'My scars aren't a finish line': three trans and non-binary people on how top surgery changed their lives

[milestogo]

For many trans and non-binary people, top surgery – the process of removing breast tissue to get a flatter or masculinized chest – is not an elective procedure. It’s essential to them feeling at home in their bodies. Top surgery is a form of gender-affirming healthcare that can be used to treat dysphoria, the sense of deep unease one feels when their identity or appearance doesn’t match up with the gender they were assigned at birth. It’s also a complicated, intense and invasive process that requires navigating a maze of insurance paperwork, and from which it can take years to heal. This means that the road to achieving one’s “dream” chest can be a long, complex and fluid journey.

The number of gender-affirming surgeries rose steeply in the US between 2016 and 2019. Since then, more trans and non-binary people have publicly documented how their bodies – and their relationships to their bodies – have changed, even as anti-trans legislation has ramped up across the country. “Everybody’s skin is different, and healing can look so different,” says Dulcinea Pitagora, a psychotherapist and founder of the LGBTQ+-affirmative practice Manhattan Alternative.

Pitagora has worked with some clients who are anxious about their scars showing because they are “worried about being outed, or someone hurting them for being trans”. That fear is exacerbated by the fact that Donald Trump, who has threatened to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, has won a second term. “We see increases in mental health symptoms caused by even hearing about [anti-trans] legislation in other states,” Pitagora says. “It creates more risk for clients, and it could affect whether a provider is willing to give gender-affirming care.”

Despite the baggage that can come with one’s scars, they can also become symbols of pride and resilience. The Guardian spoke with three trans and non-binary people across the US about their top surgeries.

https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/nov/19/trans-nonbinary-top-surgery-scars

[Walleye]

1. These assholes are determined to treat our new congresswoman Sarah McBride like shit

They are fellow Americans, Congress people, what the hell is wrong with them. She poses no threat they must be so insecure in their own sexuality is all I can figure. I still don’t understand why attack someone else. Probably because they don’t have the brains to actually write legislation

[Skittles]

2. repukes need people to hate

it riles their base and gets them to vote

[Walleye]

3. And Jesus Christ wants them to be cruel to people, I mean, Orange Christ

[Skittles]

4. tells me their "faith" is pure and utter bullshit

imagine what Jesus would think of Trump and his supporters

[Walleye]

5. I think I'm more of a Christian than these guys and I'm an atheist

My mom raised me not to deliberately hurt other peoples feelings.

[Skittles]

6. oh I know THAT for a fact

I am more christian than 95% of the so-called christians I know and I am agnostic