Hello comrades!
I think it’s important for our comrades to have a safe place where they can ask questions about trans identities and trans issues in good faith.
The first step in garnering support is education, however asking every single trans person to constantly take on the burden of educator is, frankly, ridiculous, especially when so often the questions are not being asked in good faith, and there are very real consequences to the spread of misinformation.
As such, I know that there are likely comrades here who have questions they have been too scared to ask, or feel like it would be inappropriate to pose to some stranger.
Trans or questioning comrades are also welcome to ask questions here, of course, and are welcome to answer any questions they feel comfortable answering. The thing about the trans experience is that it is different for everyone. We all have different material conditions, we all have different interactions with ourselves and the world around us, and so, of course, there is no universal truth that governs what it means to be trans.
I can’t guarantee that we’ll have an answer for everything, and I can’t guarantee that the answers we do have will be satisfactory, but I can guarantee that as long as you are asking out of a genuine desire to inform yourself and learn more, then I will do my best to engage with you as a comrade and an ally.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful answer. There have, in fact, been some teenagers (16 years and up) who have successfully advocated for their personal right to access surgery, however this is rare, and in general when people speak of surgery it is for adults.
Many gender confirmation surgeries are already currently available to cis people as well, including some surgeries that are available to cis people who are not yet adults, and yet very little, if any, emphasis is placed on this when people look to demonize trans surgery access.
I appreciate your inclusion of surgery performed nonconsensually on intersex individuals, often times as young as at birth. It is important for people to note that, in the US for instance, the current rash of anti-trans medical bills contain explicit exemptions for intersex individuals. Meaning they want to ban the consensual, sought after surgeries of trans adults, but leave in place the nonconsensual, often secret surgeries performed on intersex individuals, which makes it abundantly clear that the bills have nothing to do with protecting the “sanctity” of the natural-born body, and everything to do with attacking the queer, trans, and intersex communities.
Thank you for the clarification about cases of some individual 16+ teenagers pursuing surgery. I’ll edit my post to reflect this.