The Gym, The Appointment, and The Trannies

Last Saturday Athens Boys Choir - a trans spoken word artist named Harvey Katz - performed in Salt Lake City at an independent cafe located in a low-income area of the city. I grew up in that area and hadn't been there for quite some after I moved out. I was very pleasantly surprised by how vegan-friendly and cozy this Mestizo Cafe is. I'm a fan.

It also helped that the place was packed with gender variance and transtastic'ness galore.

Harvey Katz was excellent. He did his spoken word thang, then his singing song let's dance thang. During the spoken word portion I was caught off guard slightly by the audience finger snapping during certain parts or bursting out with "Mmmms!". It was distracting, but apparently a thing that happens at spoken word events. I know, because I did a quick Google search on it after the event. And I found that I'm not alone.

After one person asked on a forum why people snap during poetry sessions, members responded:

"I don't know why. I felt stupid not doing when everybody else was. Then I felt real stupid when I did it. I probably shoulda asked somebody." 

"people still snap their fingers?" 

"In the fifties, and perhaps in the forties, small clubs in Greenwich Village that featured poetry readings were located in basements of residential buildings. The scaled-down applause kept the clubs from being evicted as public nuisances."

Is that last response true? Even if it isn't, it's a good explanation for now.

Moving on.

Gym Issues

The gym has become more difficult lately. I've decided to opt out of both the locker rooms these past couple of weeks. After reactions became increasingly more threatened and shocked by my presence in the women's locker room I've stopped going in there. And since I haven't had top surgery yet and refuse to tightly bind for a sweaty workout session, the men's locker room isn't an option yet either.

Or is it?

After perusing around for potential options, I stumbled across a binder from Underworks that advertises itself as,

They see a perfectly fitted soft to the skin cotton spandex knit muscle shirt that stretches and recoils as your body moves but on the inside are powerful layers of nylon spandex knit binding your chest, flattening your belly and pressing against your back in support. Wear it to workout or down the street, the compression is a secret between you and your shirt. A chest binder breakthrough!

Wear it to workout? I'm skeptical.

But I'm desperate, so I decided to fall for it and fork over the precious pennies to acquire this thing. And about a week ago I received it: The Cotton Concealer Compression Muscle Shirt, Style 974 from Underworks. I got a large, 40-43. And guess what? I actually can work out in it.

It's slightly more difficult to do so than the sports bra I'd been wearing, but a lot more comfortable than my other binders or the jarring dysphoria trigger of having my chest loose.

The first time I worked out in this binder was on chest/tricep day, which turned out to be a bad idea. Afterward the right area of my chest did ache a small bit, which I suspect is due to it being larger than the left side. More to compress.

I have worn it to the gym every time since and I haven't had any aches or pains. I have to exert myself a bit more on the cardio machines, but not a significant amount or enough that I'm concerned about my health or physical well-being. And even though it doesn't bind as efficiently as what I wear when not at the gym, it does a good enough job that I may be able to navigate the men's locker room long enough to use the loo or stuff my junk in a locker.

Assuming I get over being so nervous about it.

I'm also nervous about the staff there, including the inquisitive knows-me-by-name gym manager. He's a nice guy, but I'm wondering if I should just be forward with him and tell him that I'm transgender, I've started hormone therapy, and I'm going to start using the men's locker room and see where it goes. I'm waiting, biding my time, building up the nerve.

So far I have made sure to go every time with a gym buddy who can put my stuff in their locker for me.

It's clear already that there's a measure of curiosity going on with the staff who have seen me going in since months before I'd started hormone therapy. Earlier this week I opted to wear basketball shorts instead of the long track pants I usually wear. This was a new move for me and my body hair has become a lot more abundant than it was prior to hormone therapy. Again, I'm nervous. But I'm wearing them.

Doctor Appointment Update

I have an appointment with my doctor December 7th. I've been nervous about it for some time now since losing my health insurance. Last Thursday I injected the last remaining droplets of testosterone from my previous prescription and have no choice but to go in and have my hormone levels checked, update the dosage I'm taking and get a new prescription.

And December 11th is my ONE YEAR TRANNIVERSARY! Woo! I hope it ends up becoming another excuse for my loved ones to give me presents.

p.s. an adorable cisgender female trans lovin' friend of mine went and bought a t-shirt from Original Plumbing that says "NOBODY KNOWS I'M A TRANSSEXUAL". How adorable is that!? Not only is it adorable that she's going to strut around with this awesome shirt, but she also snagged it before I even knew Original Plumbing had shirts.

p.s.s. Which reminds me of the time I went to my parents home a few years back and my mom had a local drag king calendar plastered on the front room wall. When I asked what it was and where she got it she replied, "Oh, your father and I bought it from the Utah Pride Center." Aww!