Gender dysphoria is a concept that may be new to many, but it is increasingly occupying more spaces in society. According to Fundéu’s LGTBI+ dictionary, Gender dysphoria is “a medical term that describes a person’s discrepancy with the sex and gender assigned at birth.” and the WHO in 2019 defined it as “gender incongruence.” This dissatisfaction with the body in which one is born presents conflicts that are difficult to resolve, both for the people who suffer from it and for those who perceive it as a social issue that goes beyond what they consider “normal.”
A body that does not belong to me
Understanding and accepting the body you are born in is not a simple task.. Exercising, eating healthy, maintaining a healthy life or attending the operating room are some of the solutions that people find to make their body conform to what they want. In the case of trans people it may be the same, but the fixation of their discomfort is focused in most cases on their sexual organ, an area that is not visible to society, but that reminds them in privacy that their body It is not consistent with what they are.
Victoria Volkóva, Mexican influencer in her video “my sex reassignment surgery” expressed, “I always had repulsion towards my sexual reproductive organ… I never felt identified with my body, I never felt identified with the male sex.” Trans children suffer so much from the body assigned to them that, sometimes, before reaching the age of 14, the only way out they contemplate is suicide. This was not the case for Victoria, but it was still painful, because she chose shame, to hide the only part of her body that was not in line with her feminine expression, her penis. For Victoria, only a surgical reassignment could correct this error of nature and from the age of 17 she began to investigate everything about the operation, but the costs were so high and the procedure was so painful that she did not believe she could achieve that dream.
According to unofficial sources, sex reaffirmation surgery can cost between 18,000 and 30,000 euros in private clinics. Until now in Latin America there are no countries that ensure this procedure as a right for trans people.that is why those who wish to perform it must wait until they have raised the necessary amount, and then migrate to countries like Thailand, which specialize in these surgeries.
The pain of choosing
During the first months of recovery, Victoria claims that the pain she suffered was the most acute she had ever experienced and the dilations so that her neovagina would not lose depth made it worse. Although in the video narration she states that she does not regret her choice, she also expresses that “this surgery is not a magical surgery that solves your problems, nor your insecurities, nor your traumas, nor your self-esteem problems,” it is because That is why, to make an irreversible decision such as surgery, or transit accompanied by hormones, it is essential that people attend therapy, because dissatisfaction with the body can have many factors that influence it and sometimes the uncertainty does not calm down after Surgery.
Decisions made out of anxiety, seeking quick relief, can have much more negative consequences in the long term, for this reason, assuming a surgical sex change must be a choice that is sustained over time and is accompanied by expert professionals. in the subject. Although only 0.5% of people who perform medical procedures reverse their decision, it is important to recognize that this option exists to create contingency actions and more appropriate support in these cases.
There are no magic answers for everyone.
Ellie and Nele are a couple of European girls who have gone through gender with testosterone treatments to achieve a more masculine appearance, but a few years ago they decided to put the medications aside and return to their birth gender. They are part of the small percentage of people who reverse their choice.
In the story of these girls presented in a BBC article, it is shown how in their childhood there was a fascination with male privileges, freedom and all the conditions that surround men. They wanted to be able to walk bare-chested, practice contact sports and openly express their taste for women, but from what they understood as women they did not find those possibilities, which is why since they were little they reconsidered whether they wanted to continue assuming that role, or They really wanted to look like men.
In Europe it is easier to access the necessary treatments and psychosocial support, but even so, there is ignorance regarding sexual transitions, as was the case with this couple. The choice of sexual change was motivated by the uncertainty and anxiety of obtaining a social place that – from their perspective – was more privileged and free. But when it came time to travel, they were not satisfied with the male body either, and at one point they began to experience severe vaginal dryness due to the consumption of testosterone. That was the alert that made Ellie and Nele wonder about the choice they had made, and after a while they stopped their treatment to leave their body free of additional hormones.
The importance of therapy and good medical support
In these cases, the transit may be due to situations that are much more complex to analyze, the most relevant being the relationship that is socially established with gender and the ways that define the behavior of women and men, with few options to create intersections between the characteristics. of both roles. These girls had the need to adopt characteristics that would allow them to be free people, with the possibility of playing sports that they liked regardless of gender and freely expressing their love, they did not necessarily want to choose one sex/gender and exclude all the possibilities offered by the other.
Ellie and Nele created a movement to give visibility to the voices that move and want to return to their birth gender, but they warn that their experience should not serve to generalize the processes of the entire community, because each experience is unique. They fear that their speech will be fragmented and adopted by religious communities or people who discriminate against trans people, as a justification for denying the rights they have achieved with so much effort.
They do not regret anything they have experienced during their transit process because this led them to have greater awareness and respect for their body, to accept themselves more and more and to learn to choose on the fly how they want to live their lives.
From the LGTBI+ reality, views are proposed that do not seek a single solution for everyone, in fact the voice is raised for the difference and for those who have been silenced. Going outside the norm to weave your own identity is an admirable task. From the #YDNM movement we hope that everyone who wishes to travel has the psychological support of experts who can guide their process.
You can be part of the change, join this movement on their own behalf or on behalf of hundreds of victims who have not been able to find their voice to speak out against this scourge.
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