Formally known as the Insurrection Act of 1807, the Insurrection Act was a federal law signed by President Thomas Jefferson to empower future presidents to deploy the Armed Forces and National Guard to suppress “civil disorder, insurrection, and armed rebellion against the federal government.”
What power does the Insurrection Act grant?
Normally, the Posse Comitatus Act forbids the United States military from coordinating with civilian law enforcement. Military interference in civilian government is considered inherently dangerous to liberty.
The Insurrection Act temporarily suspends the Posse Comitatus Act, allowing the President to deploy the military to assist civil law enforcement. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as the enforcement of federal court orders (such as during desegregation) or suppressing government uprisings.
The Insurrection Act was created only to be used in crises that are truly beyond the capacity of civilian authorities to manage.
However, the Act doesn’t limit when it can be used and is still entirely too vague – which is why Trump has leaned into threatening it so much.
Are there thresholds before the Insurrection Act can be implemented?
Yes. However, these thresholds aren’t infallible. The Department of Justice 1964 Memorandum identifies three thresholds:
A state legislature or governor must request federal assistance to put down an insurrection against their state.
A federal court must rule that national deployment is necessary to enforce a federal court order.
Federal deployment is necessary and unavoidable due to “state and local law enforcement completely breaking down.”
Additionally, all uses of the Insurrection Act are not allowed to override the Constitution. Federal deployment of troops is not allowed to violate citizens’ constitutional rights.
What are historical examples of the Insurrection Act?
During his first term, Donald Trump only threatened the use of the Insurrection Act once. Following the murder of George Floyd, Trump stated he would invoke the Insurrection Act in response to protests to “re-establish civil law and order.”
Federal officials eventually talked Trump out of invoking the Act. And although the National Guard was called in response to the January 6th coup, the Insurrection Act wasn’t invoked.
By Trump’s second term, he had become accustomed to waving the Insurrection Act around. Beginning January 20th, 2025, Trump ordered the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue a joint report determining whether use of the Insurrection Act was advisable regarding the US-Mexico border. Months later, Trump threatened the use of the Insurrection Act against targeted cities like LA, Portland, Chicago, and Memphis in response to protests.
A handful of reforms to the Insurrection Act have been proposed throughout history. Due to the vague language of the Act, it provides a relatively simple path towards martial law.
Under normal circumstances, this couldn’t be a possibility since the Insurrection Act would only be used under extreme circumstances – but Trump repeatedly threatens to invoke the Act in response to civilian protests.
He alone determines what a “crisis” must look like to overrule civil law enforcement to deploy national soldiers, and we have to trust that determination will be just.
HRT, also known as hormone replacement therapy, is the use of synthetic hormones to mimic traditional sex hormones. The use of testosterone HRT has been foundational and approved as the best form of treatment for transgender people for nearly a century.
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone that produces “masculine” attributes, such as facial hair, a deepened voice, and higher muscle mass. Testosterone is prescribed to individuals assigned female at birth as part of their gender transition and monitored by their healthcare team to replicate natural testosterone production levels in cisgender men.
Nearly all forms of injectable testosterone are ethers suspended in sesame oil or cottonseed oil that are absorbed slowly by the body due to esterification.
Injectable testosterone comes in TWO forms.
Injectable
Also known as IM, intramuscular shots are the most common form of testosterone prescribed.IM injections use longer, thicker needles to inject testosterone into the muscle.
Intramuscular injections commonly use needles 1” to 1.5” and 21 to 23 gauge. Needle length can vary depending on individual need since the needle must be long enough to puncture the muscle, although gauge size is standard to accommodate testosterone’s viscosity.
“That’s a huge needle! Doesn’t that hurt?!” Actually, IM injections are not nearly as painful as they look. The needle is visually terrifying, but the size does not cause any additional pain compared to subcutaneous injections.
Pain is primarily caused when the needle breaks the skin barrier and activates nerves to notify your body of injury. Once the skin is broken, the needle continues to penetrate down into the fat and muscle – but neither contains nerve endings that will cause pain.
Subcutaneous, or subq, shots use smaller needles to inject testosterone into the subcutaneous fat just underneath the skin. Since subcutaneous injections only penetrate those two layers, they don’t require the length associated with IM injections.
Subq injections are also compatible via self-injectors like Xyosted, a medical pen that is used with your medication to deliver the medication via its spring mechanism. While IM can be done with self-injectors, it is difficult and less common.
Both subcutaneous and intramuscular shots are meant to be self-administered, although it is possible to find a provider or family member to help if you struggle with needle phobia. Since subq injections use smaller needles, folks find them easier to manage.
As noted with intramuscular injections, the pain associated with subq shots will be similar to IM, since pain is largely induced by breaking the skin barrier.
Testosterone can be safely administered via dermal contact through gels, patches, and creams. Transdermal testosterone is applied daily in small doses and absorbed by the body throughout the day.
Hormone Stability and Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacokinetics refers to the effects of the body based on the original administration of a dose, including when it is eliminated and the time for the next dose.
Since bodies assigned female at birth cannot produce testosterone naturally, regular administration is required to maintain proper hormone levels.
One disadvantage of injectable testosterone is the pharmacokinetic cycle, causing hormonal dips and peaks. The day following testosterone injection is when testosterone levels are highest, causing side effects like mood swings and acne. Conversely, levels are lowest immediately before an injection and are associated with irritability and low energy, known as “T drop.” This cycle can be heightened or reduced based on dose frequency – some guys inject their testosterone every week, while others take it once a month.
In contrast, topical testosterone does not present noticeable dips or peaks since it is administered daily. All forms of topical testosterone produce a steady hormone dose with minimal fluctuation.
Is Topical Testosterone Less Effective Than Injections?
“I heard that topical testosterone isn’t as effective as injectable testosterone. Is that true?“ No. Empirical evidence shows that topical testosterone is just as effective as injectable testosterone. This myth is due to anecdotal accounts since many users post their results (or lack thereof) online, creating the illusion that topical testosterone is less effective. Injected testosterone may produce faster results in the first week, but this is completely negated in the following days.
The effectiveness of testosterone is NOT dependent on how it is administered.
Effectiveness is determined based on hormone levels and genetics. When undergoing hormone replacement therapy, a healthcare professional will monitor your hormone levels, and your testosterone prescription will be adjusted based on your levels.
In other words, your provider is going to make sure you obtain optimal hormone levels regardless of whether it is injectable or topical.
If you’re seeking less noticeable results from testosterone, that’s also an option – but you’ll need to find a provider that is knowledgeable in low-dose hormone replacement therapy since it’s not the norm. Again, the administration route does not matter; the lesser results are caused by a lower dose of testosterone for a set amount of time.
Genetics play a significant role in how secondary sex characteristics express themselves during hormone replacement therapy. Regardless of testosterone levels, some cisgender men struggle to ever grow facial hair or get a super deep voice. Testosterone levels influence the pace at which these results will appear, but genetics will cap off aspects like male pattern baldness, erectile tissue size, and body hair.
“Are there any downsides to topical testosterone? Why would anyone choose injectable testosterone instead?” The application route is highly dependent on a variety of factors. Topical testosterone bypasses needle phobia (since there are no needles involved), but it has two main disadvantages.
Topical testosterone must be applied daily. Injectable testosterone is administered once every week, two weeks, or a month. Once injected, you’re free to go and forget about it until it’s time for the next dose. Thus, topical testosterone has a higher upkeep and is not recommended if you’re forgetful.
Secondly, topical testosterone must permeate the skin to be effective. This means you must make sure your hands are completely washed after applying to ensure testosterone does not transfer to other humans or animals, and avoid skin-to-skin contact on the application site even after it has dried. You also have to be wary of swimming, showering, or applying other creams (like sunscreen) on the application site since it will wash or dilute the medication.
As a minor footnote, lots of guys prefer injectable testosterone because it is cheapest. Topical testosterone can be expensive or laborious for insurance to cover.
Need help paying for prescriptions that insurance won’t cover? Try GoodRx.
Testosterone patches work the same way as gels and creams. Once applied, testosterone is absorbed through the skin via an alcohol-based gel in the patch.
Subcutaneous Testosterone Pellets
Pellets are a relatively new form that administers crystalline testosterone implanted beneath the skin.
Testosterone pellets are exceptionally small (about the size of a single grain of rice) and are inserted under local anesthesia every three to four months by a healthcare professional. Unlike other forms of HRT, pellets require visiting your provider to directly administer the medication.
Similar to the dips and peaks mentioned for injectable testosterone, pellets will suffer the same issue. They provide immense convenience since you only have to worry about the application every few months, but you’ll have starker dips during T drop.
“Pellets sound cool! Why haven’t I heard more about them??” Likely because they’re hard to access. Injectable IM and subq testosterone are the standard methods, so you have to go out of your way to request pellets.
Just because a provider prescribes HRT doesn’t mean they’re knowledgeable or comfortable with pellets – so you’ll have to find a provider that specializes in it.
Nasal Testosterone Gel
Natesto is a form of hormone replacement therapy that utilizes a nasal gel to administer testosterone every six to eight hours.
It works similarly to topical testosterone, but it significantly reduces the risk of accidental transfer. On the other hand, nasal testosterone requires more upkeep since it is administered multiple times each day.
Due to how new nasal testosterone is, it’s rare to come across. As of the time of this article, there are no generic versions available and are considered too cost-prohibitive for most folks.
Oral, Sublingual, and Buccal Testosterone
Testosterone is also administrable orally through a pill, BUT it is not recommended for hormone replacement therapy due to how testosterone is compounded and dissolved by the body over time.
The chemical composition of testosterone is frequently modified to improve its functionality and allow the body to better absorb the medication. When modified synthetic testosterone enters the bloodstream, the excess ether compounds are cleaved off during hydrolization and force the testosterone to return to its bioidentical form, similar to naturally occurring hormones, ready to perform its associated tasks. Without the modification, testosterone would not be effective in slowly releasing hormones into the body.
When oral medications are administered, they are first absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and passed into the liver. Without synthetic modifications, pure bioidentical testosterone is overwhelmingly metabolized through the liver, rendered ineffective. However, synthetic modifications to oral testosterone (such as methyltestosterone) are extremely hard on the liver and considered too toxic for long-term HRT when other safer methods are readily available.
Testosterone undecanoate, another form of oral testosterone, is considered safer but is also not recommended since it is eliminated from the body within a few hours and requires excessively frequent dosages that are expensive on the body and wallet.
Sublingual and buccal testosterone administer medication via dissolving it under the tongue or against the surface of one’s gums. Since it isn’t swallowed, sublingual and buccal testosterone avoids extreme liver toxicity that other forms of oral testosterone cause. Both are virtually impossible to find in the United States.
There are a great deal of scary articles out there that claim testosterone is dangerous. Studies currently show that testosterone-based hormone replacement therapy is safe – although there is a lack of long-term high-quality data to study limitations in previous studies, since long-term studies require… time.
Testosterone does impact your health, but not in any particularly scary way. Cardiovascular issues, sleep apnea, and metabolic changes increase, BUT these changes place transgender men at the exact same risk as cisgender men with naturally occurring testosterone. HRT does not put you at an adverse risk, and monitoring prevents potential issues like polycythemia from happening.
Does brand name matter, or will using generic medication cause inferior results?
No. Pharmaceutical companies will say otherwise, but brand name doesn’t impact HRT effectiveness. The only thing that matters is the active ingredients and dosage.
Does injectable testosterone cause faster results than topical versions?
No. As explained in the topical testosterone section, accounts of injectable testosterone being more effective are anecdotal and not aligned with empirical evidence. Effectiveness of testosterone is determined by dose and HRT level, not administration route.
When will I see the effects of HRT?
That depends on dosage and genetics. Some changes, such as clitorial enlargement and acne, will occur quickly, while things like body hair and hairline changes can happen a decade into HRT. Look at the men in your family and consider how puberty impacted them to predict how HRT will manifest changes.
Packing is the practice of placing an object into the crotch to resemble the look and feel of a penis. Even some cisgender men pack when they feel the need to compensate for their natural bulge. Packing is commonly done by transmasculine people to reduce gender dysphoria and can be completed with a wide variety of devices.
Q: DO I HAVE TO PACK? A:Nope. Many people don’t pack since it’s a personal preference. Packing is not a requirement for being transgender, and there are lots of reasons transmasculine people might choose not to pack.
Q: WHAT SIZE SHOULD I GET? A: Any size works, but most guys prefer packers based on their height and weight. Your packer’s size will affect how you sit, exercise, walk, and move around. Cisgender men typically average at three to four inches while flaccid, but it can also be helpful to compare length and girth based on nationality.
How do I get started with packing?
Packers use either padding or phallic shapes to imitate the bulge of a natural penis. If you have never packed, it can feel strange walking around and getting used to it.
Most folks become acquainted with packing via the sock or gel tube method since both are free.
Sock Packing
There really isn’t a right or wrong way to sock pack. Grab a couple of mid-length socks, roll one inside the other to create a ball shape. Adjust the shape until you’re happy with it. Stick it in your pants. Simple as that.
If you’re wearing briefs or boxer briefs, congrats – your underwear will act as a natural harness to hold the sock packer throughout the day.
Prefer boxers? Any men’s underwear with a non-buttoned flap can have the packer stuck between the fabric flaps and keep the socks from actually touching your skin and causing irritation.
Gel Packing
Once you’re comfortable with sock packing, the next step is gel packing since it better resembles the feel of a penis compared to cloth. Fill a non-lubricated condom with hair gel and tie it off once it’s at a good shaft length. Use additional condoms to double or triple layer the packer, making it stiffer.*
Fill another condom about a quarter of the way with hair gel. Twist the condom and fold it in on itself to create a second layer. Tie it off – you’ve got your first testicle. Repeat these steps to create a second testicle.
Get a pair of nylon pantyhose cutting off one of the legs. Drop the shaft into the toe of the leg and tie it inside. Drop the two testicles into the next part of the pantyhose, tying it firmly and cutting off any loose hose.
Gel packers are surprisingly strong despite how cheap they are to create. To wear a gel packer, you’ll either need well-fitted briefs, boxer briefs, trucks, a jock strap, or a DIY harness. Compared to sock packers, gel packers are more likely to force you to acquire a male gait since there is physically something between your legs.
Gel and sock packers are the simplest forms of packing, but there are hundreds of designs available. Here are the most common types of packers and what makes them unique.
Soft Packers
Soft packers resemble flaccid penises and are best suited for casual everyday use. These packers are typically created from elastomer or silicone, designed solely for creating a bulge. Soft packers cannot be used for sex or urination.
Ironically, soft packers were first mass-produced on the mainstream market as a gag bachelorette gift before being picked up by transmasculine consumers. Soft packers range between $15 to $50 based on material.
Elastomer packers cost significantly less, but are worse for your health since they often contain chemicals that leach into the body through skin contact.
Silicone packers are the community standard since they are body-safe and last for years. The silicone prevents skin irritation despite daily use.
Some folks don’t like the phallic look that packers imitate. Minimal packers are abstract and aim to solely create a bulge without traditional phallic shapes. Depending on how abstract and artsy you’re going for, these can range from $3 to $30.
STPs include any device that allows the user to urinate while standing up, such as at a urinal. Most STPs are STP packers, resembling the shape and color of cisgender penises for optimal stealth while in use. STP packers are the most basic type of prosthetic packer.
Stand-to-pee packers have a learning curve since they incorporate different bowls and seals. Always practice using your STP at home before trying it in public to avoid urine dripping down your jeans. It’s natural to be frustrated while learning the process, so be patient and follow the packer’s instructions and community input.
STP packers require either well-fitted underwear, packing pouches, or a harness to hold the device. Non-anatomical STP devices, on the other hand, usually aren’t and are instead held in one’s pocket or bag.
Always clean your packer. Even if you only use a basic soft packer, it’ll naturally get gross and sweaty since it’s in your crotch. Dirty packers can cause UTIs, infections, and skin irritation.
These packers are where most individuals get confused since some companies refer to them as pack ‘n plays, 2-in-1, 3-in-1, or even 4-in-1. Multifunctional packers are prosthetic devices that are designed for everyday flaccid packing plus one additional function.
The most common multifunctional packer model is the pack ‘n play, which allows you to have penetrative sex with the same packing device that is usually flaccid for casual packing. These packers accomplish this through rods or a valve inflation system to stimulate an erection. Since these packers allow you to pack and have sex, they’re also considered 2-in-1 devices.
Technically, STP packers are ALSO multifunctional 2-in-1s since the two functions are packing and peeing. Again, multifunctional packers are where most folks get confused, so make sure to always read the label on a packer for what its functions are.
The 3-in-1 packer allows the user to casually pack, have penetrative sex, and urinate while standing up with the same device. 3-in-1s are hollow like regular STP packers, but are able to later become erect through a rod system designed for the model.
A 4-in-1 model refers to a packer that packs, acts as an STP, allows for penetrative sex, and sexually stimulates the user during sex. The 4-in-1 label is a marketing gimmick – most 3-in-1s provide sexual stimulation to the user regardless of whether it’s labeled as a 3 or 4. Like the 3-in-1, the 4-in-1 is hollow for everyday packing and STP use. Some 4-in-1s, like the discontinued Freetom, have ridges in the silicone to provide stimulation, while others, like the Peecock, provide stimulation through the rod system.
Rods, rods, rods. Are there any packers that allow you to pack, pee, and have sex without rods? Not yet, unfortunately. The Bionic was the closest device to solve this conundrum, but the project has been mostly discontinued.If you’re looking for a rod-less packer but don’t need to urinate standing up, the Peecock Inflatable uses the basic idea of the Bionic to incorporate air valves.
Compared to binders, there aren’t as many organizations that offer packer charities. On the other hand, packers can be safely created DIY-style, unlike chest binders.
The Queer Trans Project offers a set number of Build-a-Queer Kits throughout the year based on donations. The kits include a variety of items, like packers and binders, based on individual need.
The Thrive Fund is a general fund operated by Point of Pride for folks who don’t fall under their other scholarships for surgery, binders, HRT, shapewear, or electrolysis.
Albeit not free, transgender groups are a great option to buy pre-owned items. Multifunctional packers are expensive! While buy/sell/trades exist on all social media platforms, make sure you’re using a reputable one like r/ftm.
Disclaimer: None of these items are sponsored! All listed products are based on my honest and personal opinion, so take them with a grain of salt.
Affirmation Cards ($15)
In my previous gift guides for transgender men and women, I suggested affirmation journals. These journals allow users to express their feelings in a meaningful, guided format to help digest tough emotions – so if you’re able to find a suitable affirmation journal, they’re still a quality choice.
In contrast, affirmation cards replace the journaling aspect and replace it with mantras. Affirmation methods like mantras have been proven to be effective in focusing the mind and shifting individuals away from negative thoughts. These are a great DIY gift, so spend time writing affirmation statements like…
“I am worthy of receiving good things and accomplishing my goals in life.”
“I am allowed to feel upset, angry, and sad sometimes – it’s part of being human.”
“I deserve to be loved and to love others.”
“I am allowed to take up space, to have desires, and to have a voice.”
“I have done difficult things in the past, and I can do them again.”
Unfortunately, most pride merchandise is ugly – by nature, pride flags use sharp colors that make obnoxious shirts or the infamous rainbow suit. Pride apparel is also difficult to wear in public since it can feel dangerous to be openly queer in most spaces.
Pride decor offers a happy medium between these extremes since these items are kept within the comfort of one’s home. Fleece and throw blankets are comforting, safe, and always useful. We’re always queer – including at home, so help bring a little bit more pride into their life.
Unsure what pin to get them? Pronoun enamel pins are the perfect place to start, especially if they experience misgendering regularly. Or just go for pins based on their favorite interests!
Self-Care Kit ($35)
If they’ve been stressed or overwhelmed lately, self-care kits are practical and thoughtful gifts to encourage them to spend time on themselves. Self-care kits are customizable, so they offer greater freedom in choosing what items will suit your loved one best. Most kits include comfort snacks, mindfulness exercises, and candles, but anything can be self-care!
Skincare items are a great addition to transgender self-care kits. While not all transgender individuals undergo medical transition, hormone replacement therapy can be taxing on the skin during its early stages. When gifted alongside their favorite snacks, these items can make for a wonderful self-care day.
Transgender Guide & Workbook ($25)
There are thousands of self-help books available online, but a decent workbook can provide structured guidance regarding the medical, social, and legal aspects of transition. Not all transgender people want to transition, so make sure they’re interested in some aspects of the process before giving them a workbook.
While there is tons of information online, it can be exhausting to search through to find mediocre answers. Transgender-centered guides aim to answer questions they wouldn’t think to search Google about HRT, surgery, identity documents, legal rights, and more. Accepting Gender is a dense workbook created by nonbinary counselor Alex Stitt and grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy to guide readers in understanding their gender identity beyond the traditional male-female binary. Alternatively, Theo Lorenz’s Trans Self-Care Workbook is a combination coloring book and journal that uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and mindfulness. If they’re seeking medical or legal-based advice, check out Trans Bodies, Trans Selves instead.
Transgender Memoir ($20)
Although transgender identities have become more visible within the last decade, we’re still vastly underrepresented in the media. A good memoir connects its reader with the lived experiences of the writer, exploring their life’s challenges while offering inspiring advice and telling a captivating story.
Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer was the most banned book in 2021, and it’s still frequently challenged by US public schools due to its content. Banned books are always important to read, and Gender Queer is a cathartic (albeit controversial) graphic novel.
Nonbinary: Memoirs of Gender and Identity is an anthology edited by Micah Rajunov and A. Scott Duane, covering the stories of over 30 writers to describe the true diversity of nonbinary experiences. There isn’t one way to be nonbinary, and this collection holds a variety of experiences that will connect.
Travis Alabanza published None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary in 2022. The limited amount of nonbinary identities currently represented by media currently still focuses on white perspectives to appeal to mainstream audiences. None of the Above tells the real experiences of a Black writer navigating an unkind world, needing a bit more intersectionality.
Are they social and enjoy hanging out with friends? Indie board games have seen a rise in popularity over the past decade and offer a fun way to spend quality time beyond classics like Monopoly and Scrabble.
Consider their personality and preferences. If they enjoy structured gameplay, go with a game like Gayopoly – it’s a LGBTQIA+ take on the classic game that is fairly easy to understand without reading hundreds of rules. On the other hand, go with a card-based game like Radical Queer Witches, Queeriosity, or Scurvy Buggers if they’re a social butterfly. At the end of the day, you want to make sure you get a game they’ll actually want to play with you.
Hobby Starter Kit ($25)
It’s always fun when starting a new hobby, even if you don’t stick with it. Sure, you could try to push them to continue their previous hobbies – but it’s just as easy to be the devil on their shoulder and inspire them into a new hyperinterest.
Hobby starter kits are inexpensive and save them the trouble of getting too deep into an interest before determining whether it’s for them. Here are a couple of guides filled with kit suggestions.
Corporations dominate the vast majority of the consumer market (gotta love capitalism), so it’s hard to find someone who isn’t interested in supporting small businesses. Look up to find small queer-owned businesses near you and buy a gift card to invite them to make an interesting purchase.
Maybe they’re not into physical gifts, and none of the above options stuck out. For a person who’s got it all, you can donate to a cause in their name – just make sure they’re keen on the idea.There are hundreds of nonprofits out there, so pick a charity best tailored to them. The most common ones include the ACLU, HRC, Lambda Legal, Trevor Project, A4TE, Trans Lifeline, and SAGE, but make sure to consider smaller organizations or local nonprofits.
The holiday season thrives in the spirit of consumerism, so it can be infuriating to find a quality gift with a surplus of options available. December can be especially difficult for transgender individuals due to the high chance that our gender identities are “divisive” and a reason to be cast out from our biological families. Here are ten holiday gift recommendations for the transgender women in your life.
Disclaimer: None of these items are sponsored! All listed products are based on my honest and personal opinion, so take them with a grain of salt.
Makeup 101 ($10 – $75)
Transition is expensive. Nearly every aspect is costly, although this reality comes as a surprise to many cisgender people. Makeup is no exception.
There are multiple routes you could take. The easiest (albeit least personal) option would be to purchase a gift card for a local store. If you know her shade and preferences, you can take the initiative to buy a palette or set. Or, if you’re makeup-savvy, make the gift an experience by going to the store together.
Learning to do makeup properly with the latest fashion trends can be difficult and overwhelming, especially for folks who don’t know anything about makeup. To fill this common gap that many transgender women experience, there are numerous courses available to teach the fundamentals. Both Ulta and Sephora offer individualized lessons at their stores.
Necklaces adorned with names or initials are common gifts for all women, including your transgender loved one. There is something magical about personalized jewelry; it affirms our fundamental identities and makes the bold statement, “I see you as you, and I accept you.”
The most accessible place to order personalized jewelry is Etsy, which also allows you to support a small business. Just make sure to read user reviews before placing an order.
Some transgender women are content or even prideful of their natural speaking range. Other transgender women aren’t greatly bothered if they managed to avoid testosterone-based puberty. But there are just as many other women who are uncomfortable or dysphoric about their voices since it outs them as transgender – which presents an additional safety risk that prevents going stealth.
If she falls into the latter range, you could gift the tuition for voice training. If the price tag is too steep but you know her voice bothers her, you could also create a good gift by spending time gathering relevant YouTube videos.
Journaling can be for anyone, and it’s a great tool to deal with stress and self-esteem issues. By purchasing her an affirmation journal, you’re providing her with a new coping skill to affirm her identity as a woman.
Guide her into reframing negative thoughts into optimistic ones, and dig into core beliefs holding her back. Affirmation journals come in a wide range of styles and themes – get creative and buy one based on her personal interests.
Fiction or Nonfiction Read ($30)
Is she a bookworm? Compared to the general population, transgender people receive far less positive visibility in the media. Despite this reality, seeing ourselves represented can be an incredibly beautiful and heartwarming experience.
For fiction fans, Nevada by Imogen Binnie follows Maria Griffiths’ road trip from NYC to the West Coast. Like most books written by transgender writers, Nevada has a small following compared to mainstream bestsellers – but the novel is well-received amongst LGBTQIA+ critics due to its impact on the transgender fiction scene when it was originally published in 2013.
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a solid nonfiction recommendation, which was edited and published by Laura Erickson-Schroth in 2014. Technically, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is for all gender identities – but it’s an incredibly undervalued piece of literature. Based on the 1973 book Our Bodies, Ourselves (written by the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective to highlight censored topics like birth control, sexuality, abortion, and menopause), it holds a wealth of information related to transgender health.
Similar to the suggestions above, transgender people don’t frequently see themselves represented well. Memoirs are a special subcategory of nonfiction that connects us with the experiences of other transgender individuals who have gone through similar struggles.
If you’re only going to read one transgender memoir ever, make it Whipping Girl. Julia Serano’s book is a wonderful blend of personal storytelling and critical theory that shook late third-wave feminist academia. The book explores the many ways transgender women are objectified, erased, excluded, and mystified both in general culture and within feminist circles.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is a prolific writer with a dense bibliography. She transitioned at age 42 after having two children with her wife, Deirdre, and many of her memoirs tell her unique experience as a transgender parent. She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders and Stuck in the Middle With You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders are Boylan’s two most well-known works to start with.
In my gift guide for transgender men, I mentioned Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews. Rethinking Normal is its companion memoir, written by Katie Hill – Arin’s girlfriend, who wrote her own memoir about being a transgender teenage girl.
Sometimes, the best presents can’t be wrapped neatly under a tree. The gift of making memories can be just as good as anything you can put a bow on.
If she’s open to the idea, book a spa day. However, I will caveat that you need to ensure the spa is transgender-friendly to ease her concerns. There is a history of issues regarding transgender people and spas that have barred us from basic services, since all occupations are capable of bias. There isn’t much more gender-affirming than lavishly getting a facial or manicure – but it might be a good idea to book the day for two and tag along to ease her anxieties.
Of course, remember that she is an individual. If she’s into music, look up concerts in your closest city. If she likes art or history, plan some museums. Become a personalized tour guide for cool shops, interesting sites, drag shows, and nightlife.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Kit ($25)
Organizer kits are helpful devices to keep her on top of her medication regimen, which can be beneficial if she’s forgetful or travels frequently. Unlike transgender men, most transgender women use a pill-based HRT regimen, although that doesn’t mean an HRT organizer is out of the question.
Get a fun pill organizer and help make the daily labor of pills more pleasant! Or, if you know she takes HRT via injection, get a sturdy case to help protect her medication.
Digital Artwork Commission ($)
By commissioning a digital artist, you’re supporting a small creator and giving her a deeply personal gift. Digital art is a unique way to affirm her identity – it allows her to envision herself the way she wants to be seen, even if that’s not the way she currently can present herself to the world.
Maybe she’s not into physical gifts, and none of the above options stuck out. For a woman who’s got it all, you can donate to a cause in her name – just make sure she’s keen on the idea.
There are hundreds of nonprofits out there, so pick a charity best tailored to her. The most common ones include the ACLU, HRC, Lambda Legal, Trevor Project, A4TE, Trans Lifeline, and SAGE, but make sure to consider smaller organizations or local nonprofits.
What’s the best way to make this season more enjoyable for the transgender people important to you? Here are ten gift ideas for the transgender men in your life.
These gifts are more than just “guy” things, since he’s more than just a guy to you; they affirm his core identity and remind him of the value of chosen family.
Disclaimer: None of these items are sponsored! All listed products are based on my honest and personal opinion, so take them with a grain of salt.
Chest Binder ($45) or TransTape ($20)
Most transgender men will bind their chest at some point to create a more masculine appearance and alleviate chest dysphoria. By getting him a chest binder, you’re also ensuring he binds safely with proper tools and sizing.
GC2B came under fire when they altered their original binder design, but I still believe they make the best binder for price, comfort, and accessibility. The GC2B Classic 2.0 utilizes the design of their beloved binder with an added durability stitch to provide a daily binder that gives excellent compression.
TransTape is a medical-grade adhesive that allows guys to flatten their chests without wearing a traditional binder. The process is pretty unique, and it isn’t suited to all body types, but it’s an amazing alternative that most guys will want to try out at least once.
Want to know more about binding, safety precautions, and recommendations? Read this guide!
Stand-to-Pee (STP) Device ($50)
STPs allow transgender men (or anyone, really) to urinate standing up through a funnel that creates a seal over the urethra. They offer a great deal of convenience since most men’s restrooms emphasize urinals over stalls and provide gender euphoria. STPs also increase safety since standing to pee delivers stealth, compared to the assumed suspicion of sitting to urinate in public male spaces.
TG Supply’s Lou is considered the best budget-friendly “all-in-one” STP for beginners. Despite sitting at a relatively low price point, the Lou is capable of daily packing, standing-to-pee functionality, and intimate “play” activities. And unlike some unwieldy STPs, the Lou takes little practice to master.
Consider yourself quirky and crafty? Basic STPs are easy to make at home, although they won’t look very “penis-like” to be stealth at a urinal.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) Kit ($25)
If he travels frequently, a portable HRT kit is a great gift to keep his medication secure. These tend to use hard casing to allow users to store testosterone vials, syringes, bandages, and alcohol wipes. The case protects the glass vials in case of being dropped and ensures everything stays organized – which can reduce the hassle when going through TSA.
Note: Always keep your prescription label with your medication, especially when traveling with testosterone. HRT kits also don’t insulate medication, so remember that testosterone needs to be kept at a certain temperature to remain usable.
Guys have a complex relationship with these early “beards.” It’s the first facial hair we’re able to grow, so we’re hesitant to shave, similar to teenage boys – regardless of how bad it may look. The Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s both provide excellent starter shaving sets that ease him into shaving.
Journaling can be a great tool to deal with stress and self-esteem issues, which all men experience – including transgender men. By getting him an affirmation journal, you’re guiding him to reframe negative thoughts into optimistic ones and dig into core beliefs holding him back.
Unlike other gift recommendations, I don’t have a particular product in mind. Any affirmation journal works, but he’ll probably appreciate one centered for masculine experiences (in other words, don’t get a sparkly pink one unless he likes pink and has a good sense of humor).
If he’s not the most keen on journaling, you could make a challenge with a reward at the end through joint goal setting. It’s never too early to make New Year’s resolutions!
Transgender Guide & Workbook ($20)
For guys less-than-confident about their transition, workbooks provide structured guidance regarding medical, social, and legal transition. These books are both self-help and data-packed to answer questions he wouldn’t think to ask.
The Queer and Transgender Resilience Workbook by Anneliese A. Singh and Sage Buch’s The Transmasculine Guide to Physical Transition Workbook: For Trans, Nonbinary, and Other Masculine Folks are tied for this spot. Both books have interactive exercises to inspire readers to delve deeper into their identities and gender affirmation journeys.
There’s something magical about reading a good memoir. As transgender men, we lack quality media that authentically represent our gender identity and manage to still tell a captivating story. Unlike other nonfiction, good memoirs weave advice while exploring the author’s life to inspire the reader.
There are hundreds of transgender memoirs out there, but the three I recommend most are Becoming a Visible Man, Balls, and Some Assembly Required since they’re great starting points – even for folks not into reading nonfiction.
Becoming a Visible Man was published by Jamison Green in 2004, considered a classic amongst transgender memoirs as Jamison relates his medical transition at the age of 40. Most assume folks have to transition as soon as possible, usually around the age of 18, but Jamison represents an experience just as common, even if rarely shown.
Chris Edwards wrote Balls: It Takes Some to Get Some in 2016 to chronicle his experience seeking gender affirmation surgery. There’s a stark lack of information regarding female-to-male bottom surgery, and Balls has been praised for humanizing the journey.
Some Assembly Required: The Not-So-Secret Life of a Transgender Teen was the first transmasculine memoir I ever read, so I’m admittedly attached to it. Like the other two books, it’s humorous but instead focuses on Arin Andrews’ time in high school as a transgender young person. If the transgender man in your life has identified as trans since he was a teenager, he’ll enjoy the read.
Pride flags are cool. The only problem with pride flags is that most folks get the cheapest one available. Even if his current flag was purchased at a pride festival or queer nonprofit, there is a high likelihood that the quality will be terrible and that it was produced in sweatshops overseas. In my previous work at a queer nonprofit, they purchased flags in bulk from Temu to sell at full price – so it’s more likely than you think.
My recommendation is getting a flag through a small business, like Flags for Good. Their flags are made ethically for the same price you’ll see at major pride festivals. They also design flags, so you can give him something unique – like a pride flag catered to his home state or city.
Gifts don’t have to be physically wrapped and put under a tree to be enjoyed. If he’s more into making memories, plan something to do together based on his interests. Make a day (or weekend) trip to your nearest city, look up cool shops, drag shows, museums, concerts, and support meetings.
Even in conservative states, cities remain liberal hubs with plenty of attractions and are pretty open-minded. So get to planning!
Charity Donation (Pick Your Own Budget!)
Maybe he’s not into physical gifts, and none of the above options stuck out. For a guy who’s got it all, you can donate to a cause in his name – just make sure he’s keen on the idea.
There are hundreds of nonprofits out there, so pick a charity best tailored to him. The most common ones include the ACLU, HRC, Lambda Legal, Trevor Project, A4TE, Trans Lifeline, and SAGE, but make sure to consider smaller organizations or local nonprofits.
This week saw a flurry of important cases regarding LGBTQIA+ rights, ranging from same-sex marriage to bullying. Here are the most important highlights regarding recent federal decisions on marriage equality, transgender passports, and anti-transgender bullying at school.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Kim Davis Case, Protecting Same-Sex Marriage Rights – for Now
Kim Davis was a Kentucky county clerk elected in 2014 and originally achieved notoriety in 2015. Davis had intentionally denied marriage certificates to queer couples within Rowan County in the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, citing her religious beliefs allowed her to act “under God’s authority.” Quickly after, Davis refused to follow federal orders by the Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky and was held for contempt in jail for six days – which she believed made her a martyr.
After being the laughingstock of the nation in 2015, Davis largely disappeared; she was defeated by Democrat challenger Elwood Caudill Jr. in 2018 and forced to pay $360,000 to the queer couple she had denied. Yet, in her mind, Davis was always the victim, and the Supreme Court’s decision to federally legalize same-sex marriage was a direct attack on the Christian faith.
“I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage. To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience.”
In 2015, newly elected Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin issued an executive order that eliminated the names of county clerks on marriage certificates. Bevin had hoped the decision would ease the concerns of individuals like Davis, who believed their documented name indicated approval of same-sex marriage. It had worked – Davis and her attorneys immediately dismissed their appeals.
Issues followed when Davis refused to pay legal fees to the same-sex couples who had filed lawsuits against her. Davis and her legal team asserted that they had won in a legislative victory via the executive order and therefore were not required to pay damages; Rowan County stated the local government could not pay for the legal damages accrued by a single county clerk. The federal appeals court determined in 2017 that the couples were entitled to compensation.
By 2019, Governor Bevin had made a public statement that the State of Kentucky would not pay Davis’s legal fees, “Only Davis refused to comply with the law. [Taxpayers] should not have to collectively bear the financial responsibility for Davis’s intransigence.” These back-and-forth actions continued for several years until this July. Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturnRoe v. Wade and national abortion access, Davis petitioned the Court to consider her case.
Renewed Challenge to Marriage Equality
However, the Supreme Court denied Davis’s petition. For Davis, this means she is now required to pay $360,000 to the same-sex couples affected by her decisions as county clerk without assistance from the State of Kentucky. For the rest of America, this decision preserves the integrity of marriage equality – at least temporarily.
Out of the nine Supreme Court Justices, only Clarence Thomas has vocalized a desire to revisit Obergefell v. Hodges. Immediately after the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Thomas stated he believed the Court should revisit Obergefell since both cases were decided on similar grounds. Beyond Thomas, the other Justices have not indicated any plans to reconsider marriage equality – and even hard conservative justices like Alito have stated that the Court is not amenable to overturning marriage equality.
Beyond the Supreme Court, nine states have proposed legislation that would create limitations on marriage equality within the last year. Since their victory on abortion, conservatives have rallied against marriage equality as one of their next targets. While same-sex marriage would continue to be federally protected under the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022, an overturn of Obergefell v. Hodges would allow many states to stop recognizing same-sex marriages as equal to their heterosexual counterparts.
Supreme Court Reverses Pause on Trump’s Transgender Passport Order
What the Supreme Court’s Passport Ruling Really Means
The Trump administration had made the decision via executive order extremely early in his second term, which was immediately received with backlash. Kobick and dozens of legal advocates argued that mismatching identity documents unfairly outs transgender people when traveling abroad, putting them in unnecessary danger. Executive Order 14160 (Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship) was faced with several lawsuits, including by the ACLU in Orr v. Trump, and Judge Kobick stated a temporary pause to the executive order was necessary while the lawsuit was settled.
This news is rightfully scary, but these are the key facts to keep in mind:
The Supreme Court reversed Judge Julia Kobick’s pause. The Supreme Court did NOT determine the executive order’s constitutionality nor make any determination regarding the active lawsuits it is battling. Lawsuits via the ACLU and other legal powerhouses are still active and pending.
This decision does NOT prevent transgender people from obtaining passports.Transgender people are still entitled to obtain and renew passports even under the executive order, although these passports will be flawed with inaccurate information based on one’s sex at birth.
All passports submitted or renewed will be documented with the sex one was assigned at birth, regardless of legal, social, or medical transition status. All passports will continue to be issued this way until either the executive order is deemed unconstitutional or revoked by a succeeding President.
Executive Order 14160 impacts more than just transgender Americans. Before Kobick’s pause, federal workers within the Department of State lamented that the order caused excessive bloat to their workload during a time when Elon Musk had taken over the White House to supposedly eliminate bloat. The order requires thorough research into every single passport applicant to determine their sex assigned at birth – including presumably cisgender applicants.
Many legal experts expected Trump to revoke the Biden executive order that allowed Americans to self-identify as nonbinary via an “X” marker on passports. It was unexpected that Trump would immediately revoke transgender Americans’ access to updated passports entirely – the Department of State has allowed transgender people to update their passports since 1992 under George H. W. Bush, when submitted with sufficient documentation of medical transition. Since 1992, the process has evolved as each state has created rules and regulations on updating gender information on birth certificates.
The Supreme Court issued the reversal on the basis that biological sex information does not put transgender people at higher risk – which is why media outlets like Bloomberg have stated the Supreme Court is fundamentally illogical. Flawed gender information limits transgender individuals from moving freely throughout the world and inherently puts us at risk.
In mild-mannered and relatively safe travel destinations, Executive Order 14160 means border agents will be unable to quickly verify the authenticity of transgender visitors. A transgender American visiting the European Union will have sex information that does not make sense based on their current gender expression, which makes a very real passport seem fake or stolen.
In hostile regions, Executive Order 14160 automatically outs individuals as transgender.The Supreme Court, believing that sex information does not put us at risk, does not make it a reality. There are dozens of countries that treat transgender identity as a jailable or killable offense. While transgender travelers are supposed to be safe in internationally designated spaces such as airports, we are not always safe in those spaces.
“Such senseless sidestepping of the obvious equitable outcome has become an unfortunate pattern. So, too, has my own refusal to look the other way when basic principles are selectively discarded. This court has once again paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification.”
– Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in her dissent of the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Kobick’s pause.
Domestically, ICE agents have been able to deport alleged illegal immigrants without due process. Similarly, there is little way to determine whether a foreign country is truly abiding by international standards when transgender travelers pass through during a layover. Each time an individual flies abroad, they must go through security at each location – even if it’s not their final stop.
From personal experience, it is fully within reason to believe transgender people will be victimized. I’ve been harassed numerous times by TSA agents in large-scale airports like O’Hare, Kennedy, and Hartsfield simply because my crotch did not align correctly with their 3D imaging software – even though my documentation is fully updated.
What Comes Next for Transgender Americans
The decision by the Supreme Court is disheartening, but not all is lost.The ACLU will continue to advance against the Trump administration in Orr v. Trump. It is predicted that the Supreme Court will likely hear the case in January 2026 to determine the fundamental question of whether the executive branch has the overreaching power to make decisions that can easily put citizens at harm.
I advise readers to use caution when applying for passports at this current moment.
If you currently have a passport and are looking to renew,wait until Executive Order 14160 ends unless you absolutely need to leave the United States.
Once Executive Order 14160 ends,immediately renew or obtain a passport if you have the financial means to do so.
If you currently do not have a passport,use the following resources to consider whether contingency plans are needed. Moving is never an easy choice, but having access to a passport, even if inaccurate, allows you to seek refuge if things become dire.
Olentangy Local School District replied, stating such actions would likely be considered bullying, but alternative accommodations could be made to prevent students from interacting with transgender classmates. Parents Defending Education was dissatisfied with this outcome and sought legal action.
Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District lost in the lower courts twice before reaching the Sixth Court of Appeals. At that point, Parents Defending Education misleadingly reframed transgender identity as a purely political issue, and the use of “biological pronouns” did not lead to emotional harm.
This news is upsetting and frustrating. It encapsulates centrist misunderstandings regarding misgendering. Transgender people are fully aware of our “biological truth,” just as we are aware of the complex nature of biology after middle school. Yet, humans are more than mere biology. There has never been any singular individual who has truly fit into every single gender role assigned to their biological sex. The pursuit of fitting into those roles is illogical and a prison – toxic masculinity and toxic femininity create emotionally unhealthy humans and generations of harm.
Conservatives love playing the Devil’s advocate when they state they are simply being objective to biological reality when dismissing transgender identity. Very little of the world is actually objective – society is filled with subjective and relative thinking. After all, money is just pieces of paper that we’ve agreed have meaning; we agree to refer to a woman by a new last name as soon as she’s married, regardless of the name she was born with. Saying “Happy Holidays” on December 23rd is objectively more correct than “Merry Christmas,” but conservatives are the first to put up a fight about hurt feelings.
What is the purpose of harming others? Most transgender people won’t take great offense to be occasionally misgendered or deadnamed while in the early part of their transition. It hurts, but it’s to be expected when others are adjusting to their new identity. It hurts every time we are misgendered, but we internalize it and move on with our lives under the assumption that the misgendering was NOT intentional.
Intentional misgendering is its own distinct problem. From that moment, it is a purposeful act of harming others since we are intentionally using language we know will hurt. What is the point of reminding transgender people of our “biological realities,” if it is not to belittle and demean us? Do you expect us to believe you’re making such comments in kindness and good faith?
It is these same individuals who purposefully misgender transgender people and use pejorative slurs and call us less than human. These acts do not make you appear superior because you are quoting biological truths; they make you morally repulsive because you’re presenting a complete lack of empathy as superiority. These individuals are malicious, not kind, nor truthful.
In another time, several decades ago, these same individuals would have easily argued that certain slurs, such as the n-word, were not necessarily violent when used against Black Americans. Yet, at the end of the day, they are purposefully using a word that they know will cause emotional damage because it is soaked in generations of hate.
The Sixth Circuit Court’s logic regarding Defending Education v. Olentangy Local School District is troubling. When releasing their statement, the Court stated the Olentangy Local School District was performing a form of “thought control” by not allowing students to purposely misgender peers. According to the presiding judges, the school district is not allowed to take any “side” regarding the “transgender issue,” and creating any policy limiting students in this capacity is taking a side. As mentioned earlier, Parents Defending Education chose to frame the lawsuit as a freedom of speech issue – and they succeeded, making the outcome significantly darker.
This centrist logic is malicious. There are correct and incorrect sides when people debate human rights; the moderate answer is not inherently the right one. A centrist in the 1960s would have advocated segregation as the morally superior answer to Black Americans requesting equal rights versus enslavement and genocide. When Nazis asked whether Jewish individuals deserved to live in the 1940s, there was a right answer – and it wasn’t a centrist one.
The decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court will NOT affect the majority of Americans. As a circuit court, its decision will only affect states within its jurisdiction (Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Michigan). All schools and universities within those states will have to abide by this ruling unless it is appealed and heard by the Supreme Court.
Wait, what does transgender even mean? Let’s break it down.
In the simplest terms, transgender is a label referencing any individual who identifies as a gender identity that is different from the one assigned to them at birth. This is in contrast to the label cisgender, which is given to individuals who identify as the same gender identity as the one they were born with.
“Transgender (adjective): of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity differs from the sex the person was identified as having at birth. Especially of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity is opposite to the sex the person was identified as having at birth.” – The Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Definitions Matter. Transgender describes anyone whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth, while cisgender refers to people whose gender identity aligns with their assigned sex.
Transgender People Have Always Existed. Historical evidence shows gender diversity across cultures long before modern Western terminology.
Evolution of Language. Use of the term transvestite began in 1910, but use of transgender wouldn’t be widespread until the 1990s.
Actually, nonbinary is also an umbrella term – but to keep things simple, it is a third gender that some people identify with rather than traditional gender identities like male and female.
Remember the definition for both terms. A nonbinary person CAN be transgender if they are assigned a gender identity like male or female at birth. On the other hand, a nonbinary person can also be cisgender if they are assigned and raised nonbinary. If that nonbinary person identifies as the gender identity they were assigned, they are cisgender.
A growing number of children are being raised without strict gender roles, which means they could end up as nonbinary and cisgender. In other parts of the world, this has happened for centuries, where third-gender identities have been allowed to flourish.
Before We Were Trans: Transgender Labels in the Pre-Modern Age
With no other language available, we were pansies and dykes when we failed to conform in Christian-based societies that dominated Europe and global colonization. In society’s eyes, there was no reason to care about the nuanced differences between cisgender gay men and lesbians versus transgender people.
Despite this, there are still instances of those select occurrences when society did distinguish us. In the case of Thomas(ine) Hall, a genderfluid English colonist that would be described as intersex today, Governor John Pott determined Hall had a sex and gender of “dual nature.” Other figures, like Chevalière d’Éon, were simply referred to without any labels separating them based on their sex assigned at birth.
Cercle Hermaphroditos was formed in 1895, becoming the first known advocacy organization centered on trans-related identities. Its members described themselves as “instinctive female impersonators,” as well as androgynes, queens, fairies, and Uranians. All of these terms were commonplace in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but did not distinguish members of Cercle Hermaphroditos as different from effeminate but cisgender men.
The Golden Years of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld
Magnus Hirschfeld was an outspoken scholar during the Weimar Republic, Germany’s brief golden years that brought immense social freedoms to a repressed public. He was one of the most influential sexologists to ever exist, and his advocacy of LGBTQIA+ rights earned him the ire of the Nazi Party, which would exile Hirschfeld to France.
Despite the time, Hirschfeld believed humans possessed a spectrum of traits associated with masculinity and femininity. Instead, he argued that a small number of remarkable people were “sexual intermediaries” who transcended the binary identities assigned to them at birth. He considered Socrates, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare fell under this label, who are all figures understood now to be LGBTQIA+.
Continuing this work, Hirschfeld published a nearly 1,000-page study titled “Die Transvestiten: Eine Untersuchung über den Erotischen Verkleidungstrieb” in 1910. This is the first use of the term “transvestite,” and his book is still considered the most comprehensive treatise regarding transvestism. Based on the flawed understanding of sexology then, Magnus Hirschfeld grouped gender-nonconforming individuals we would describe as transgender today as the same as those who cross-dress due to erotic arousal.
Transvestite comes from the Latin roots “trans” and “vestire.” It literally means “to dress across” to reference cross-dressing. Today, transvestite overwhelmingly refers to individuals who cross-dress for sexual pleasure.
Hirschfeld gave a lecture on March 16, 1923, at the University of Berlin to discuss his understanding of sexual intermediates. Now transcribed as “Die Intersexuelle Konstitution,” Hirschfeld coined the term transsexualismus from the Latin roots of trans (across or beyond) and sexus (biological sex). In the same lecture, Hirschfeld also coined the distinction between transsexuality and intersexuality.
Transsexualismus would not be introduced into English until 1949, translated as the term transsexual. The linguistic change from previous terms like transvestite to this new one was an important one; it signified that individuals who truly identified as another gender identity were different from individuals who cross-dressed for sexual pleasure.
This separated understanding molded the trajectory of research related to gender identity, leading scholars to eventually deduce that transsexual identity was not a sex-based mental illness like pedophilia.
“If we follow intersexuality from homosexuality via gynandromorphic physicality and psychic transsexualism in both directions, we arrive in an incomplete constitutional series on the one hand at the preliminary stages of hermaphroditism, and on the other at the metatropic emotional attitude towards the opposite sex, aggression inversion.” – Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, 1923. “Die Intersexuelle Konstitution”
Jorgensen is considered the first person widely known in the US for undergoing the operation. Her story became front-page news, making Christine an instant celebrity and novelty to the American public. At the time, she identified with the most available language of the period and described herself to numerous audiences as transsexual – although she would later prefer the term transgender upon its eventual popularization.
Following Jorgensen, a number of other transgender women received media attention, such as Delisa Newton, Charlotte Frances McLeod, Tamara Rees, and Marta Olmos Ramiro. However, none of these women were given positive spotlights since Christine was the “good transsexual” most appealing to American audiences.
The Benjamin scale placed gender-nonconforming people into one of the following categories:
Pseudo Transvestite
Fetishistic Transvestite
True Transvestite
Nonsurgical Low-Intensity Transsexual
Moderate-Intensity True Transsexual
High-Intensity True Transsexual
What does it take to be a queen?
The 1960s brought a large number of terms to identify gender-nonconformativity – but these terms weren’t necessarily common. Terms like transsexual were considered medical and were not common labels that everyday individuals self-described as.
There is still contention on whether major figures in LGBTQIA+ history like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera would be classified as transgender. Unlike earlier predecessors, Johnson and Rivera technically existed during a time period when terms like transsexual existed during the Stonewall Riots and the creation of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries.
Even though it is widely known that Marsha used “she/her” pronouns and a feminine name in daily life, she did not identify as transsexual – she identified as a transvestite and drag queen.
Even though it was a dangerous time to cross-dress, it was infinitely safer and more acceptable to be considered a cross-dressing transvestite or drag performer than to be authentically trans due to the legislative and societal landscape.
Most often, it was white individuals of the middle and upper classes who could identify as transsexual. People like Christine Jorgensen were able to afford the backlash that the medical and legal transition would cost.
For the rest of the transgender community, outward identity came at the cost of family and job opportunities. For working individuals, aligning with drag was the most feasible route to financial survival alongside sex work.
To be Transgenderal
For approximately half of her life, Virginia Prince identified as a heterosexual cross-dresser. This includes nearly the entire timeline of when Prince published “Transvestia,” a magazine aimed at trans-related individuals like Prince from 1960 to 1980.
Like Oliven, Prince believed transgender identity had nothing to do with one’s sexual orientation. However, unlike Oliven, Prince asserted a different definition much more similar to ours today. According to Virginia, transgenderists were individuals who lived full-time as a chosen gender identity different from the one they were assigned at birth, but did not undergo genital surgery.
Ari Kane, another notable figure in the cross-dressing community, began identifying herself as transgenderist in 1976. It was through Kane’s close relationships with transvestites that she came to found Fantasia Fair, although the event was originally aimed towards heterosexual cross-dressers before its audience shifted towards transgender individuals. Like Prince, Kane helped popularize the term transgender amongst the subcultures she frequented.
The general mission of TV.TS was to establish awareness amongst community members regarding legal and medical rights. By the end of the conference, TV.TS was most known for cementing the fundamental differences between transgender, transsexual, and transvestite communities. As the transvestite community drifted away from LGBTQIA+ identities and towards kink circles, transgender and transsexual identities became more uniform over the next decade.
Trans: A New Umbrella
By the 1990s, transgender began to become the dominant identity label as the distinction between transgender and transsexual faded. Transgender also functioned as an umbrella term, covering many small identities like transmasculine, transfeminine, nonbinary, genderqueer, demigender, bigender, and others.
There are still individuals who identify as transsexual today. All transsexual people are transgender, but not all transgender people are transsexual.
Transsexual individuals seek medical interventions as part of their transition or gender affirmation journey. This can include any range of procedures, such as hormone replacement therapy or surgeries.
Transgender individuals refer to anyone who identifies as a gender different than the one assigned to them at birth. Compared to transsexual people, transgender individuals do not inherently want medical transition.
Since the 1990s, the transgender label hasn’t significantly changed. Regardless, language is fluid and constantly evolving – so remember that today’s definitions are not inherently tomorrow’s answers.
Every person deserves support. Transgender people are no exception. But where do you find information, resources, and tools? With thousands of websites out there, getting connected can feel overwhelming. Here are ten important transgender websites you should be aware of.
Advocates for Trans Equality
A4TE was formed in 2024 when the National Center for Transgender Equality and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund merged. For transgender Americans, A4TE might be the most important organization to be aware of.
Transgender people deserve access to healthcare. The Trans Health Project by A4TE guides users through understanding trans-inclusive (and exclusive) coverage through the American insurance industry, how to get a letter of medical necessity, and a hub of directories (like OutCare) for finding a trans-friendly healthcare provider.
Each state has different regulations regarding transgender healthcare. The Project includes information regarding each state, as well as Medicaid policies. It also provides templates to give to your provider, easing the insurance process with checklists and letter formats, as well as appeal templates if your insurance company disagrees that your care should be covered.
ID Document Center
You don’t need a law degree to legally change your name or gender marker. Regardless, it can feel like you should – updating your documents is complicated and you’ll have to navigate a complex system with forms, deadlines, and meetings.
The ID Document Center explains the processes behind updating one’sinformation on birth certificate, driver’s license, state ID, passports, social security, immigration documents, and selective service based on the individual state.
Name Change Project
Low-income individuals in select cities are eligible for pro bono legal name change services through A4TE and its partners. Eligible applicants are connected with law firms and corporate legal departments local to their region. At the time of this article, A4TE’s Name Change Project services individuals in the following cities:
Atlanta, Georgia
Chicago, Illinois
New York City (all five boroughs in New York and Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union, and Middlesex counties in New Jersey)
Long Island, New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
If you live outside of the above cities, you can still find assistance through organizations listed in A4TE’s Trans Legal Services Network.
And Other Incredible Services
A4TE takes on a small number of critical court cases each year to establish new legal precedents regarding transgender law. Impact litigation services are generally unrelated to ID cases that would otherwise be covered in the ID Document Center.
Folks residing in the United States or Canada can utilize Trans Lifeline, a grassroots nonprofit that operates an anonymous and confidential hotline for trans people, by trans people.
Unlike other crisis services (such as 988), Trans Lifeline does not use nonconsensual active rescue and will not call emergency services or law enforcement without the explicit consent of the caller. They’re also not affiliated with the federal government and cannot be impacted by federal attacks, such as those targeting the Trevor Project or 988.
Trans Lifeline also hosts a Resource Library, which contains resources that are unlikely to be found elsewhere, such as information on police abolition and community safety.
Originally known as TS Road Map, the Transgender Map has existed online since 1998 and contains over 2,000 pages of researched content to guide visitors through trans-related topics.
It’s regularly updated through the massive undertaking of one individual. Coming out advice, HRT, clothing, voice training, disclosure, handwriting, documents, marriage, films, forums… Transgender Map covers nearly everything you could think of when it comes to transitioning.
Are there books you want to read but don’t have access to? Transgender media isn’t frequently distributed through major publishers, so readers are forced to purchase literature when these items are not available in local libraries. Trans Reads is the community-driven solution to make transgender books accessible.
As a digital community library, anyone can upload content for Trans Reads’ librarians to curate. All items are publicly available at all times. The only downside to the site is its sorting, and it contains thousands of pieces that you’ll have to search through. While Trans Reads offers some reading lists, there aren’t many – its librarians are focused on collecting and uploading items, so you have to know what you’re looking for ahead of time.
Interested in more free clear web virtual libraries?
Internet Archive / Originally created as a library in 1996, the Internet Archive uses web crawlers to collect as much data as possible to provide “universal access to information.” Items can be virtually borrowed with a free account.
Library Genesis (aka LibGen) / The most well-known shadow library on the clear web. Due to constant attacks and takedowns by the federal government since shadow libraries disperse paywalled content for free, you might have to search for its current URL or mirror.
Audiobook Bay / Similar to The Pirate Bay, generally safe, but use with caution. Check the website’s Reddit to find the most current mirror. To access Audiobook Bay, you’ll likely need a VPN like Proton.
Project Gutenberg / PG is the oldest digital library and has provided books via open format files since 1971. Out of all of the libraries listed, it’s the easiest to access since all of its items are public domain and therefore not subject to copyright takedowns.
Queer Liberation Library / QLL offers books through its free account system, and its site is great when used in tandem with others like Trans Reads, since its librarians offer a ton of book suggestions.
Digital Transgender Archive
DTA is the world’s largest trans-focused online archive. It contains thousands of items similar to the Internet Archive before the 2000s, hosting uploaded books, artworks, publications, audio recordings, and films.
The Digital Transgender Archive is the best place to research transgender history, especially in tandem with the Internet Archive. Items date back to the 1500s up to modern day.
Strands for Trans
Many transgender and nonbinary people feel uncomfortable going to salons or barbershops. Hair plays a role in gender expression and our ability to feel represented. However, salons and barbershops have gendered expectations – so there’s little way to know if a stylist will be transgender-friendly.
Strands For Trans is a data map that allows visitors to locate self-identified transgender-friendly salons and barbershops. To be eligible, businesses have to submit their application for review through the Strands For Trans website, similar to Everywhere Is Queer.
REFUGE
Using archival data from Safe2Pee, REFUGE is a community data map that shows transgender-friendly restrooms. Visitors upload and pinpoint safe locations to help their peers feel comfortable.
Unlike other maps, REFUGE leans heavily into user experiences – so it’s easier to know if a location is genuinely trans-friendly based on other transgender people’s experiences.
Erin in the Morning
Erin Reed is an American journalist who provides daily updates on transgender-relevant news and legislation. Her videos are bite-sized and easy to digest; her substack and newsletters are detailed and researched. Stay aware of ongoing attacks on trans rights as well as victories, subscribe to Erin in some way to be connected to the national picture.
In addition to daily content, Erin also manages two maps of interest. The National Risk Assessment Map visualizes anti-transgender legislation for transgender adults and youth to better understand safety risks. Erin’s Informed Consent HRT Map is a public pin map of known informed consent HRT providers throughout the United States.
Similarly, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) is an independent think tank that visualizes legislation on a larger range of issues. MAP’s data is updated less frequently than Erin’s, but covers more topics like bathroom laws, healthcare regulations, name change protocols, and religious exemptions.
The Transgender Legislation Tracker visualizes and tracks transgender-related legislation throughout the United States. Each state is accounted for, showing currently proposed, passed, and active bills, as well as federal legislation. Erin in the Morning is best used to digest and understand these bills, but the Transgender Legislation Tracker directs you to the actual legislation.
Turn Me Into…
The following sites are great resources for individuals who are questioning their gender or are early in their transition. In a society that demonizes transness, it’s easy to feel conflicted or uncertain. All of the following sites debunk common myths and walk visitors through the questioning process.
The Gender Dysphoria Bible is another great resource. The “Turn Me Into” websites are shorter and cover general topics many questioning folk have early in the process. The Gender Dysphoria Bible, on the other hand, is extensive. Similar to the Lesbian Comphet Masterdoc, the Gender Dysphoria Bible touches on ideas you probably didn’t consider related to trans identity.
And as an honorable mention, the Pronoun Dressing Room is good for folks experimenting with pronouns, names, and gendered titles. The site allows users to try out identities without needing to come out publicly or use social media accounts.
Reddit
On its own, Reddit is a BEAST. It’s a collection of communities that use forums to chat. Reddit is used by all sorts of people – right-wingers, leftists, liberals, apolitical types. Heck, even my grandmother uses Reddit. Compared to traditional platforms like Facebook, Reddit allows for greater anonymity and niche communities.
There are millions of subreddits (individual communities or forums) out there. There are thousands of trans-specific subreddits, so I can safely promise there is a community out there for you. These are the largest and most generalized three for trans folks.
Technically speaking, the American LGBTQ+ Museum does not exist. Yet. Planning for a national LGBTQIA+ history museum began in 2017 and has been under construction over the past five years. Ultimately, it hopes to host hundreds of thousands of visitors throughout 4,000 square feet of physical space, combined with virtual exhibitions, in New York City.
The American LGBTQ+ Museum is currently on track to officially open to the public in 2027.
The ArQuives
Although the ArQuives are Canadian, their online collection is extensive enough that it deserves to be included. Originally founded in 1973 as the Canadian Gay Liberation Movement Archives, it preserves thousands of books, diaries, portraits, zines, press clippings, videos, posters, cassettes, buttons, flags, T-shirts, and other items of note.
Digital Transgender Archives
The DTA uses material from more than sixty international colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, and private collections to serve as the world’s largest transgender library. The site works similarly to the Internet Archive and is completely free for individuals to use.
DTA hosts born-digital materials, digitized records, and non-digital archives. Its collection is curated from content before 2000, so post-2000 materials are not hosted through the DTA.
DID YOU KNOW?
LGBTQIA+ people have existed everywhere, which means every city has the potential to have a local LGBTQIA+ museum, such as St. Louis, San Diego, and Boston. Search what resources that are close to you to learn more about local queer history!
If your area does not have any related institutions, you have the power to create your own. Queer history is tomorrow, yesterday – and today.
Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives
Based in Chicago, Gerber/Hart is one of the largest LGBTQIA+ libraries in the United States and houses 14,000 volumes and 800 periodicals. Unlike other notable museums, like the GLBT Historical Society, Gerber/Hart boasts an impressive online collection and exhibits for online users to browse.
GLBT Historical Society
Even though the GLBT Historical Society hosts a smaller collection than some of its colleagues, it is the second full-scale stand-alone museum in the world and is one of the few American LGBTQIA+ archives that hosts paid staff to produce exhibitions, programming, and research.
Interference Archive
Okay, the Interference Archive isn’t necessarily queer. It’s a volunteer-run library centered on social movements, which includes the history of LGBTQIA+ equality. Activism and social justice produce unique memorabilia to sway the general public, and thus the Interference Archive is filled with posters, zines, buttons, and materials used by activists to change the world.
Leather Archives & Museum
LA&M is the leading institution preserving queer erotica and has been preserving kink and fetish history since 1991. It was originally established in response to the AIDS crisis due to the inherent kink associated with LGBTQIA+ people decades ago. Without the LA&M, history from leather and fetish communities would have been lost, intentionally suppressed, or discarded.
The LA&M is open to the general public, and its collection is available to view online. However, due to the nature of its material, users must be at least 18 years old to view online collections or visit the LA&M.
After robbing and inflicting immense pain on Matthew due to being gay, hits murderers tied him to a split-rail fence and left him to die. His murder, as well as the murders of James Byrd Jr. and Brandon Teena, received international attention as the public called for greater legal protection for minorities.
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Also based in New York City, the Lesbian Herstory Archives is both a community center and a library to preserve lesbian history. In their own words, the Lesbian Herstory Archives aims to protect “history that has always included, and continues to include, lesbian women, butches, femmes, cross dressers, passing women, and those who are trans, two spirited, same-gender-loving, as well as others, all of whom at times were, and still can be, made to feel unwelcome in the world by others, sometimes even by other Lesbians.”
The downside to the Lesbian Herstory Archives is that just part of their collection is digitized, so individuals will only be able to view a small proportion of the museum. The Archives have been around since 1974 and are considered the world’s largest collection of lesbian material, but they only recently began digitizing items.
LGBTQ National History Archives
The United States National Archives exists to preserve and provide public access to notable records created throughout US history. Most individuals seek the National Archives for data on family genealogy, military services, and documentation regarding previous laws, voting records, and budgets. For the majority of Americans, the National Archives are boring but necessary to ensure the federal government is relatively accountable and transparent.
The National Archives has a dedicated department for LGBTQIA+ records. Many of the National Archives’ items have been digitized for users to browse online, but hundreds of thousands of items are available online to view in person.
It is critical to consider the impact of current politics on the preservation of history. While most administrations have valued the importance of the National Archives regardless of political affiliation, that does not mean current or future parties won’t attempt to corrupt its data’s integrity.
While other LGBTQIA+ archives work to preserve general and region-specific history, the LGBTQ-RAN encourages the study and preservation of LGBTQIA+ religious works. Its collection is entirely virtual and spans various denominations of Christianity, Judaism, Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Native American spirituality.
Library of Congress
In addition to the National Archives, the general public has access to the Library of Congress. The LOC also serves as the federal research service for Congress and operates the United States Copyright Office.
As one of the largest libraries in the world, the LOC contains 173 million items and 14 petabytes of content from around the globe. Although the Library of Congress employs federal employees, its staff are not tied to any given administration and aim to contain as much knowledge as possible without discrimination.
The ONE Archives stems from the ONE Institute, the oldest active LGBTQIA+ organization in the country. ONE was created from the Mattachine Society in 1952 to help publish the United States’ first national gay periodical as ONE Magazine.
Given the fact that the ONE Archives descend from ONE Magazine, it makes sense that the organization values the preservation of queer history. It contains over 2 million items in its collection, ranging from books and films to photographs and buttons.
When Bayard is mentioned, it’s rarely discussed that Bayard was a gay Black man. In reality, this is why few people know him – Bayard was advised by his fellow civil rights advocates to lead from behind the scenes since his gay identity could possibly bring criticism to the community. Even today in places like the National Civil Rights Museum, Bayard’s identity is still enveloped in whispers.
Queer Zine Archive Project
Zines have a unique place in LGBTQIA+ history, allowing queer and punk activists a new medium to represent their ideas. QZAP was founded in 2003 to provide universal online access to preserved zines as another “living history” of larger queer culture.
Smithsonian Institute
Although there are larger museums, the Smithsonian plays a critical role as the federal authority on education and research. Prior to 1967, the Smithsonian was known as the United States National Museum – and today, the organization holds 157 items across 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education centers, various historical landmarks, and a zoo.
The Smithsonian also contains items related to LGBTQIA+ history, which is why it’s worth checking out when diving deeper into queer studies. However, compared to other federal entities, the Smithsonian has been the most directly targeted by political administrations to change and fit alternate agendas.
The Stonewall Inn and its associated riots occurred in New York City. The Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library, on the other hand, is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While it boasts an impressive digital collection, the Stonewall Museum, Archives & Library is most famous for its detailed LGBTQIA+ History Timeline, known as In Plain Sight.
The Center’s Archives
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center of New York City (also known as The Center) is arguably the largest LGBTQIA+ community center in the United States. The Center has been the starting point for many other important agencies, such as GLAAD and ACT UP, and hosts its own library archive.
Transgender Oral History Project
Originally, the Transgender Oral History Project was a documentary series meant to compile the experiences of transgender communities across the United States. The project behind the Transgender Oral History Project donated its items to the University of Minnesota so they could focus on their current project, “America in Transition.”
