CREATIVE NON-FICTION

I Medically Transitioned for All the Wrong Reasons

But no one talked me into it or forced me to become a man; here’s what really happened

Photos of Author: Before beginning my gender transition vs. after almost a year and a half on Testosterone (along with a sunburn from hiking without adequate sunscreen)

CW: suicidal ideation mentioned in passing without details, brief mention of genitals with medical terms that could be considered misgendering

I don’t know who needs to read this story, or if they would even seek this information out from someone like me: a person who has lived through a medical transition. The person who really needs to read this the most is probably watching Fox News instead.

I guess I’m really writing this as a kind of letter to a former self, since I was the sort of person who would have been seeking these stories out. I’m also writing this as a letter to all of the confused parents of gay children who are scared that someone would force them to become just like me. I’m writing this in response to this specific mother’s fears, knowing there are lots of mothers just like her out there who are getting inundated with misinformation about men like me right now.