I am a transgender man in Tennessee, not a political pawn

This upcoming legislative session leaves a knot in my stomach as a transgender man whose life was saved by gender-affirming care.

Here’s why:

First, the apparent risk of losing access to care for those who do have support around them.

Second, the apparent risk of doom for those who don’t.

The first can lead us to make this conversation an argument of science. The science points in the direction of not only keeping gender-affirming care but continuing to fund it to create better and more safely accessible practices.

The second is much more important but disregarded because it is not seen as having a direct effect.

Many transgender kids, including myself, had to hold on to the idea that once they turned 18, they just may be able to get care in order to survive 18.

Statistically, you will see that over 50% of transgender males will attempt suicide as teenagers, and 30% of transgender girls.

Having support does not lead to suicide, being alone and afraid does.

Transgender youth face great struggles

However, often this state makes arguing for gender-affirming care access feel like the long-whirling arguments against cigarettes.

It used to argue that the science wasn’t concrete enough (despite mounds of evidence) and ignored secondary effects to keep business as usual. As long as there is profit in the conversation, there is a disregard for who is actively being hurt.

For those on the opposing side reading this, you may notice yourself angered and saying, “Yes, those poor kids who are being irreversibly damaged.”

The irreversible damage does not come from receiving medical care that respects your identity; it is from the daily punches from news outlets, politicians, and neighbors saying they are trying to protect you by profiting off of a message that directly works against you.

It is from the growing pain of knowing that if you just weren’t transgender, maybe your family would love you. It is from job rejection after job rejection due to embracing your identity.

It is from having a 20%-40% chance of being homeless before the age of 21 (UCLA Law). It’s from having to miss class because your teacher and classmates are actively bullying or disrespecting you (GLSEN 2019).

Surgery is not common and requires team intervention

Gender-affirming care has been made into a political game. It is a short-sighted game that once it’s over, won’t have saved anyone but ruined many lives.

We can acknowledge that gender-affirming care is not the norm, it is a specialty of health science that is developing.

However, it is not just injections and surgeries. Honestly, it’s a lot more of talking and educating between families, trans-identifying kids, and doctors.

For those that have to wait, it is often that they are going into this care without the support and financial means due to lack of insurance coverage and job support. This makes care riskier as it may lead to inconsistent care and even worse, attempts to use alternatives from other risky sources to get hormones.

For those that get surgeries, it is from years of working together with health professionals and families recognizing the immense amount of gender dysphoria these kids are suffering with.

It is not common, but when it happens, just like any intense medical intervention, it is necessary as seen by the entire team and most importantly that young person whose looking into their future.

Don’t make us your political enemy for who we are

We often look at ideas as shocking as this and forget to ask the families involved how the journey was for them. We forget to ask the kid how they feel now. We forget to ask the doctor, what makes them believe in helping with this. We forget to ask those involved and instead fill in the blanks ourselves.

When people ask about my journey, I am happy to answer because I have pride in who I am and who I fought to be. I didn’t grow up with support and it nearly led to me not being here today.

I am here because I saw a beacon of hope in knowing that one day I could get care. I send that hope to the kids who do not see that light anymore because their lives have become political fodder.

Trans people cannot be your public enemy one moment and your political pawn the next. Trans people are Tennesseans too, we have our own lives and problems without the government unnecessarily stepping over us

Jace Wilder (he/they) is a transgender man who is native to Tennessee and is the education manager for Tennessee Equality Project.