Scalpels and Validity.
As a trans femme person, I feel the social pressure from both cis and trans society to fit in a little better. By better I mean more feminine. However, I have chosen to forgo both FFS and GCS and for me, it’s a principle issue. Let me bore you half to death in a narcissistic note on why. So take my hand and walk with me down “Needlessly expounded views” lane so that you too can be enlightened to the machinations of my mind.
Why FFS and GCS are not for me?
Wait, we have a cis audience, what is FFS and GCS?
FFS or Facial Feminisation Surgery aka Facial Harmonisation Surgery is actually a cluster of surgeries to produce a more feminine set of facial features.
GCS or Gender Confirmation Surgery aka Gender reassignment surgery aka a Sex Change Operation aka “the surgery” aka a Loppitoffamy.
Also, the opinions I express here are limited to myself. I do not speak for “the Trans Community” or even another trans person. I speak solely for myself.
Okay, so now we know what we are discussing and the scope of that discussion, let’s proceed.
As I said, I have decided that I am bucking the pressure and not doing FFS or GCS and this is based on a principle issue. Let’s have a quick look at those pressures. There are three elements placing pressure on a trans person to have gender affirmative surgeries.
The first, and only valid one, being dysphoria. If a person feels dysphoric about a certain feature or set of features, no amount of talk therapy or self acceptance is going to alleviate that dysphoria. Sure they may get to a point where management is possible but that’s a lot of effort that needs to happen every conscious minute of the day. It adds a level of difficulty and unpleasantness to the trans person’s day that makes it become unrealistic as a long term solution.
The second element is from transmeds. This is a group of trans people who like to call themselves “transsexuals”, they typically hold the view that being trans is a disorder. They generally have the idea that dysphoria is a qualifying criteria for a trans person to be able to be considered trans. Transmeds also tend to view labels as levels. Meaning they think a trans woman is only a woman when she has suffered enough dysphoria, been on hrt for long enough, had the surgery etc. They regard trans assimilation and suffering as imperative to validity. TL DR, transmeds are mean spirited boot lickers. I don’t view this as a valid motivator for surgical or hormonal treatment.
The third element is cis society. As I have previously indicated, I feel that society views cis gender expression as synonymous with the gender being expressed. I contend that this is a flawed view and that cis or trans are equal and valid expressions of gender. There is no requirement for trans people to look cis, similarly societies views on beauty and sexuality are skewed and require adjustment. If you are wondering what I mean here, the bluntest way of saying this is “cis men dating trans women ain’t gay, no matter what she looks like” or “lesbians dating traps still keep that all important gold star”. I personally think it’s time we adjusted society’s views on gender, not trans people’s faces.
So back to my junk, or face, whichever you are most comfortable considering. I do suffer dysphoria and I am not too keen on my junk and I have an abiding hate for my hairline and my snoot. This is important, because it’s useful to bear in mind that I don’t think I am ultra beautiful or cis passing. I do feel some internal need to alter my physical appearance. However, two things stand in my way. The first being that I do not agree with the idea that cis gender is the standard by which we should judge gender expression. I feel that my body is a valid expression of woman, regardless of what surgeries or medical steps I do or do not take. While I experience the external pressure from cis heteronormative society to conform to cis beauty standards, on principle I will not. However, there is a far more profound principle that drives my unwillingness to have “the surgery” or Facial Harmonisation Surgery or even a breast augmentation.
I am a feminist. To me, woman is not the sum total of body parts. Woman is an overarching identity that spans beyond such trivial things as genitals and chromosomes. There is more to the ladies than biology. The depth and capacity women offer is beyond mere genetic expression. How then could surgery ever make me more or less woman? How could I reduce my womanhood down to properties to be altered with a scalpel? I can’t because I am an expression of woman as I am and I feel the need to honour that expression. As much as I don’t like my penis or my hairline or my excessively large snoot or my microscopic breasts, they don’t define me as a woman. My Womaness defines my small breasts, large nose and penis as feminine. I don’t define other women by their bodies, their perfections or imperfections. So I shall not define myself by those measures either.
Maybe one day I will do FFS and GCS, but it will not do a damn thing to make me more of what I am now and it will only be because I want those changes for me.
