CALL FOR PAPERS
Brotherhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Liberationist Writings by Transsexual Men
Editor: Zander Keig, MSW
Publisher: Transgress Press
We are now accepting submissions for the anthology, Brotherhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Liberationist Writings by Transsexual Men,…
New Adult Website TransGuys.TV Showcases Queer and FTM Porn
November 16, 2012
The TransGuys Network today announced last week’s launch of TransGuys.TV, an adult website featuring FTM and queer pornography. As the “adult playground” of the network, TransGuys.TV showcases both established and…
(Source: transmedianet, via transmedianet)
- No aspirin before surgery - it’ll make brusing and swelling worse.
- Especially before surgery, take shark cartilage, which helps with leukocyte formation, to fight infection.
- Especially before surgery, take vitamin C 1000 mg w/ bioflavanoids and rutin for tissue integrity.
- …
There’s some good advice in this post, but taking shark cartilage supplements is definitely a bad idea. This shark cartilage recommendation for top surgery has been on the web for years. Michael Munson’s post citing David Harrison may be the original source; it’s also been listed on Compass FTM, as well as FTMichael’s site. Passing this particular piece of advice around needs to stop. NOW.
Reason #1: Lack of Scientific Data
There is no scientific evidence that shark cartilage is useful in treating or preventing cancer or other diseases. Controlled trials have shown no benefit to shark cartilage supplements, and shark cartilage contains potentially toxic compounds linked to Alzheimer disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. - Wikipedia
Reason #2: Ethically and Environmentally Irresponsible
The ongoing consumption of shark cartilage supplements has been linked to a significant decline in shark populations, and the popularity of these supplements has been described as a triumph of pseudoscience and marketing over scientific evaluation. - American Association for Cancer Research
Why is the decline of the shark population a concern?
In general, sharks grow slowly, mature late and produce few young over long lifetimes, leaving them exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation and slow to recover from depletion. As key predators, their depletion also has risks for the health of entire ocean ecosystems. For example, tiger sharks have been linked to the quality of seagrass beds through their prey, dugongs and green sea turtles, which forage in these beds. Without tiger sharks to control their prey’s foraging, an important habitat is lost. - PEW Trusts
To avoid an infection after top surgery, you don’t need shark cartilage. Save your money and simply follow your surgeon’s advice about keeping your incisions clean, eat well, live healthy, and you’ll be just fine.
You’re welcome,
Joshua, Shark Enthusiast
Questions about top surgery? Ask me here.
(Source: ftmichael.transboys.info, via theartoftransliness)
The TransGuys Community Awards are the only International web awards that honor excellence and achievement by transgender men on the Internet.
Nominations are due by November 16!
Important notes about nominations:
Other award categories include: Best YouTube Channel, Best Facebook Page, and Musician or Music Group of the Year. Submit nominations for these award categories and others here.
Are you a gay trans man? If so, you owe it to yourself to learn about the life and work of Lou Sullivan, a founding father of the FTM trans community. People of all genders and sexual orientations would benefit from learning about Sullivan, but gay trans men in particular will really appreciate his work, such as his involvement in the campaign to remove homosexual orientation from the list of contraindications for SRS.
Here’s a profile of Lou Sullivan, from A Brief History of FTM Trans Civilization, TransGuys.com’s LGBT History Month feature.
Lou SullivanJune 16, 1951 – March 2, 1991
Louis Graydon Sullivan was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a pioneering activist who, because he was also gay, played a pivotal role in changing the medical diagnosis and treatment of transsexualism. He was also a major force in creating community for trans masculine people.
When Sullivan was 17, he began a long term relationship with a feminine male lover. By 1973, Sullivan was identifying as a “female transvestite,” and launched a career of transgender community activism with the publication of the article “A Transvestite Answers a Feminist,” which appeared in the Gay People’s Union News. A second article published the following year, “Looking Towards Transvestite Liberation,” remains a landmark for its early investigation of gender identity in homosexual culture.
By 1975, Sullivan was identifying as a female-to-male transsexual, and he moved to San Francisco. He was employed as a woman, but spent most of his time living as a gay man. He sought out surgery but was consistently denied because he was gay. As a result, Sullivan became involved in a campaign to remove homosexual orientation from the list of contraindications for SRS.
He published a booklet called Information for the Female to Male Cross-Dresser and Transsexual which disseminated information about finding support groups, counseling, endocrinological and surgical services.
In 1979, Sullivan started taking testosterone and also became a volunteer at the Janus Information Facility (now J2CP), a referral service in San Francisco. He had top surgery in 1980 and started living full time as a gay man. Throughout the 80s, Sullivan continued to wrote about FTM issues in the gay and transgender press, started work on his biography of Jack Garland, and became a popular public speaker.
In 1986, Sullivan had genital reconstruction surgery, and organized what would become FTM International, the first known peer-support group in the U.S. devoted entirely to FTM individuals. Later that year Sullivan was diagnosed with AIDS. He died of an AIDS-related illness on March 2, 1991, at the age of 39.
Excerpt from one of Lou Sullivan’s letters, Dear David: ¾/1980.
For more information about Lou Sullivan, explore the Lou Sullivan Society (LSS) website. The LSS has displayed selected materials from Sullivan’s papers in a number of exhibitions, notably “Man-i-fest: FTM Mentoring in San Francisco from 1976 to 2009,” which was open through much of 2010 in the second gallery at the society’s headquarters at 657 Mission St. in San Francisco, and “Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating San Francsico’s GLBT History,” the debut exhibition in the main gallery at the society’s GLBT History Museum that opened in January 2011 in San Francisco’s Castro District.
Also see: The FTM Trans History Timeline
(Source: transguys.com)
Is this you?
Don’t despair! There are programs available that distribute second-hand free or reduced price chest binders.
In the United States, check out:
In A Bind, a program from TransActive Education & Advocacy, provides new or used binders to young trans and gender variant teens and young adults up to age 21 who do not have the financial means or family support to obtain them on their own.
Special Note: In A Bind is less than a year old and already have almost 1,000 applicants on a wait list—there’s a huge demand for these binders. If YOU have a binder in good condition that no longer fits or that you no longer need, please donate it to In A Bind.
Big Brothers Used Binder Program, established in 2001, distributes free new and second-hand binders to trans/FTM/Intersex men over the age of 22.
Binder Boys, on Facebook, has a monthly binder giveaway contest for pre-op trans guys.
Replace the Ace is a campaign to reduce the use of harmful binding methods. They accept donated second-hand binders and distribute them to FTM trans identified individuals who are currently using harmful binding methods. (US residents only.)
Point 5cc Tshirt Company sell trans-friendly t-shirts, and giveaway free second-hand binders on request with the purchase of a t-shirt.
In the UK, there’s the MORF Binder Exchange. Since February 2011 MORF have been redistributing free binders to trans guys all over the UK and around the world who need them.
While some of these programs will ship outside the US and the UK, it would be nice to see more options for trans guys who like in other countries.
Related note for Aussies: This isn’t a binder program, but two Sohoeva binders are being given away right now here.
You can also try asking around for an inexpensive hand-me-down binder in the Swap Meet at the FTM Surgery Support Forums, or on one of the FTM mailing lists, or check out LiveJournal’s FTM Garage Sale.
Annoyed, I left the party and walked down the street in the rain. It wasn’t until I was a few blocks away that I realized—with a fair amount of panic—that my packer was… GONE! It must have fallen out of my harness, but how, when and where were questions not yet answered. Standing under a street light, I gathered myself. “Think, man, think! Where could it be?!”
Right now over at TransGuys.com, we’re building a collaborative story about a lost packer. A collab story, you say? Yeah, just visit the page and add a line or two to the story via a comment. The result is a story that twists and turns with every contribution. Fun!
But that’s not all… add a line to the story and you’ll be entered in a draw to win one of two custom kits from TranZwear!
The Packing 101 Kit includes:
The STP 101 Kit includes:
Want to win one of these build-it-yourself TranZwear kits?
Head over to the contest page now and add to the story of the lost packer!
(Source: transguys.com)
