A reader writes: “As a European living in New York, I find the U.S. health insurance system bewildering, to put it mildly. A German friend just had his bottom surgery done (is in the process of – seems to take a lot of steps, including complications) and there is no question that his health insurance would pay for it.
“In addition, frankly, U.S. medical costs are astronomical. So how does the average U.S. guy pay? At an FTM meeting, I heard a strange comment: ‘I wish I were on Medicaid.’ Is that more likely to pay than health insurance? Seems weird. I checked my own insurance and the alternative available through work, and neither of them pay for ‘gender stuff.’
“At the same time, they have known me as none other than ‘he,’ my documents are in ‘he,’ and even my birth certificate, due to arrive shortly, is in ‘he.’ So if ‘he’ lacks a body part, or the hormones, surely that is no longer gender alignment.”
As an American living in the United States, I find the U.S. health insurance system bewildering as well. In my experience, the bottom line with U.S. healthcare is that most insurance companies will pay for as little as they can get away with, regardless of what medical situation you are in.
However, an increasing number (a very small, very slowly increasing number) are starting to cover some or all aspects of transition. But most do not, and most policies have specific exclusions when it comes to anything related to transition – one thing insurance companies don’t care much about is “gender alignment.”
In a capitalist society, it’s pretty much all about money. Anything that costs money and doesn’t make money is suspect and is examined under a microscope to see how paying for it can be avoided. In addition, and this is my opinion only, I believe that there is an unspoken concept of “morality” underlying many of the decisions that are made about various goods and services that businesses offer to the public. Continue Reading »
Trans People: Are We ‘Just Like You’?
January 26, 2012 by Matt Kailey
So clearly this person was not “just like them” – at least not in whatever way mattered to the larger group.
Trans people (as well as people with non-straight sexual orientations) continue to use this argument in our demands for equal rights, and it certainly is a valid one – but it’s not the only one, because not all trans people see themselves as “just like” the (non-trans) population in power.
I have made this pronouncement myself on many occasions over the years, and I was, and am, sincere when I make it. But there are other times when I have questioned the wisdom – or even the truth – of it.
The fact is that I – and all other trans people – deserve equal rights whether we’re “just like you” or not. And one of the great things that the Internet has done – besides make resources available to isolated trans people and keep us informed about what the Kardashians are up to, whoever they are – is that it has brought to light the fact that most people aren’t “just like you.”
In fact, there is no mainstream “you” and there never was. We just didn’t know it, because we didn’t have access to all the goofy, weird, and utterly bizarre stuff that those people who are considered the mainstream “you” take part in. Continue Reading »
Posted in Commentary, Observations | Tagged assimilation, being trans, discrimination, gender expectations | 20 Comments »