Hey everyone! I thought long and hard about migrating my blog over to Tumblr, as it's such a grueling pain in the buns. But, alas, the longer I wait, the harder it will get - and so I've spent a good portion of my night setting up shop over in Tumblr-ville.
It will be the same, for the most part - just a lot more interactive. Soon this domain name (http://www.humancomplaints.com) will automatically redirect to my Tumblr account. Brace yo'selves!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Binder Crisis
Over these past couple of years I have been through a binder or two, and, while all of them are uncomfortable awful acid-reflux-inducing pain-in-the-lower-backs, eventually I stumbled across the Underwork's Double Front Compression Shirt (Model 997) and have since become ridiculously fond of it.
Ever since I started wearing it last June I have literally worn it every day since. Even though it's comfortable in comparison to the other binders I have, if worn for longer than 6 hours it will start to cause acid reflux and my shoulders/upper-back start to really ache. After longer than 10 hours, I will literally start to feel sick - so I started to wear it in classes and then, while wearing a baggy jacket, will switch to the T-Kingdom M801 for a chest break'ish.
This system has been a flawless one - up until Monday morning, when I couldn't find the 997 binder for the life of me. Dun dun dun! Now that I hate my other two binders (which are just ridiculous awful and there's no way I'd even try to wear one of them longer than 4 hours. I'm most likely going to donate them to a local trans dude who they may work for & fit better or to the Big Brothers Used Binder Program), I opted to just go to school to the loose-binding M801 and to just strategically wear my jacket all day to hide my chest.
But it's been so awkward uncomfortable. And finally, tonight, I couldn't take it anymore. I searched my closet thoroughly. Nothing. Searched my hamper, my room, my drawers, the laundry room, under Evilbunny, under the dog, the bathroom, the front room - still, no favorite dependent-on binder. My cute mom was roped into it and helped ruffle through clothing and piles of stuff n' things. As she searched, she shouted out from the front room, "I can't wait for your top surgery so that you don't have to deal with this anymore!"
Awww! Seriously, though... how adorable is it that I have a mom who I can whine about misplacing my favorite binder to and who will a.) help me hunt for it, and b.) yell about how she can't wait for my upcoming top surgery from the other room?
Love it. Anyway, low and behold, I had accidentally left it at my friend Erin's house when I spent the night Saturday and he sent me a text saying, "Its here!". I had suspected I'd left it there and was worried that he'd mistaken it for one of his - which, given how many people don't have binders in the world is an interesting bind to potentially be in. Get it? Bind? Ha... ah, er... anyway, I'm getting it tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.
I am, however, with my mom on this. I-cannot-wait-for-top-surgery.
This system has been a flawless one - up until Monday morning, when I couldn't find the 997 binder for the life of me. Dun dun dun! Now that I hate my other two binders (which are just ridiculous awful and there's no way I'd even try to wear one of them longer than 4 hours. I'm most likely going to donate them to a local trans dude who they may work for & fit better or to the Big Brothers Used Binder Program), I opted to just go to school to the loose-binding M801 and to just strategically wear my jacket all day to hide my chest.
But it's been so awkward uncomfortable. And finally, tonight, I couldn't take it anymore. I searched my closet thoroughly. Nothing. Searched my hamper, my room, my drawers, the laundry room, under Evilbunny, under the dog, the bathroom, the front room - still, no favorite dependent-on binder. My cute mom was roped into it and helped ruffle through clothing and piles of stuff n' things. As she searched, she shouted out from the front room, "I can't wait for your top surgery so that you don't have to deal with this anymore!"
Awww! Seriously, though... how adorable is it that I have a mom who I can whine about misplacing my favorite binder to and who will a.) help me hunt for it, and b.) yell about how she can't wait for my upcoming top surgery from the other room?
Love it. Anyway, low and behold, I had accidentally left it at my friend Erin's house when I spent the night Saturday and he sent me a text saying, "Its here!". I had suspected I'd left it there and was worried that he'd mistaken it for one of his - which, given how many people don't have binders in the world is an interesting bind to potentially be in. Get it? Bind? Ha... ah, er... anyway, I'm getting it tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.
I am, however, with my mom on this. I-cannot-wait-for-top-surgery.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Paws In! It’s Time For The Puppy Bowl VII!
SO EXCITED. This is the seventh year of Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl Sunday and it starts TODAY @ 3pm! This year there's going to be a "puppy cam", a hamster blimp and, of course, kitty half-time!
I'm rooting for Sadie and Thirteen all the way.
I'm rooting for Sadie and Thirteen all the way.
Friday, February 4, 2011
School Pride, Youth Center & Recent Trans Survey!
Earlier this week I received an e-mail from my school asking if some other students and I wouldn't mind being photographed for some promotional brochures for our school. I have never, ever been asked to appear on promotional materials for anything. We were asked to wear colorful clothes and multiple layers.
I couldn't help but wonder why I'd been invited to appear in a photo shoot for school promotional materials. Is it my funny floppy gauged ears? My tattoos? Was I chosen as some aesthetically alternative bastion of liberalism?
Whatever the reason I, of course, couldn't resist and immediately agreed to it. Images came to my mind of hopping on steps with college kids throwing school books in the air or posing with smiles or skipping or rolling around in bright green grass or... who knows what. Something epic, no doubt.
I wore a bright purple shirt and a vest. That particular day was super sunny, but the windchill factor was freezing. Yet, between shoots, we were asked to remove our coats and try to appear warm and happy. They had us run up stairs, hop, smile, walk down the stairs chatting and smiling. It was so, so good - and I can't wait to, hopefully, at some point in the near future, receive the pictures to plaster on my blog.
It's just, so... not me, ... that it's bizarrely entertaining.
On a really exhausting but positive-fun note, for my Adolescent Development class we're required to do at least 35 hours of "service learning with adolescents" by the end of the semester. For this, I have been volunteering in the T.I.N.T. (youth center) of the Utah Pride Center every week for 5 hours. It's astounding how much energy adolescents have. They're loud. They bounce from one thing to another. They crumble popcorn on microwaved pizza. They put wigs on me and laugh. For 5 hours every week, essentially, I'm a human pinata.
And love it.
The kids there are so cute. I've volunteered throughout the years in the past and, while there are fun and adorable aspects to it, other aspects are just, ... difficult. There are homeless LGBQT youth who come there and, while they're able to have food and a warm, safe place to stay during the day - come 9pm, they're out on their own, doing who knows what to survive. Hopefully somewhere safe, but most likely hiding out in abandoned properties together.
It's sad how homophobia/transphobia could result in literally kicking one's child out to fend for themselves on the streets. Who end up doing drugs at night to stay awake so they're not hurt or raped - until morning comes and they can find somewhere safe and warm to sleep.
On a semi-related sweet but sad note, my grandma sent me a Facebook message today with a link to the following article of survey results from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality that have just been released. It's of 6,450 transgender people and is the largest of its kind:
According to the survey, 41 percent of the transgender respondents reported attempting suicide - almost half.
I couldn't help but wonder why I'd been invited to appear in a photo shoot for school promotional materials. Is it my funny floppy gauged ears? My tattoos? Was I chosen as some aesthetically alternative bastion of liberalism?
Whatever the reason I, of course, couldn't resist and immediately agreed to it. Images came to my mind of hopping on steps with college kids throwing school books in the air or posing with smiles or skipping or rolling around in bright green grass or... who knows what. Something epic, no doubt.
I wore a bright purple shirt and a vest. That particular day was super sunny, but the windchill factor was freezing. Yet, between shoots, we were asked to remove our coats and try to appear warm and happy. They had us run up stairs, hop, smile, walk down the stairs chatting and smiling. It was so, so good - and I can't wait to, hopefully, at some point in the near future, receive the pictures to plaster on my blog.
It's just, so... not me, ... that it's bizarrely entertaining.
On a really exhausting but positive-fun note, for my Adolescent Development class we're required to do at least 35 hours of "service learning with adolescents" by the end of the semester. For this, I have been volunteering in the T.I.N.T. (youth center) of the Utah Pride Center every week for 5 hours. It's astounding how much energy adolescents have. They're loud. They bounce from one thing to another. They crumble popcorn on microwaved pizza. They put wigs on me and laugh. For 5 hours every week, essentially, I'm a human pinata.
And love it.
The kids there are so cute. I've volunteered throughout the years in the past and, while there are fun and adorable aspects to it, other aspects are just, ... difficult. There are homeless LGBQT youth who come there and, while they're able to have food and a warm, safe place to stay during the day - come 9pm, they're out on their own, doing who knows what to survive. Hopefully somewhere safe, but most likely hiding out in abandoned properties together.
It's sad how homophobia/transphobia could result in literally kicking one's child out to fend for themselves on the streets. Who end up doing drugs at night to stay awake so they're not hurt or raped - until morning comes and they can find somewhere safe and warm to sleep.
On a semi-related sweet but sad note, my grandma sent me a Facebook message today with a link to the following article of survey results from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality that have just been released. It's of 6,450 transgender people and is the largest of its kind:
Transgender activists face multiple challenges
NEW YORK (AP) — Many transgender Americans face intolerance in almost every aspect of their lives, contributing to high levels of homelessness, unemployment and despair, according to a comprehensive survey being released Friday.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality say their survey of 6,450 transgender people is the largest of its kind. It details discrimination encountered "at every turn" — in childhood homes, in schools and workplaces, at stores and hotels, at the hands of doctors, judges, landlords and police.
"Their lives are just a crapshoot," said Rea Carey, executive director of the task force. "They don't know from one interaction to the next whether they will be treated with respect and dignity. It's not the way people should be living their day-to-day life." Read more >
According to the survey, 41 percent of the transgender respondents reported attempting suicide - almost half.
Monday, January 31, 2011
News: Transsexual differences caught on brain scan
Released just a few days ago and shared with me by my friend, Sara (thank you!):
Interesting. I'm going to dig up the papers this is based on through my school's library as soon as I have time!
Transsexual differences caught on brain scan
Differences in the brain's white matter that clash with a person's genetic sex may hold the key to identifying transsexual people before puberty. Doctors could use this information to make a case for delaying puberty to improve the success of a sex change later.
Medics are keen to find concrete physical evidence to help those children who feel they are trapped in the body of the opposite sex. One key brain region involved is the BSTc, an area of grey matter. But the region is too small to scan in a living person so differences have only been picked up at post-mortem. Read more >
Interesting. I'm going to dig up the papers this is based on through my school's library as soon as I have time!
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