Manifesto of the TransChat project

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We are not looking for a fight, and we are not going to rip peoples heads off. We combat anti-transgender culture constructively, by attempting to solve problems in a logical way. On our part, that means providing the TransChat website, which attempts to provide as much useful information as possible, so as to actually help trans people. We’re not interested in creating any sort of militia, because that never works. We’re not talking about respectability politics. We do not conform to societal norms, and we strongly oppose them.

Being a diplomat doesn’t mean being nice. It just means that we don’t fight with swords. We use words, and intelligent conversation.

Our style of politics is through influence and diplomacy. We’ll get nowhere by following a jihad approach to trans activism. We will progress by:

• Educating people properly, both cis and trans, about gender issues
• Providing the trans community with useful information about transitioning, while providing a safe space to chat in (we have IRC channels, and we are on the Facebook)
• Working productively with government to influence political decisions and legislation - regardless of political affiliation. In the UK for instance, we are happy to work with Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour party, UKIP, Green party, etc, to help encourage positive changes in, for example, how NHS provides trans care or how schools are guided on helping transgender students, etc.
• Leading by example; living our own lives, and being as open and free as possible, demonstrating to others that we’re OK and that being trans is OK and that transitioning is OK, that there is nothing wrong with us.

At the same time, we also won’t tolerate abuse. People who are in any way bigoted or abusive will be banned and removed immediately.

We believe that a trans person should be able to start hormone therapy whenever they like.

We have a page that shows how to take HRT safely, and where to buy it on the internet.

In too many cases, transition becomes too expensive so that many people can’t transition. This is because the public health service in most countries is usually underfunded for trans care.

Or non-existent.

If you say that you’re trans, then you’re trans. It’s as simple as that. No person on earth has the right to disagree with you or to tell you that you’re not.

We believe that every person should have complete control over their own life; specifically, in the case of trans people, that means that they should be able to freely explore their gender identity and/or expression, without interference from others.

We are against gatekeeping of any kind, unless for medical reasons. If a trans person intends to take hormones, and asks for it from their doctor, the doctor should immediately check suitability; blood tests, endocrinology exam, etc. This should be done immediately, on a fast-track service where the individual gets results the same day, if possible, or as early as possible.

We are not against gender-related therapy, but we believe that it should be optional. We do not think that seeing a therapist before you get hormones, hair removal surgery etc, should be needed.

We believe that a trans person who wishes to have surgery, should be able to get it done, on the very day that they request it, if possible, or as soon as possible. Obviously, there are medical checks that need to be made and the individual needs to be prepared for it. We think that waiting 1+ years for surgery is unacceptable. 1 month at most, is acceptable in our opinion, but ideally we’d want surgery to be possibly after a few days. This means that we need more trained surgeons. Research should be made into proper techniques, e.g. for trans women there should be self-lubrication and sufficient depth, etc - we do not think that the penile inversion method should ever be used, as documented also on our surgery page.

A trans person should, if it is safe for them to take hormones, be asked what kind of hormones they want; e.g. full dose, low dose, antiandrogen/antiestrogen only, etc. So if a trans woman wants to take hormones, she should be able to. Same thing for trans men, and non-binary people.

We believe that transgender children of puberty age should immediately be given puberty blockers, without delay or exception. We believe that children of puberty age should be given estrogen or testosterone, if they wish. A trans woman of age 12 should be able to start taking estrogen, if she wants to. Same thing applies to trans men (for testosterone) and non-binary people.

We believe that hormones should be sold over the counter, and available to purchase at any pharmacy without a prescription.

We believe that surgery of all kinds (facial, genital, top surgery, etc) should be given to trans people of all ages, when they request it. This includes children. We believe than an 8 year old trans girl should be allowed to have a vagina, or that a trans man should be allowed to have a penis at that age. Same for non-binary people, whichever way they are going (or nullification, if they choose).

Gatekeeping for non-medical reasons is always transphobic. When a trans person is forced to wait while they under go a real life experience (living in their desired gender, but without the hormones that they request), that means someone is stopping them from transitioning the way they want - need - to. It’s also transphobic because being trans is not a mental illness, yet trans people are still, in most countries, forced to see a therapist anyway, who has the power to deny the possibility of transition. Gatekeeping is also commonly cissexist, because the therapist will be, in a lot of cases, trying to model their client after their own image of what they think a man or woman (gatekeepers usually erase the existence of non-binary people, and deny non-binary people the opportunity to transition) should look like. Gatekeeping is when a trans person cannot transition, because someone is trying to prevent them from doing so.

Surgery is illegal in some countries. In many places all over the world, surgeries are performed without legal authority. We consider underground surgeries to be entirely valid. As with any other surgeon, you should always make sure that your surgeon will will do a good job.

Surgery is prohibitively expensive, in most countries, and is often subject to harsh restrictions, which means that trans people often wait years before they are allowed vital surgery which could literally save their life (by reducing their dysphoria, for instance, if they have dysphoria).

We do not name any on this website, because they usually do not want their names known. That’s the whole point of being underground.

An underground surgeon will usually perform surgery for less charge than with registered surgeons, and they will not restrict access to their services. Of course, it’s illegal and since it’s basically the black market, you have to be very careful, especially in making sure that the person you see does a good job.

For some people, it is the only option. We will not judge harshly - or at all - on people who see an underground surgeon. It is your choice what you do with your body.

We are also OK with underground surgeons being members of our community.

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