A reader writes: “I am a 48-year-old transgendered woman. I had a sex change operation at age 25. I am unable to get a job, go to school, or rent an apartment. There are laws against discrimination against transsexuals in this state, but they do not enforce the laws.

“I used to have a career as an EMT, but now I have nothing. I feel sad how my life is. I wanted a family, a career, and a nice home. I have nothing. I am not treated very well by society. I have no friends or family.”

While there’s no direct question in this letter, I think that there are some unspoken ones. I also think that it reflects part of the trans experience that the non-trans public is probably most unaware of.

Trans people are most often in the headlines (at least in the U.S.) for being on a TV show, protesting a TV show, or getting assaulted or killed. Once in a while, we’ll see a news story about some blatant discrimination that has occurred or some blatant discrimination that’s about to occur (such as a pending public accommodations bill in some city or state that will probably be voted down). But we rarely see or hear about the ongoing effects of discrimination in the lives of average trans people.

Rejection by family and friends, denial of housing and employment, and a sense of helplessness about ever changing things can lead to isolation and loneliness for people whose lives were stable and “successful” prior to transition. And regardless of the cautions that most of us hear before transition, we often don’t realize how negative the negatives can be. Sometimes the old stable and successful life of the past starts to look pretty good – in retrospect.

But things often seem better than they were when we look back on them, particularly if we are unhappy in the present. The ease and simplicity that we remember about our former existence weren’t really there – at least not in the most important aspects of our life.

Our core identity, comfort in our own skin, and wholeness was suffering. We did not feel stable or successful. We might have been able to realize some of our dreams in that life, but they would have been hollow if we achieved them as someone else – someone who we were forced to be or had to pretend to be, rather than the person we are.

Unfortunately, that’s cold comfort to those who are suffering now. The prejudice that results in discrimination, even when laws are in place that are supposed to prevent it, can ruin even the most modest post-transition life plans. But the alternative is not transitioning, and for most people who transition, that is not an alternative at all.

To the writer, I’m not certain what advice I can offer, because I’m not sure where you live or whether or not you have any money or other resources. It sounds as if you might live in a small town where you have a history, and being trans is working against you. If that’s the case, there might be somewhere else you could go.

EMTs and other medical personnel are in high demand in some areas, and if you could find one of those locations, you might be able to use your medical training to get a job and get your life back on track. Even if you can’t be an EMT because your credentials have are not current, you might be able to start small and find some way to support yourself, get an apartment, and then take some other small steps to improve your situation.

Your dream of a family, a career, and a nice home has not materialized, and it might not. You might have to give up that dream and find another one to work toward. Sometimes our dreams have to be adjusted to fit our circumstances, and if hanging on to this dream is causing you anguish, it’s probably time to let go.

Instead of regretting what you don’t have, try to think about what you might be able to have and focus on that. There are some things you can’t do, and some things that are not going to happen for you. What can you do and what can happen for you? Set your sights on that and move in that direction.

It might feel as if you’re all alone, but you’re not. There’s a big community out there. Maybe there is a center or support group nearby that you can connect with. If not, or if you don’t have the resources to get there, start online. While the Internet is great for making cyber-friends, it’s not the same as having face-to-face contact, but if you can find some online friends near you, you might be able to meet at some point.

There are also websites for trans people that offer services for finding friends and even romance. You have to be careful, though, and make sure that you find legitimate resources. Some of my women readers might be able to point you in the right direction.

Also, if you can find a clinic or a sliding-scale therapist that you feel safe with and can afford, that’s probably a good step to take. A good therapist can support you in picking up the pieces and starting over with a new life, a new dream, and new goals.

Don’t give up. You might need to shift direction, but you will still be heading forward. I wish you the best of luck.

And now I will turn things over to my readers for some more thoughts and ideas.

A reader writes: “I am working very hard to teach my children to acknowledge their various privileges. Social justice parenting is extremely important to their father and I, but we know that because we are also riddled with various privileges that we will unintentionally pass on our biases to our children despite our best efforts.

“My questions are: What are the most important messages do you feel that we should convey to our cis gender children to help them understand their privilege and what it means to be trans? How would you direct these conversations to ensure that they don’t stand out as different than any other subject? I have tried over the years to talk to my children about trans people, and at this point, I am fairly certain that I am not getting the message across properly.”

I admire your commitment to teach your children about trans issues in conjunction with your overall parenting philosophy, and I wish more parents would follow your lead. Based on what you’re saying, I doubt that the problem is that you’re not getting the message across. It’s more likely that they are being influenced by outside sources, or, if they are young, that they simply aren’t all that interested in or concerned about the message right now.

But even with peers and other outside influences hammering away at them, it’s likely that your message is what will stick with them, even if they are not consciously responding to it now. Research shows that parental or caretaker figures are the strongest influence in most children’s lives. So even if they are indifferent, or even hostile, to the message now, they will remember it later on and it will have a strong effect on their opinions later in life.

For now, you might have to put up with the fact that they either don’t care about the message – it’s not affecting them directly at the moment – or that their peers are encouraging them to join in with jokes or teasing about trans and gender-diverse people, which they might go along with regardless of how they feel personally, because it’s really difficult to stand up to peers or be the only one to speak out. Again, as they get older, that will change, particularly because of your early influences.

Now, on to your questions, which I’m sure readers will also have thoughts about and suggestions to make, so I hope we hear from a lot of people. Here are a few of my thoughts:

What are the most important messages do you feel that we should convey to our cis gender children to help them understand their privilege and what it means to be trans?

In my opinion, the most important thing to teach children about being trans is that it is just one way out of many to be. I am not fond of the language that portrays trans people as victims of our circumstances, such as “They can’t help it,” “It’s not their fault,” or “They have no choice.”

Instead, I prefer language that reflects a measure of personal power and control over one’s life – “Some people are born with a gender identity that does not match their physical body, and they sometimes need to make changes to take care of that,” or “There are some people who know who they are, but they don’t see that person when they look in the mirror. In that case, they sometimes make changes so the person they see in the mirror matches the person they really are.”

Of course, what you say depends on the age of the child and the context of the conversation, but no matter what a child’s age, I think it is essential to convey the concept that being trans is not a negative thing, in and of itself. The negativity comes in because of the way trans people are seen and treated by the culture (in Western culture, and in some other cultures as well). And that’s where the non-trans privilege discussion comes in.

Trans people are often denied basic rights, such as the use of public restrooms, because they are trans. They are often fired from jobs or not hired for jobs because they are trans. There is no factual basis for this discrimination. Trans people are not a threat to others in public restrooms, department store dressing rooms, locker rooms, or other facilities. Being trans does not affect a person’s intelligence level, skill level, or ability to do a job. There is no logical reason for this unequal treatment, but yet it continues.

In addition, trans people – primarily trans women, and more specifically, trans women of color – are at high risk for assault and murder. Multiple factors are working here, but misogyny, combined with racism, plays heavily into this phenomenon, and I believe that misogyny is at the root of what we call transphobia.

So with regard to non-trans or cis gender privilege, there are a few things that even young people can comprehend. Being non-trans (or cis gender) means:

> Not having to watch your language when talking about your past to people you have just met – or, depending on your situation, to people you have known for a long time.

> Always hearing the correct name and pronoun when others refer to you.

> Never being asked questions about your genitalia or other parts of your body by casual acquaintances or perfect strangers.

> Using any public restroom without fear that others in the restroom will complain or that you will be asked to produce identification upon entering or exiting – and without fear of assault.

> Feeling confident that you are likely to at least get called for an interview for a job you are highly qualified for, and knowing that your personal appearance will probably not be a deal-breaker before the interview even starts.

> Being able to try on clothes in a store without being questioned.

> Being able to enter any public establishment without being questioned.

> Being able to travel freely, without concern that you will be stopped, searched, or have your documents questioned.

> Being able to go to a doctor, hospital emergency room, or care facility without fear that you will be mistreated or left untreated.

> Not being seen as a fraud, a joke, a freak, “mentally ill,” unstable, a sexual perpetrator, or “confused.”

Of course, many of these apply not just to trans people, and there are many others that I could list, but this is just a start that might help non-trans young people understand that some of the things that many of them take for granted, trans people cannot. By becoming an ally, they can help to change some of these things.

How would you direct these conversations to ensure that they don’t stand out as different than any other subject?

That’s one of the problems with social justice parenting or with advocacy work on behalf of a particular marginalized group – sometimes, the more you focus on that group with your child, the more that group begins to stand out in your child’s mind. By virtue of the focus, that group becomes “different,” “special,” “exotic,” or even elevated to a higher status – “better than” – in your child’s thinking.

I favor an integrated approach to teaching children about all groups. I favor noticing the “teachable moments” and bringing them into your regular conversations whenever you get the chance. For example, President Obama’s appointment of Amanda Simpson to a post in the Commerce Department was huge. As far as I am aware, she is the first openly trans woman to be appointed to a federal government post. When something like this happens, you can point this out to your children and explain why it’s a big deal.

But then you can also do this with Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina and the third female to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States. You point out an occurrence of interest and explain why it is important. (Of course, these are U.S. events – each country or region will have its own important events that will mean something to the children living there.)

You can also refer to negative things in the news – this woman was assaulted because she’s trans, this man lost his job because of the way he dresses, this man was denied entrance into a club because he’s black, this woman couldn’t enter a building because it wasn’t accessible. You can point these things out and explain why they are wrong – or, better yet, ask your children what they think. Let them explore the differences and similarities between these situations, come to their own conclusions, and help them understand how to defend their position.

By making them aware of many important occurrences that involve a variety of people, including trans people, you help them see the things that can happen to people for various reasons, and you help them see why these things are right or wrong, good or bad, with relationship to human rights. That way, the focus isn’t on trans people specifically, but on fairness, equality, and justice for all people.

You will probably always pass on your own biases to your children. But if you are honest with them about that, and you provide them with the critical thinking skills they need to identify those biases, see how they came to have them, and decide how they might work to change them, as well as how to use their privilege in the service of others and for the greater good, then you have done what you can – and you will see, later on, the fantastic human beings that you have helped to create.

Those are just some of my thoughts, and, as always, I await my readers’ comments, suggestions, and ideas.

Shawna Virago isn’t shy. This in-your-face singer and songwriter lets you know just what she’s thinking – about being trans, about being a woman, and about being Objectified. Her first CD is out now, and I hope there will be a second.

As someone whose iTunes collection pretty much came out on vinyl first, I appreciated the ’60s political folk influences on Virago’s album, Objectified, but this isn’t your mother’s (or your grandmother’s) protest music. Virago’s “folk punk” is definitely twenty-first century stuff – and here’s what she has to say about her music and herself:

Matt Kailey: How would you describe yourself and how do you identify?
Shawna Virago: I would describe myself as a songwriter who happens to be a transgender person. I don’t identity with any one particular gender, although I have used terms like trans woman, transsexual and she-male, as well as debutante, bitch, femme and the-girl-next-door. I’m proud to be transgender. Life would be so boring if I wasn’t.

MK: How would you describe your music and who are your influences? I definitely see some good ol’ ’60s folk/protest music influences, in both the lyrics and the musical style, but it might just be my age.
SV: I would describe my music as folk punk with a touch of Americana. I listen to a lot of country music and roots music and music that comes from swamps. I have also been influenced by political songwriters, such as Woody Guthrie, Billy Bragg, John Doe and Exene Cervenka and Joe Strummer.

MK: Is Objectified your first major CD? Please describe your musical history – when and how you first got interested in music, singing/songwriting, etc.?
SV: Objectified is my first solo CD. I’ve been in many bands over the years, each one of them quite raunchy. Playing guitar and writing songs is something I’ve wanted to do since I was young and I’ve been playing guitar for over twenty-five years.

MK: The title track is significant, because trans people are often objectified, and, at least for me, it can be interpreted in a couple of ways – as a sarcastic attack on being objectified, either as a woman, a trans woman, or both, or as an in-your-face response to those who might criticize you for putting yourself out there as a trans woman and a sexy and sexual being. Am I close, or is it something else entirely?
SV: I think you’re right on the mark! The song “Objectified” is about dealing with many contradictory pressures of being a trans or cisgendered woman. We want to abolish the patriarchy but look our best while we do it. Every month in this country there are about 500 “women’s” magazines put out, and every month they have the exact same stories as the preceding month: how to lose weight, how to improve you abs, improve your ass, how to lose more weight. It’s a recipe for self-hatred. So the song is fueled by that.

MK: “Johnny Law” is about police harassment, including sexual harassment (a similar reference also appears in the song “Meat”). Have you experienced police harassment as a trans woman? What was the impetus for this song?
SV: Yes, I have experienced police harassment and so have many friends of mine, and I wrote this song for us. I’m shocked when I meet trans women who haven’t been hassled by cops.

MK: “Transsexual Dominatrix” could be seen as a song of power, or at least reclaiming power that has been taken away by society because of being trans. It could also be seen as a song of frustration at the extreme lack of power and privilege that trans people, and particularly trans women, experience in our culture. Can you talk a little about this song and what it means for you?
SV: “Transsexual Dominatrix” started off as a song that wanted to look at male supremacy and the saucy and serious strategies for dismantling it. I think wearing lots of leather and having an arsenal of toys is one way of doing it. As I kept writing it, I was channeling many people’s experiences, both mine and several friends, about our economic survival doing under-the-table jobs or alternative-economy work of various kinds. I feel very empowered when I sing it.

MK: What is your favorite song off this album and why?
SV: I don’t have a favorite, but I am proud of the album. I really wanted to write a collection of songs about the various political and cultural forces arrayed against trans people and I wanted the songs to convey the anger that I feel about it. I think I did that, hopefully with some humor, too. I think that’s why I have so many non-trans and straight fans, too – they connect with the songs, too.

MK: You are definitely an in-your-face artist. Your lyrics and style reflect both anger and pride, and many songs seem to be a response to being beaten down, but also reflect a refusal to be beaten down. How do listeners/audiences respond to your music? I’m also curious if there is a difference between responses from trans and non-trans listeners.
SV: I have experienced a wide array of responses to my music. I would say people who love lyric-based songwriting, regardless of being trans or not, respond very well to my music. I think music really does break down barriers between people better than any other art. Music is like catnip to humans – it just gives a quick jolt of euphoria.

MK: In “Transsexual Dominatrix” and also in the liner notes on your CD, you use the term “tranny.” In the liner notes, you say “Special thanks to the Almighty for making me a tranny.” You are obviously aware of the current controversy over this term, with some saying that it shouldn’t be used, even by members of the community. Obviously, you don’t agree. What are your thoughts on this?
SV: I will respect however anyone wants to identify their gender expression. We have 6 billion people on this planet and we could have at least that many different gender expressions. I believe dismantling the gender binary is important so we can create more space for people to express gender. Context is very important with language. For example the word “cock-sucker” is commonly used as a hate term in our homophobic culture. Yet, “cock-sucker” can be a term of pride and I’ve used it that way many times.

MK: What are you working on now, and what are your plans for both your short- and long-term future?
SV: I’m a lifetime musician, so my short-term and long-term plans are to keep playing music. I’m writing songs for my  next album right now and would love to get in the studio later this year if I can get the money together. Also, I’ll be performing in trans choreographer Sean Dorsey’s amazing new show, The Secret History of Love. We’ll be touring that show to Boston, Miami, Chicago, a couple towns in Wisconsin and other inviting locales.

MK: What else would you like to say?
SV: Thanks a lot, Matt, for this great interview! People can check out my website, shawnavirago.com and I hope to be touring throughout 2012. So I’d welcome folks from festivals, clubs or universities contacting me!

(Photo of Shawna Virago by Lydia Daniller)

A reader writes: “I’m a trans woman. Recently I have wondered why there seems to be a much greater percentage of trans women who seek relationships with women than trans men who seek relationships with other men.

“Stephen Ira’s (Warren Beatty and Annette Bening’s son) story of having a boyfriend started me thinking. He is the only trans guy who I ever heard of having a boyfriend. The couple of trans men I know would never consider a relationship with a male.

“Now I know I can get into a basic male-bashing rant, but could there be other factors I’m missing? Any ideas?”

Sexual orientation is a slippery little slope, and few know that better than members of the trans community. Certain estimates say that the percentage of gay- or lesbian-identified trans people mirrors that of the larger non-trans population, and depending on which studies you read, people with a same-sex sexual orientation make up anywhere from 3 to 10 percent of the general population (I’m talking U.S. research figures here).

I happen to think that the percentages are substantially higher, both for non-trans and for trans people, and I think the percentage of bisexual people is even higher – or would be, if our (U.S.) culture allowed us to follow our attractions wherever they led without stigma or repercussions.

In my experience, I have not seen that more trans women are attracted to women (trans or non-trans) than trans guys are attracted to men (trans or non-trans). I am aware of quite a few trans guys who consider themselves to be gay or bisexual (and I also know quite a few who have other, broader labels for their sexuality). My own estimation, from personal experience but with absolutely no scientific data to back it up, runs at about 30 percent with regard to non-heterosexual orientation.

But let’s say that it’s true that more trans women are attracted to women than trans men are attracted to men. If it is true, here are a few possible explanations for such a phenomenon:

> There is a huge stigma in U.S. culture (and many other cultures as well) with regard to same-sex attractions, and that stigma is greater for men than it is for women. Therefore, more trans women might feel comfortable publicly admitting and following through with their attraction to other women, whereas trans men might be more hesitant to follow through with their attraction to other men, particularly if they have bought into the traditional notion that “real men” don’t have sex with or fall in love with other men. I think this is true of non-trans women and non-trans men as well.

> Many trans women, particularly from my generation, were legally married to women prior to coming out and transitioning. While transition can certainly end a marriage, in many cases it doesn’t – particularly if the non-trans spouse is female.

What I’m going to say now is a generalization and certainly does not hold true for every woman or every man, but research has shown that women (in general) tend to be less concerned about the physical aspects of a relationship than they are about the emotional aspects, and they tend to prize emotional closeness, commitment, and partnership above other characteristics of the relationship.

While men also value these characteristics, they tend (in general) to have a stronger focus on the physical, which makes them more likely to leave a relationship if major physical changes take place in the spouse (such as a spouse who formerly appeared female now appearing male). In addition, the fear of being perceived as a gay man can cause the relationship to disrupt if a female spouse transitions.

So, long story longer, non-trans women in what they perceived as a heterosexual marriage are more likely to stay with a transitioning spouse than non-trans men are, resulting in the appearance of more trans women being with women (their wives) than trans men being with men (their husbands – or, by now, their former husbands).

Again, I believe that this tends to be a characteristic of a certain age group or generation, and is found more frequently in couples in their thirties or forties and beyond. I also think that, had these marriages ended, some of these trans women might have pursued male partners after transition, but because the marriage endured, they preferred to stay with their wife.

> Also, because of the (generalized-but-backed-by-some-research) concept that women tend to place more focus on the emotional, rather than the physical, aspects of a relationship, trans women may find more acceptance, closeness, and emotional connection among women than they do among men, while testosterone, by dramatically increasing sex drive in many trans men, results in a broader scale of sexual attraction in some guys.

Using testosterone might result in some guys finding both men and women attractive, but since women (in general) care less about physical aspects, such as genitalia, and gay men (in general) do care about such aspects, guys who could “go either way” might have more luck finding female partners.

Although I consider myself “gay” for most intents and purposes, I found that an unexpected byproduct of testosterone was a new appreciation of the attractiveness of women, both sexually and otherwise. (Note: this does not mean that hormones can change sexual orientation – they might alter attractions, but giving hormones to gay men and lesbians will not make them straight. Sexual orientation is complex, and any trans person’s experience with shifting attractions should not be generalized to a non-trans population.)

Now, with all that said, it is important to keep several things in mind:

> It has not been my experience that more trans women are attracted to women than trans men are attracted to men.

> I actually know tons (there’s a scientific figure for you) of gay trans men, and I know quite a few who are in long-term relationships with other gay men (trans or non-trans). I also know a lot of trans women who are interested in men and are in long-term relationships with men.

> In many cases, younger people (and some older people) are defining their sexual orientation far more broadly than in the past, so not only do the traditional labels for sexual orientation not apply to them, but the traditional definitions of male and female and man and woman do not apply to them, either, and all of this stuff pretty much goes out the proverbial window.

> I am not a trans woman, so anything I say about trans women is utter speculation – which is why I rely on my women readers both to fill in the gaps and to tell me when I’m full of it. And since I can’t represent all trans men (I can only represent myself), I hope the guys will have plenty to say as well.

So now let’s hear from my “better half” – my readers. Take it away!

The “just like you” argument is about as old as time, dirt, and me. It probably emerged with the first person to be marginalized by a group in power, and there was likely enough of a difference between this person and that group that the group was able to justify shutting him or her out.

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.

Whoever set up this “you” idea was no doubt looking at statistical data that was skewed by self-report (people will lie to survey-takers to make themselves look good) and researcher bias (because even researchers want to be “just like you”).

But even though we now know what the collective “you” is really like (and it ain’t so pretty, and that includes the Kardashians), when I do decide to take my “just like you” position, I have some solid facts to back it up.

I’m “just like you” because:

> I eat, drink, sleep, breathe, digest food, and carry out other biological functions that are common to our species.

> I work, vote, pay taxes, and carry out other cultural functions that are common to our species.

> I feel, worry, care, love my family, and carry out other emotional functions that are common to our species.

> I wear clothing, maintain good personal hygiene, have several means of communication, follow generally accepted standards of public behavior, and carry out other social functions that are common to our species.

On the other hand, I’m not “just like you” because:

> I’m trans.

And you’re not “just like me” because:

> you’re not.

And while I’ll probably continue to use the “just like you” argument when it makes sense to do so, the more I see of the collective “you,” the less inclined I am to take ownership of it. That doesn’t make me unequal. It just makes me discerning.

Readers, what do you think of the “just like you” argument? Is it accurate for you?

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.

Although we claim to have a separation of church and state, much of our government policy is based on this vague concept of “morality.” And, of course, private enterprise can do what it wants, but this code of “morality” lingers beneath many of the decisions private companies make, and those decisions are not questioned or protested by the public, because the public is steeped in this concept of what is acceptable – what garners our “approval” – and what is not.

Therefore, while most people would make a stink about a young mother with cancer being denied an expensive, yet successful, treatment by her insurance company (because it would be seen as immoral – just inherently wrong – to deny her this treatment simply because of cost), these same people would not rally to the defense of a trans person needing expensive (yet successful) treatments for transition, because of the question of “morality” – god doesn’t make mistakes, changing your body is wrong, you have a mental illness, not a medical illness, and so on. So insurance companies have little problem getting away with denying these medically necessary procedures.

It is my opinion that a capitalist economic system constructed on top of a series of “moral principles” that cause particular squeamishness when it comes to anything regarding the body results in these (and other) generally accepted insurance policy exclusions.

I think that insurance companies will eventually be forced to add this coverage, but they will not go quietly. Here are a few factors that I think are causing some progress to be made and that have implications for the future:

> The U.S. Tax Court’s decision in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which designates transition surgeries and other procedures as legitimate medical expenses.

> The Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, which has continued to expand its requirements regarding treatment of trans people in order for a company to receive a high or perfect score. Although HRC has never been a popular organization with the trans community, for a host of legitimate reasons, it is a powerful organization, and many businesses covet a high rating on the CEI. I’m not a fan of HRC, but I’m not going to deny the influence that the CEI has had on corporations offering benefits to trans people, including insurance benefits that cover transition procedures.

> The visibility of trans people in the workplace, which has allowed employers to see that we’re out there and that we are valuable employees that they not only want to retain after transition, but that they actually want to recruit. And the way to both retain good employees and to recruit others is to offer benefits that will attract them.

> The visibility of trans people on Capitol Hill, which has allowed Congress to see us as intelligent, productive, and voting members of society. Although the government has lagged behind big business in recognizing the importance of equal rights and protections for trans people, our presence is absolutely necessary to continue any forward momentum and to avoid slipping backwards. There are varied opinions of the National Center for Transgender Equality within the community, but it is the most powerful and visible trans organization on Capitol Hill.

With regard to Medicaid, my understanding (and I hope readers will correct me if I’m wrong and add what they know) is that it is a jointly funded state and federal program administered by the states, and each state government has the power to decide what Medicaid will pay for in that state.

My understanding is that Medicaid coverage of transition medications and procedures varies from state to state and is often considered on a case-by-case basis. I think that, historically, Medicaid has covered only a handful of transition-related surgeries, so I don’t think Medicaid is the answer – at least not now.

So how do guys pay for their surgery? Many do not. Even today, the majority of guys in the United States do not have genital surgery, although I think the numbers are increasing. One of the primary obstacles is cost. Most guys simply do not have the money and have no way to get it.

A few do work in a setting where insurance covers this surgery. Some have metoidioplasty, with or without testicle construction, which is substantially less expensive than phalloplasty. Some work three jobs to save the money. Some take out a second mortgage (or a third). Some take out loans or borrow from family and go into long-term debt. Some sell their possessions. It just depends on what means (if any) they might have to get the funds.

But again, the reality is that most guys don’t have surgery, and it’s not all a matter of cost. Some guys have health concerns that prevent the surgery, others don’t want to go through the pain, risk, and possible complications, and some just don’t care.

But what the public, the government, and the health insurance companies need to understand is that, for those trans men and women who require genital surgery, or any other type of transition-related surgery, it is a medical necessity and, like any other medical necessity, should be covered by insurance.

Readers – thoughts and information?

Last year, I wrote a guest post for the excellent blog Womanist Musings called “Leave the Kids Out of It,” about a brouhaha over gendered Halloween costumes. Now we’ve got another situation where kids are being dragged into adult morality wars.

The Girl Scout Cookie boycott, organized to protest the admission of a trans girl to a Colorado troop, was allegedly conceived by a fourteen-year-old girl, but my guess is that she’s getting her faulty information from somewhere above (and I don’t mean heaven – I mean an adult).

Although I believe that the Colorado girl eventually decided not to join the Scouts (who can blame her after all the negative publicity – she’s seven years old!), the morality police are not going to let the situation rest. They are calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies this year because, unlike the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts organization wants every child to have a chance to participate in scouting.

I have always had mixed feelings about boycotts. In many cases, they hurt the very people who they’re trying to help. Boycotting an entire state over an anti-LGBT or anti-immigration law hurts LGBT business owners or the immigrants in that state who are struggling to make a living. But boycotts do work, and sometimes they lead to very successful outcomes for those who were wronged.

In this case, however, the boycott involves more than just a multimillion-dollar organization receiving some kind of “message” from the morality police. It involves little children who were not involved in the Colorado troop’s decision (which was the right one, by the way). It involves little children who approach their friends and neighbors, or who set up shop outside of grocery stores, or who send their mom or dad to work with an order sheet and then thrill to the long list of purchasers at the end of the day.

It involves little children who are trying to have fun, learn something, and do something good for themselves and their community. It makes me sick to think of the disappointed faces on these little girls when they are turned away by adults who should know better than to fight their moral battles using innocent kids. The “collateral damage” in this morality war is heartbreaking.

Boycotters: you might or might not hurt the Girl Scouts organization by refusing to buy cookies this year – but you will hurt some little kids who have done nothing to you and who don’t yet understand your misdirected hate. I hope those of us who care more about children than about some invented moral crisis more than make up for the lost revenue of your boycott. I haven’t bought Girl Scout cookies in years, but this year, I plan to buy as many boxes as I can afford.

I’m not going to walk past the children in front of the grocery store. I’m not going to turn away little girls who ask me to buy cookies. If I have to sacrifice my grocery bill to help right this horrible wrong that you boycotters are inflicting on these children, then I will eat nothing but Girl Scout cookies for a month.

And to those parents who forbid their daughters to sell cookies this year as part of the boycott, shame on you! Why would you punish your daughter for something that she had no part in and probably doesn’t even understand?

Adults, fight your own battles! Stop using the kids to fight them for you. You want to talk about morality? Drafting children as soldiers in your morality wars is the most immoral thing of all.

Readers, I encourage you to buy Girl Scout cookies if you can. Even one box makes up for one box the boycotters don’t buy. And let me (a former Brownie and Girl Scout) know your thoughts.

Buck Angel talks about the Girl Scout cookie boycott on YouTube:

A reader writes: “I’m a gay trans man about four months on T, and I’m making plans to schedule top surgery soon. Although my overall gender identity is pretty much binarily male, my sexual identity seems more dual-gender, in that when I’m feeling aroused, nipple stimulation and visualizing myself with a mixture of both male and female physical features really turns me on – including the fact that I have breasts. This tendency to sexually fetishize my breasts has gotten stronger since starting T.

“Since I identify overall as male, a muscular, masculine-looking chest is something I really want, and I don’t think I’d be satisfied with just a reduction. I’m finding top surgery to be much more difficult to follow through with, though, because I’m worried that part of me may regret removing my breasts, even if it’s only when I’m aroused. I feel prepared to accept that possibility, which is why I intend to go through with it. I just have no idea if I will still have a desire to fetishize my chest post top surgery, and if so, I have no idea if I will still feel able to any more, especially if I lose all sensation in my nipples.

“I was hoping you might have some advice to offer me, and I’d like to ask about if and how you resolved your own sexual identity with your gender identity. Did you have any regrets after starting T or after your top surgery? Do you think it’s okay to feel like you’re sacrificing something to get something else you want more? Or does having even a little bit of regret usually come back to haunt you?”

Testosterone is an amazing and completely discombobulating hormone. I believe what you are experiencing is more common among trans guys than you might think. It’s just that, if it happens, most guys won’t talk about it.

What’s happening, as you know, is a change in sexual arousal – both in strength and in type. When I started testosterone, not only did my sex drive expand to fill all available space (scientists are puzzling over all that dark energy out there in the universe, but I can tell them what it is – my sex drive), but it also changed.

In addition to the increased response to visual stimuli (which I was not expecting) came an increased response to seeing boobs (also unexpected). That doesn’t mean my sexual orientation changed. It just means that hormones can affect sexual attraction and may alter or enhance it. I didn’t have the same feeling about my own boobs that you do, but your experience does not surprise me.

I can’t tell you whether or not you should have chest surgery, and I can’t tell you whether or not you will regret your decision (regardless of what decision you make). But I can give you some things to consider as you are struggling with this dilemma:

> As you know, testosterone dramatically increases sex drive in most people who are exposed to certain quantities of it. For most trans men, this levels off after the first couple of years – it recedes into the background. You get used to it. So the intense (and probably frequent) sexual arousal that you are currently experiencing after four months on T should lessen, which could (but maybe not) result in less intense feelings about your own breasts.

> Chest reconstruction is an extensive surgery, and it can result in reduced sensation or complete loss of sensation in the nipple area. Some guys have no problems, and other guys have no sensation. I think that there are some ways to reduce the risk (by not having nipple reconstruction, for example, which many guys have in order to reduce large nipple size), but as with any type of surgery, there are no guarantees.

You should discuss this with your surgeon well in advance of your surgery and see what his or her thoughts are on this. You don’t have to tell your surgeon about your detailed concerns. Most surgeons are aware that we would like to retain nipple sensation if possible.

> When we are sexually aroused (men, women, trans, non-trans), we think, and sometimes do, things that we wouldn’t otherwise do. Sexual arousal, when it’s happening, can be all-consuming. That’s what nature had in mind when constructing a way to maintain the existence of any particular species.

When we are on the horns of horniness, we are not always logical, rational beings. We are responding reflexively. This is why we can have unusual, bizarre, or even inappropriate fantasies that make us crazed with lust at the moment, but that we would never act on or that would not interest us when we are not in a sexually aroused state. Once the immediate sexual need is satisfied, the object of arousal generally takes a back seat to the rest of our life.

So it’s possible that you will experience periods of regret during sexual arousal if you no longer have your breasts and/or if you no longer have sensation in your nipples. You will need to weigh that against your desire to have a male chest, and if you’re having any doubts, you might consider rescheduling your surgery for a later date. This will give you more time to really think about it and to see if your feelings change the longer you have been on T and the more you are able to adjust to your increased sex drive.

Now, to briefly answer your questions:

I’d like to ask about if and how you resolved your own sexual identity with your gender identity.

I started out calling myself a gay man. Then I moved to calling myself a gay trans man, because gay men were constantly on my back (not literally, unfortunately) about me calling myself a gay man. When I realized that I found some women hot, I occasionally called myself bisexual. Then I started calling myself queer in order to cover all my bases, because I found a variety of people attractive, including those who did not necessarily fit into the gender binary. Now I call myself gay when I see a hot guy, bisexual when I see a hot woman, and queer when I see a hot person of indeterminate gender. I don’t know if I have resolved anything that way, but it allows me to ogle just about everyone.

I don’t think you should worry about a resolution right now. Don’t get caught up in labels or what “should” or “shouldn’t” exist in a binary gender system. You are in the middle of a transition. Things will continue to change, and resolution will come about in its own time. That’s the positive and negative of a transition – you are in a gray area, which is tough, but you are also in the process of developing an authentic self that, in many ways, you have the power to craft to your liking, once you figure out what that liking is.

Did you have any regrets after starting T or after your top surgery?

No. But even fourteen years later, I sometimes experience what I call “wistfulness,” which I see as a similar, but much milder, feeling than regret. I remember things about my femalehood fondly – I had great breasts (of course, I had implants), I had a great wardrobe (I think women’s clothes are more attractive than men’s), I sometimes miss certain types of jewelry or shoes … things like that.

The majority of trans guys I have spoken to do not have regrets, nor do they have “wistfulness.” Either way, I did not have the same doubts going in as you do with regard to my top surgery, so my lack of regret does not signal the same for you.

Do you think it’s okay to feel like you’re sacrificing something to get something else you want more?

I think we sacrifice something to get something we want more almost every day of our life in one area or another. Any time that you have to make a choice between two desirable outcomes, you are making a sacrifice, and people (trans or not) do that all the time. Trans people are often forced into these types of sacrifices, because they must sacrifice their job, partner, friends, or safety in order to live authentically. I think sacrificing one thing to get another is a pretty standard part of being human.

That said, I am a cautious person when it comes to making a decision that will affect me for the rest of my life. There are people who say, “You will never be 100 percent sure, so you just have to jump in and do it,” whatever it is. I agree with jumping in head first in many situations, but I also think that if a person is truly agonizing over a decision that can be delayed with no ill effects, sometimes (not always) the best course might be to give it more thought.

Or does having even a little bit of regret usually come back to haunt you?

Sometimes things come back to haunt us even if we were 100 percent sure at the time we did them. So again, there are no guarantees, and doubt and fear can sometimes keep you locked in place when you need to move forward.

However, the thing about chest surgery is that you can have it any time – next month, next year, or five years from now. But once you’ve had it, it’s done. You can get implants, but it will not be the same and could result in even further sensation loss. There are plenty of men out there with breasts, and you might end up being one of them.

My final thought is to discuss this with your therapist (everything you’ve told me) and with your surgeon (regarding the risk of lost sensation). I suspect that when you have been on T longer and have adjusted to the sex-drive thing, your sexual attachment to your breasts will diminish, but I can’t guarantee it. You need to get as much information as you can, do as much soul-searching as you can, and make the best decision you can based on the information you have at hand.

I know my readers, both men and women, will have more thoughts and experiences on this that will be helpful, so I turn it over to them.

In 2003, photographer Jana Marcus started photographing and interviewing trans people for a small photo exhibit. She didn’t know at the time that the exhibit would grow into a major project, Transfigurations, that would travel to galleries around the country for several years and receive prestigious awards and universal praise.

Transfigurations has recently been released as an elegant softcover book that is destined to be in every trans person’s collection (and on his or her coffee table, as well). With a foreword by renowned trans activist Jamison Green and over 100 pages of photographs and bios of trans men and women, Transfigurations presents the true diversity and varied experiences of the trans community.

Matt Kailey: Transfigurations, which is an absolutely beautiful book depicting a diverse cross-section of the trans community, was originally an award-winning gallery exhibit. Can you explain how the whole project got started and why you decided to take on this project?
Jana Marcus: I’m a documentary photographer, which for me means I enjoy telling stories through images and words. I’ve always been drawn to subjects I don’t understand, and try to discover answers through the camera.

Transfigurations started when I went to graduate school in 2003 and had the opportunity to spend three years creating personal work, which is a huge luxury for any artist, especially for me, who had been working as a commercial photographer for years. Around the time I started grad school, I had rented a room in my home to a young man who was studying at the local university. After six months, he shared with me that he had been a woman five years earlier, and told me about his transition process. I was amazed.

I didn’t know any transgender people at the time and certainly had no idea women could become men. His story stayed of great interest to me, so as I was deciding what my thesis in grad school would be, I decided to photographically investigate who trans men were and their thought processes around what influenced their concepts of masculinity. The original work was twenty pieces titled The Making of a Man. After grad school, I took six months to photograph trans women and their concepts of femininity. I then repackaged the entire work, of both trans men and women, and that became the exhibit Transfigurations.

MK: How did you round up the participants, and was it difficult to find people who wanted to be photographed?
JM: In the beginning, I didn’t know any trans people. My housemate had moved on to another university, so I started to attend local support group meetings for trans people and asked if anyone would be interested in being photographed for my project. They all thought I was nuts and gave me the cold shoulder! What I soon realized was that the folks in the support group meetings were involved in a complex process of discovering who they were. I was searching for the voice of people who had already been through the physical and mental process and were able to talk about it with perspective.

My partner remembered she knew someone who had transitioned, so several phone calls later, Stu agreed to come to the studio and be photographed and interviewed. He thought I was “cool,” so he told some of his friends, and then the word spread like wildfire about the project. It took about six months to get rolling, but once it did, I had more people willing to participate than I could actually photograph and interview with the given time period to create the work.

To this day, having photographed over a hundred trans men and women, I’m still amazed at the courage and willingness of every one of my subjects for coming forward, being out, and giving a voice to the trans community – spreading trans awareness through this work. It’s been an incredibly moving experience for both myself as an artist, and for the people in the work.

MK: In what ways did this project change you, if at all?
JM: I became very aware of the gender boxes we are all put in, in this culture, something I hadn’t really thought about before. I also came to understand how gender expression in many ways is a performance. Every day I perform my gender based on the choices I make – the clothes I put on, etc. Mostly, this entire experience has been incredibly humbling to me, and I’m very grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to bring the transgender story to the mass public.

MK: What were the responses that you saw when people viewed the gallery exhibit? What effects did the exhibit have on non-trans people who might not have had a lot of exposure to trans people? What were the responses of trans people viewing the exhibit?
JM: As an artist, we often create in a vacuum, unaware of how our work will be taken by the public once it is out there in public view. I was very clear about my intentions of representing trans people in a non-sensational way. For lack of a better word, I really wanted to “normalize” them to the mass public – to show that they are no different from anyone else, they’ve just had a much harder time getting to a place of feeling comfortable with themselves. The work on the whole is really about being men and women – about gender identity – which everyone can relate to, no matter where they may fall on the gender spectrum.

The response to the first gallery exhibit, at San Jose State University, blew me away. About 100 people came to the opening, and everyone was crying as they slowly went through the exhibit, looking at the images and reading the words of the subjects they were looking at. Attendees were incredible moved. A mother of a transgender child came up to me and said, “Thank you for doing this work. It lets me know that my child can grow up and have a good life.”

At the same opening, a middle-aged, straight, white male came up to me and said, “I didn’t know anything about transgender people before seeing this work, and I’ve learned something new – but mostly the work has made me think about the kind of man I am projecting out into the world.”

The trans community has really rallied around this work and supported it wholeheartedly, feeling that it is one of the only fair representations out there of who they are and their journeys of becoming whole.

So you can see the work has moved many people from all walks of life, which has been incredibly rewarding for me as a documentarian and as a person. I think the universal appeal of what it means to be men and women in our culture is one of the facets that has made this work so popular. My goal in my work has always been to start the wheels of social change into motion. I’m very proud of Transfigurations and how it has helped so many people.

MK: The gallery exhibit won several awards and traveled around the country for several years before it was turned into a book. Did you know when you started that it would eventually be a book? How did that come about, and how has the response been to the book?
JM: When I started the work, I had no idea it would be as popular as it has been for the last six years. Having published before, I took this to my agent in New York, but he refused to rep it to publishers because he told me he had personal issues with trans people. Without an agent, I couldn’t get in front of publishers, and I found myself stuck. Several university professors wanted to use the work as a textbook in their sociology/gender studies classes. So last year I decided to look into self-publishing. This gave me the opportunity to produce a book of the highest quality duotones, but it was very expensive.

A friend recommended I try kickstarter.com, a website that puts artists together with donors, and we raised $13,000 in ten days! The trans community really rallied around the book and together we raised the $20,000 to produce the book. That was an amazing time! So we raised the money, and the book designer, Mark Ong, and I produced the book within two months and sent it to press overseas. It officially came out in October 2011. The response has been stupendous.

MK: Please give us a little of your personal background. How did you first get interested in photography, who were your influences, and how did you develop as a photographer?
JM: Since I was young, I have had this unquenching desire to document things. I love images. I love trying to capture something in a single frame that moves someone else. I moved to New York after high school and apprenticed with a few fashion photographers before going to art school at the School of Visual Arts. Early on, I realized I want to say something about the world around me in my work and immediately ditched the idea of becoming a fashion photographer for more journalistic endeavors.

But the fashion influences have definitely stayed with me. Fashion photogs are doing some of the most cutting edge photography out there. My greatest influences have been the Hollywood glamour photographers of the ’30s and ’40s, like George Hurell – rich black-and-white images with stunning lighting. You can definitely see that influence in Transfigurations.

I’ve enjoyed a nice career as a commercial photographer, specializing in performing arts, magazine editorial, and portraiture work – hey, we all have to make a living – but documentary work is really where my heart is. In undergrad, I studied sociology/community Studies at UC Santa Cruz and got my MFA in photography from San Jose State University. I recently was awarded Community Activist of the Year by the Bay Area Elections Committee for the book.

MK: What is your next project, or what are you currently working on?
JM: I’m currently writing a novel – but I’m thinking about Transfigurations: Ten Years Later and photographing everyone in the book ten years after the fact. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

MK: What else would you like to say?
JM: I see myself as a storyteller, a conduit in many ways, to bringing stories to the public in the hopes of breaking down stereotypes and bringing about awareness, to start the wheels of social change, to use the power of the still image to inform and bring understanding to issues – to be a voice for those who don’t have a voice of their own.

In my industry, we believe images can change the world. That may be naïve, but we are all aware that since the beginning of photography, images have provoked reactions in people, and those reactions have caused change to happen. This is because photographs are more than just a visual record – they engage your compassion, becoming a springboard for interpretation and debate and hopefully delve into life’s deeper meanings.

Transfigurations captures a moment in the life of each of the people in it, and these images are a powerful statements of what is and what can be. My goal with Transfigurations has been to put a human face on the transgender community. I wanted to make people care about this community as much as I have come to care about it.

This book is about hope – hope for awareness and understanding in the mainstream culture, and hope for every single person in the world who is trans or thinking about transitioning, that the journey is doable and can happen – and, as Dan Savage would put it, it does “get better.” In the end, the work is about being a human being and celebrating the human spirit.

Get more information or purchase Transfigurations through 7 Angels Press or amazon.com. Photo slideshow below of Jana Marcus (color photo) and images from Transfigurations.

A reader writes: “I am a trans woman who transitioned at a young age. During this time, and for years after, I was pretty much unemployable, becoming stuck in a legal twilight where I didn’t have enough money to complete SRS and thus obtain full legal recognition as female, and due to other circumstances, retaining a male name that I couldn’t legally change. So between the ages of 17 and 30, I had next to zero legal work history and often relied on others for financial support.

“Foolishly, I failed to educate myself about the necessity to file income taxes each year, since most of my income was through the support of others. Needless to say I didn’t keep good financial records and I never once submitted my taxes.

“I finally started getting my life together, changed my name legally, and for the first time was able to find and keep legal work to support myself. I was thrilled except for one thing. I was terrified to begin submitting my taxes for the first time as I had no way to explain the twelve-year delay. Even some years later, I still haven’t worked up the courage to submit income taxes yet. What’s changed is that I really now do have a trackable source of income for the last few years and I have legal documents backing up my female identity. But I’m still terrified. Everybody speaks of failing to file taxes as a one-way ticket to prison.

“I know you aren’t an attorney and not qualified to give legal advice, but I don’t even know how to bring this up or where else to bring this up.”

I’m definitely not an attorney and not qualified to give legal or tax advice (I know you said it, but I felt the need to repeat it – you can never have too many disclaimers). Any information that I present here can be found on the IRS website or on the Internet by doing a search for tax attorneys. I will tell you what I know and hope that readers who are experts or have more experience than I do will fill in the particulars.

You are probably not alone as far as your situation. We all know what the employment scene is like for trans people out there, and I’m sure that there are many who are receiving financial help from family and friends or are receiving cash gifts or payments in exchange for various services. Many people do not file tax returns based on this income.

However, according to the IRS website, the IRS considers all income as taxable (including illegally earned income), so people should be filing taxes on any income (money in exchange for goods or services) that they receive. However, gifts, including cash, given by family members, friends, and acquaintances are generally not considered income and are free from tax up to $13,000 (currently).

But the most important thing is that you are currently working, your employer is taking taxes out of your paycheck, and your employer is also reporting this employment status to the IRS every year. The IRS expects employer and employee tax reports to match up. When they don’t, that sends up a red flag, and when you file your first return after having worked for a period of years and not filing, that will send up another red flag, and they might be contacting you.

I can’t promise you that you won’t go to jail, but I don’t think that the IRS is all that interested in sending people there – particularly average taxpayers who make mistakes or don’t understand the system. They would rather get their money than go to court, and they will work with almost anyone who is willing to work with them.

You will likely have tax, interest, and penalties from any back taxes that might be owed since the time you started your job. You will probably also have penalties for failing to file for the years that you have been employed. If you were due any refunds, you might not be able to get them now. You might have to file certain special forms and request a payment plan (which many people do). All of this can be handled by a reputable tax attorney or tax preparer, and I would strongly advise that you, or anyone else in this situation, consult one.

I realize that being trans makes this more difficult. In most cases, you will probably have to come out to this person, because the IRS might have you on file with both your old and new name, or your old name could come up in some other way. I’m not sure how they keep those records.

But you might want to consult with your local LGBT center, if you have one nearby, or look for tax attorneys and tax preparers that advertise to the LGBT community. There are also trans tax attorneys and tax preparers. Some of them might promote themselves as such, and some might not, but you could do a search and see who’s out there.

Money might be a barrier for you, and in that case, you might want to see if there are any free or sliding-scale legal services available. Some LGBT or gender centers might have professionals who work with them on a volunteer basis or at a reduced cost for the community. The most important thing is that you start looking and that you plan to file your taxes this year. The longer you wait, the more penalties will accrue and the heavier this will weigh on your mind.

For those who have recently changed their name, you do need to notify the Social Security Administration of this name change. The name on your tax return and the name the SSA has for you need to match. Once you’ve notified the SSA of your name change, you should have no problem filing your taxes under your new name.

In addition, if you have had transition-related medical care in 2011 (and possibly in 2009 and 2010), including hormone therapy and some surgeries, these should be deductible as medical expenses, thanks to the U.S. Tax Court’s ruling in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Of course, as with any deductions, there are many factors involved that you should discuss with your tax preparer. The National Center for Transgender Equality has an IRS Fact Sheet (click on the Federal Issues tab and scroll down to Federal Taxes and Transgender People) that can provide direction in this area.

Remember, tax time is upon us. Don’t let your trans status keep you from filing. You might even get a refund!

Readers, what do you know or what experiences have you had?