RogueSig said:
Hi everyone. I'm glad to see this thread is still active. It's taken me a few days of off and on reading to catch up.
Andraste, what kind of administrative/medical process did you go through to get to where you are now? Also, do you have any advice for someone just starting out on this kind of a path?
Hi RogueSig,
WRT advice to anyone starting down this path or if you happen to be a supervisor dealing with a person starting down the path I can provide some insight based on my own personal experience.
Generally, most people know they are transgender from an early age. They may not quite comprehend it but they have an inkling. I knew by about age 5 that I was not quite wired like the other boys but generally I biffed through early life, teens, and young adulthood socializing "boy" doing stereotypically guy things and topped it off by joining the military to press the fact I was uber-male. Some transgender folk know they are transsexual (i.e., trapped in the wrong body) from the get go and others (like myself) repress, hide and blunder along the Transgender spectrum thinking they are a classic cross dresser but still all guy. However once we have the "
it's more than just the dressing" realization it pops a cap sort to speak and what many in the community term the "
pink fog" rolls in. Specifically, you are driven to dress more, you may do what I referred to as "
Ninja Femme Drives" where you dress up and go for covert drives around the neighborhood. This normally leads to making outings to public venues (malls, restaurants) in an effort to quell the need to be seen as the target gender. Does this mean the person is transsexual (wants to be the target gender)? Not always but it is a good indication.
So my first advice to anyone who thinks or you are dealing with a subordinate/friend/family member who thinks they might be transsexual, is to see a therapist who specializes in gender identity issues. Now folks this is not to say the person is crazy or delusional but potentially confused about where they fall on the spectrum. They may be transsexual (TS) but then again they may also be a classic cross dresser who has just found a new zeal and is moving forward at breakneck speed and now thinks they are transsexual. The therapist (in my own case) will bring order to chaos. The best way I can describe this would be an orchestra warming up. My mind was like an orchestra but instead of harmony it was a bunch of individual instruments doing their own thing and the sound was chaotic, annoying and deafening. My therapist was like a conductor in that she brought the instruments into harmony and allowed me to focus for the first time in 50 years on who I was. It is only then that I realized I was TS and not just a cross dresser and moved forward from there.
So my best advice . . . professional therapy. Indeed if you come out in the CAF it is a requirement in order to move forward with transition. Again, I want to clarify, this does not mean the person is crazy or delusional nor is being TG seen as mental disorder (that was removed from the DSM IV many years ago). They just need assistance to focus and discover where they fall along the path before making a life altering decision. If you are cross dresser, then go forth and enjoy . . . no need to tell work or come out to the world (unless you want to) but if you are Transsexual then this is the first step to transition within the CAF.
So the process:
1. Make an appointment with your medical folks. My advice unless you know for certain you are transsexual, merely tell your doctor you are having some gender identity issues and would like to talk to someone about them. Your doctor should at that point refer you to mental health services who will do a work-up and referral to a gender identity therapist. This will normally last about 10 visits while the therapist helps the person to understand and move forward.
2. If the person decides they are transsexual then the medical folks will put them on a TCat for six months (could be more) while you explore medical options which could be hormone replacement therapy (HRT) all the way to gender reassignment surgery. Depending on your route the TCat could be longer. Mine was quick because I have sought no medical intervention.
3. Administratively you will need to legally change your name to the target gender name and make changes to other documentation. You can have your sex designation changed on your birth certificate in most Provinces without going through GRS so that is a step you will need to take if you want the target gender on your documentation.
4. Once you have your documentation changed, you need to have your military documentation (MPRR, ID and whatnot) to reflect your new gender and name. Bear in mind this only moving forward and there will be no change to your name on any decorations or awards you received prior to transition. This step is normally done in sync with the document changes above.
5. You will need your chain of command to send a letter to Logisicks to change your gender marker so you can order from the target gender catalogue and get the appropriate dress uniforms.
The above are all administrative. The other advice before you go weapons hot with a transition is education to your work place. I transitioned in place which meant I was presenting as a man at work one day then a woman the next week. Prior to that my chain of command held an information session (with my input) to discuss the transition and any accommodations made. This provided people with a heads up and allowed them to filter questions to me should they have any. This helped pave the way for my first day at work . . . and believe me walking into that building in a CAF skirt vice pants was the hardest thing I ever had to do . . . but it felt right. Yes, some people were put off, others were curious and I just continued with personal interaction, responded to questions until eventually it became a non-issue.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Andraste
