The group call

That group Skype meeting yesterday was very interesting. Besides the two clinicians, there were 6 transgender people on the call including myself with 4 of us being transfeminine and 2 being transmasculine. Four were 30 and under with only myself and one other person being over the age of 60. With the exception of myself all were on HRT and all had gone through the McGill University gender clinic program that I initially entered and eventually dropped out of in 2007 out of my then fear it might lead to transition.

The discussion was very frank and open and everyone shared the concern that there is an issue with therapists not being properly  accredited and leading some people down the wrong path. The call lasted almost 2 hours at the end of which everyone had shared a bit of personal history as well as their own views on the kind of environment we should foster to help transgender people do the right thing for themselves. All agreed that surgeries should be an option very much based on personal need.

I felt very optimistic afterwards for the future as this mostly young group was very level headed and lucid. All stated they knew they were different from a very young age and took measured steps to get where they are today. At the end we were asked to provide Helene with some recommendations to help fix the issues we are seeing which all of us agreed include many more people today identifying as transgender. Some are perhaps a shade of gender variant or have some other issue leading them to think they need to transition. The concern is that the McGill clinic is seeing more of these people come to their doors seeking help once they have received less than ideal treatment elsewhere.

Helene's presentation at the Sorbonne in Paris is in late November.