"What would happen if you were on a deserted island and couldn't take hormones?"
There are two issues to consider if I stopped taking hormones. First, and most simply, the physical effects. Right now, I'm taking testosterone blockers (to help negate the testosterone my body is producing) and estrogen (to help push my body toward the hormonal norm for women). As such, blood tests taken on me right now would show a hormonally normal and balanced woman: lots of estrogen, a little testosterone. The effects of that have been physical and emotional: I grew boobs, lost some muscle mass, my body hair thinned out a bit, and I've become more emotional.
Were I to stop taking those pills, my hormone balance would slowly start shifting toward typical male: mostly testosterone, some estrogen. My breasts would 'deflate' a little - though not a ton - and I'd regain some of that muscle mass I lost. Likewise, my body hair would become a bit more aggressive, and my emotions would swing back from easily expressed to slightly more difficult to access. These are all pretty objective measures, and something I'm comfortable stating with some certainty.
From a mental health perspective, though, it's much harder to determine exactly what would happen. My living and presenting as Rebecca, as who I know myself to be, has been a huge boon to how I feel about myself. I realize that identity isn't 100% related to my physical body, but certainly some of it is. As such, were I to stop taking hormones, I'm confident my mental health status would begin to plummet back towards feelings of depression and suicide. Whether I would give into them would probably depend on the situation: if I felt there was a good chance of being rescued from the island, I'd try to stick it out. If I believed I could never go back on hormones, there's a good chance I would take my own life.
In this way, I like the analogy of being on hormones like being on insulin for diabetics. There's less of an obvious correlation between taking the pills and being healthy, yes, but there is a direct connection between my being on hormones and having good - and not suicidal - mental health.
"How can we teach this story and make it accessible to younger children?"
The trans narratives available to younger children aren't overwhelming, but some do exist. For little ones, books like 10,000 Dresses and My Princess Boy explicitly deal with trans narratives at a youth-appropriate level. For slightly older students, books like Almost Perfect and My Gender Workbook deal with issues of gender at an age-appropriate level. In film, It's Elementary and Bullied are two movies that deal with school-age issues of sexuality, though neither are appropriate for really young children.
Beyond that, any book or movie about someone attempting to impose an identity on another can be linked to a discussion of gender and being able to chose ones gender, rather than allowing it to be imposed.
As much as it's often scary or uncomfortable for adults to discuss issues of gender and sexuality with children, children are already thinking about and dealing with them. Not discussing them doesn't actually 'protect' children from these issues, it just leaves them ignorant.
"What peer support is out there?"
Unfortunately, this is an answer that depends on where you live. In the Chicago area, The Broadway Youth Center and Pride Youth on the north shore. Online, AntiJen and the AntiJen listserv are great places to start. Beyond that, looking into local Gay-Straight Alliances or pride organizations, as well as contacting the above organizations and asking for resources closer to your geographic area.
Links, orgs, and books recommended by Rebecca-Illinois Safe School Alliance -The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals (book)
-Almost Perfect (novel)
Do you have any questions for Rebecca, or any other resources we should know about? Let us know! Email us at questions4newsuit@gmail.com.
