lily_lxndr
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Quick note, given "the circumstances"
🕑 Added 2024-11-07 22:21:51 +0000 UTCHey folks,
I'll try to get a proper production diary out this month, but wanted to check in now because I know lots of my audience is American. Not to mention, all of us live in a world that's dominated & held back by U.S. policy, and have reasons to be worried right now.
I wanted to say I'm thinking of you all. I hope all of you are safe, and have any support you need from loved ones. It's not enough but I do still hope it. A good chunk of my week has been spent supporting my American friends and discussing their next moves, including possible physical ones out of the country. The power of friendship has compelled me to meet the hells of immigration law, which will probably be an important knowledge base for many reasons in the coming decade.
In my last update, I told you I was working on a video about Canadian national identity. That video is proving to be a colossal undertaking, and I'm really hoping to release another video in 2024, so I've put it on the back-burner for now. I'm looking for something I can make while supporting my friends, getting my (technically unannounced) podcast over the finish line, and remaining very much preoccupied with The Disaster.
Last night, a new idea came to me fully-formed, and I feel pretty determined to give it a shot. Many trans people are newly worried they'll lose access to hormone therapy; lots more already couldn't access it due to draconian healthcare bans. There's been a surge in discussion of DIY HRT: "do-it-yourself hormone therapy", essentially ordering hormones on the internet and self-managing your transition, without any doctors involved. DIY'ing is controversial even in some trans spaces because of the grey area it's presumed to inhabit, and that controversy can make it taboo to even discuss.Many trans people expect to have their healthcare stripped away from them in the coming years, and when considering DIYing, they may see its mixed reputation and worry: "Is this safe? Is it legal?"
It turns out... yeah, basically! DIY supply chains have existed for decades and are, in some ways, better than the conventional medical system. This is a sensitive topic, and risks do exist. But seeing as DIYing is the only option available to many people, I think they should have access to all the facts, so they can make the decision that's right for them. This video would be called "Everything I can Legally Tell You about DIY HRT". Not my usual wheelhouse, but... I don't know, man, I need to do something useful with myself right now. This feels urgent.
I'm talking to a lot of people for this project, including DIY hormone users, educators, and providers. If you've ever used DIY hormone therapy, or considered doing so, please shoot me a message, I would love to talk (and take protecting my sources seriously!)
Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for reading. There is a long future ahead.
xoxo Lily
Comments
Lily Alexandre
Thank you! I was given the advice "only make bangers" at some point and really internalized it - no quick throwaway projects. This also puts a lot of pressure on each upload, so Patreon totally helps make it feasible – it's the biggest reason I can take my time.
Stephan Wimmer
"That video is proving to be a colossal undertaking" I know Patreon is only a part of your revenue stream, but I like bigger projects (if the subject merits that). And I'd rather wait longer than have something "thrown together". I hope Patreon can be part of what gives you the freedom to spend that time.
Gwen Lofman
I was mentioning DIY HRT to my wife for precisely the reasons you alluded to, looking forward to this
Duncan Griffin
Ooh, good points - lots to think about. Thanks!
Lily Alexandre
I believe cis people do have an easier time accessing HRT here, yeah. I think on a small scale, cis folks getting prescriptions and keeping them available for trans people in their communities would be helpful. That entails a decent amount of effort to help a couple people at most, so I think on a bigger scale, solidarity can look like: - Donating to local DIY distributors - Advising on legal or scientific questions (if qualified) - Paying for users' blood tests - Paying for lab testing of grey-market HRT - Assuming some risk, by getting HRT shipped to their houses - Doing outreach with a harm reduction org Thanks for saying this - it's totally gotten the cogs turning for me. There are tons of ways people can support, really!
Duncan Griffin
Love the DIY HRT video plan. Like (presumably?) a lot of your viewers, I'm cis, and one thing I wonder is if cis people have more access to hormones through the Canadian or American medical systems than trans people do - I'm thinking about how in the UK it's harder for trans people to get the exact same hormones cis people do for things like hair loss, sex drive, etc. If so, it could be a great time for cis people to start building a practice of solidarity around actually getting our hands on materials that we can stockpile, transport, and/or disseminate through support networks. (I mention it since it could be a helpful aside/note in such a video so cis people have some tangible ideas to start materially supporting trans people in danger of losing access to hormones.) Excited for the video! Hope everyone is holding up okay.
Lily Alexandre
thank you so much!
Ombremonde
Great! I asked around from a collective I knew in my old city and they said they would send me some zines in my mail address, I'll send them your way when I get them if you want. In the meantime they gave me this link that you might already know but just in case https://diyhrt.wiki/ (and there's some ressource on safe injection on their website https://transphere.eu.org/ressources) good luck on this project, it will really help I think 💪 wish I could do more (in general).
Lily Alexandre
Thank you so much, I’ll be reading this! Great to find resources that aren’t about the US or UK. (And French is no prob for me)
Ombremonde
Hi Lily, I don't know much personally, but the french association Fransgenre made a short guide https://hackmd.io/@biyokea/diy_ths_fg but it's in French sorry. Your video project is a really good idea imo.
frogsmore
And all of this goes for me except that I am in Australia... where the rule-of-thumb is: whence the US goes, we blindly and dutifully follow. :'(
Vince Whitacre
Thank you, Lily. I'm a middle-aged (yes saying that tastes like ashes in my mouth 🤣 but that doesn't make it any less true) cisgender, basically hetero white man in the US. In other words, I'm the Bad Guy. Not personally, but yeah: this is because of people like me. I'm sorry for what we have done. And yeah. I'm terrified for my trans, queer, POC, immigrant, nonchristian (I guess that's the one thing besides being a leftist that makes me "other" to the rest of the People Like Me) friends & family. I participate in some direct financial community support, and I'm looking for more things I can do beyond the financial stuff since I'm tapped now... but right now it's all I can think of. Help people when I can. If one person doesn't lose their home, their job, their healthcare, their freedom, their life - it is at least, in that one part, a good day. Take care of each other. Hopefully soon there will be more we can do, but right now: take care of each other.
