) item will air tonight at 6:30. They are worth a look. What follows is my own response to the series so far.

Changing Keys is a trans voice workshop offered by Speech Language Pathologist Shelagh Davies. Offered in Vancouver through Trans Health as a seven week course, Shelagh recently travelled to Victoria for an intensive three day workshop with seven Vancouver Island girls, all living full time, some pre-op, some post-op. I was fortunate enough to be one of those girls. What follows is my recollection of (yet another) transformative experience, one of many I’ve had along the way since finally deciding I had no choice but to honor the person I am within. I am Karen, and at last, I can say that in my own voice.

Stephanie, for all the grace and generosity you have shown me these past few months, I dedicate this, my first blog ever, to you.

Well, I gather it is out

If you’ve decided to take the plunge and commit to transition, you’ll know that you have to live for a year as your chosen gender. In British Columbia, this is a prerequisite for applying for Medical Services Plan funding for Gender Reassignment Surgery, Nearly all surgeons performing GRS will also expect it. The one-year Real … Read more

It was a day just like any other. It dawned at its astronomically appointed hour. The sky was meteorologically clear. I awoke before my alarm clock (okay,perhaps I can be forgiven one deviation from the norm). I showered, dressed and had breakfast. And so, un-momentously, began one of the most momentous days of my life. … Read more

I looked in the mirror last night and saw myself. Hardly an earth-shattering observation; this is not exactly news which would grip the attention of media moguls or command a fleet of TV and radio vans to congregate on my lawn like a flock of migrating geese. It is, in short, rather self-evident. The next … Read more

(This was written a long time ago, but it seems fitting to use it as the first entry to my blog.) As many dear readers will know, I have begun the journey to transition. Well, perhaps it’s more like starting on a major leg of that journey; transition for me really began when I came … Read more

Groundhog Day, 2011. It’s my first anniversary of living full-time as myself. One year ago I finally thumbed my nose at my shadow. It’s a day like any other, of course: grocery shopping, errands and other unremarkable things. It’s like a birthday when you’re an adult: there’s nothing special or magical about it. Still, I … Read more