The Great Experiment
Posted on the 26th of July 2009 at 16:14 by Bodil
I’ve been toying with this idea lately: what if I entered the state program for treating transgender issues, the Gender Identity Disorder clinic, just to see if it’s as bad as I think?
Some background is necessary here. First of all, health care in Norway is provided by the state. Transgendered people who want hormone treatment and various surgeries, not to mention legal recognition of any kind, are referred to the GID clinic in Oslo, and, if diagnosed, are treated at the state’s expense. I’ve quite deliberately avoided doing this for a variety of reasons, which I will get into in some detail shortly, but to summarise, it’s because the clinic itself has a bad reputation among trans people in Norway, and because the guidelines set down by the state are, in my eyes, quite horrific. Basically, I’ve wanted no part in it because it offends me politically, and because I’ve expected they would refuse to diagnose me.
I know a handful of trans people who have been diagnosed and treated by the GID clinic, and who are mostly happy with the results. The process, as they report it, has been smooth and painless, if, perhaps, somewhat plagued by the bureaucratic inertia one would expect from a state institution. What these people have in common, of course, is that they all fall comfortably within the GID clinic’s definition of what constitutes transsexualism. They all experienced gender dysphoria, and subsequently went on to have genital surgery and legal recognition of their reassigned genders. You’ll hear them complain about certain people at the clinic–one name, which I won’t repeat, keeps being mentioned–but mostly they got what they wanted and are happy.
Then there are the horror stories. I won’t get into the details of these, but think suicides and self-inflicted genital mutilation, and you’re on the right track. You see, the GID clinic is apparently very strict about whom they diagnose.
First of all, you must be perfectly sane. Any mental issues, and you’re referred to regular psychiatric treatment until such time as you can be considered mentally stable. The problem here, of course, is that often those mental issues are direct results of gender dysphoria, and the best treatment would actually be what the GID clinic offers. Denying this treatment tends, as I’ve mentioned, to lead to rather spectacular cases of self-abuse.
Second, the definition of the kind of transsexualism they are prepared to diagnose is very strict. You must be prepared to undergo the full regimen of treatments, including genital reassignment surgery, to be considered a candidate. In other words, if your species of transgenderism doesn’t involve you wanting to become, in every physical detail, a member of the opposite sex, they’ll have nothing to do with you.
This rather horrific concept ties in with the legal situation: in Norway, social security numbers are gender specific. You can tell from whether the ninth digit is odd or even what legal gender a person is. This gender is assigned at birth, in the way you’d expect. In order to change it–both your legal gender and the very obvious giveaway of the social security number–you are required to undergo genital surgery. If you live and identify as a woman, but have a penis, you are, by legal definition, male. This means that as far as the Norwegian state and legal system are concerned, I am a man. It says so in my passport, and the only way I can change that is by having genital surgery.
Now, let’s stop for a moment and emphasize that I have no real idea whether any of this is true. That is, the legal issues I detailed in the last paragraph are real. However, nothing of what I’ve said about the GID clinic is anything but hearsay, and much of it may come from people who may be seriously mentally unbalanced. All of it comes from people with very specific agendas, whether aligned with or opposed to that of the GID clinic’s actual policies. The trend, though–and I tend to assume trends form out of some measure of actual truth–is that either you’re the model heteronormative transsexual, or you’ll come away disappointed. This is one of the reasons I’ve decided to go my own way, the other being an innate sense of independence: wanting, perhaps even needing, to solve my own problems on my own terms.
As far as I’m concerned, my process is complete, aside from the continuous need to ensure a steady supply of anti-androgens, which is not a big issue. In other words, I have, at present, nothing to lose by applying for treatment at the GID clinic. If they turn me down, I’m still where I want to be. If they accept me, on my own terms, then at least they’ll cover some of my expenses and provide better medical care than a general practitioner is normally able to. Most importantly, I’ll be able to see, firsthand, if the situation is really as bleak as the evidence suggests. Not to mention it’ll give me something to blog about again.
The political situation for transgendered people in Norway is horrid. I’m not being abused by the government for being trans, or anything like that. I’m not likely to be thrown in jail for having a penis. They are, however, denying trans people the basic human right of being able to identify with their own gender, even if their genitals happen to fail to meet the normal expectations of that gender. This is a real issue, one that affects me directly and robs me of a fair amout of dignity. It’s real, and most importantly, it’s a known factor. I expect politicians are too busy relocating immigrants to foreign labour camps and selling the legal system off to the copyright mafia to care about just another legally abused minority, but at least we know what needs to be done and can start fighting for it right now.
What goes on at the GID clinic–the only institution in Norway that is allowed to treat transgendered people–is not really a known quantity. There is an official story, of course, but there are too many conflicting stories floating around in back channels–and too many startling and horrific incidents appearing in the press, like this one about a young trans woman castrating herself after being denied treatment–that I can feel entirely sure what’s really going on there. My impression is that it used to be really bad, but has gotten better in recent years, though the situation is still far from ideal.
So here’s what I can offer: I’m a perfectly sane, smart, educated and well adjusted trans woman who has been living full-time for more than a year. I’m basically their perfect candidate–down to the proven and undeniable track record–except for the one crucial issue of having no genital dysphoria; no need to remove my penis. What will happen if I apply? Will they happily take me, with my one little flaw, or will they turn me away for not meeting their backwards definition of what a trans woman should be?
Obviously, there’s only one way to find out, which is why I’ve decided to start the process of becoming a government authorised tranny, just to see what the situation really is like. Maybe I’ll pick up some political ammunition on the way; maybe I’ll find everything in admirable order. We’ll see: whatever happens, I’ll obviously keep you posted.
