MtF in Texas seeking transition resources

August 2, 2013 3:32 PM

I'm a broke 30-year-old pre-everything MtF butch in Austin, TX. There's a chance I'll be coming the rest of the way out and trying to transition soon. I'll need some hormones, all the hair removal, and a bit of a community.

By pre-everything I mean pre-everything. Not just "no surgery" or "no estrogen" but "still got a full beard" and "just barely out of the closet" and so on. Digging my way out from under a big ol' pile of internalized transphobia. Everything is still up in the air, but there is at least a chance I will want to start transitioning in the next year, and I want to start scoping out my options.

I've got a therapist I like, a super-supportive (cis queer) wife, and some super-supportive (cis and FtM) friends. I don't need surgery (yet, possibly ever) or legal shit like a name change (yet). What I do need is...

1. A place to get electrolysis. Cheap is good, but "not totally shitty" is also good. Trans-friendly is mandatory. Oh and goddammit I've got more body hair than anyone I know. Fuck you, genetics.
2. A doctor or clinic who is willing to prescribe hormones, ideally on an informed consent basis rather than on some stricter set of standards of care. (I'm willing to get a letter from my therapist and all that, but I don't want to get to the clinic and discover that they're gonna boot me out if I don't act super-straight and super-femme. I'm also willing to drive to Dallas or Houston if that's what it takes.)
3. Some MtF friends. Ideally a support group that leans young-ish, geeky and feminist. Barring that, someone who won't tell me I'm Doing It Wrong for not making super double secret high-femme stealth my top priority.

posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

Here is a list of trans-knowledgable medical providers in Austin as a place to start. It's been quite a few years since I was in Austin, but I know that the Waterloo Counseling Center was also a good resource for support groups.
posted by goggie at 3:57 PM on August 2, 2013

And more Austin-based medical providers
posted by goggie at 4:02 PM on August 2, 2013

Best answer: Okay, so this is what I can find with google and the general places to look. The problem is that you really need to vet these people locally. Maybe your friends will be familiar enough with the doctors to be able to pick out anyone especially good or especially terrible, or maybe you need the yet-to-be-found MTF friends.

-Informed Consent Clinics (Dallas and Houston, looks like some are explicitly doing informed consent, some are doctors flexible on letters and some are sliding-scale therapists who are on the list for some reason)
-Doctors in Texas, one in Garland doing informed consent. That website has therapists too.
-This page lists someone who does electrolysis in Austin.
posted by hoyland at 4:04 PM on August 2, 2013

A Texas Yahoo group. It looks quite active up until the last year, but it's not dead.
posted by hoyland at 4:07 PM on August 2, 2013

Response by poster: The problem is that you really need to vet these people locally. Maybe your friends will be familiar enough with the doctors to be able to pick out anyone especially good or especially terrible, or maybe you need the yet-to-be-found MTF friends.

Sadly, I don't know anyone who's begun their transition in Texas. So, yeah, I'm looking for MeFites who have local knowledge, or MeFites who know people who have local knowledge, or etcetra.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 4:46 PM on August 2, 2013

Best answer: Hey there. Gay dude in Houston. Two things to tell you about:

- First, my primary care physician is amazing. I realize Houston isn't ideal. And maybe there is some other reason why it wouldn't work out. But if you can find a way to work with her, I can't more highly recommend Julia Kovacs in the Texas Medical Center. I met her and became a patient because she spoke at a panel at work which we hosted on trans* issues. About a quarter of her patients are trans, and she spoke so eloquently and carefully about how she has built a trans-inclusive practice that treats the patient with dignity and respect. When I first went to see her, she spent 45 minutes just chatting about medical history and listening to me spin my mysterious tale of medical mystery. And she listened. Omg she listened. So much listening! For the first time - ever - I truly felt like I had a partner in addressing my medical needs.

- Someone I know from high school lives in Austin and is MtF. Also, I know the former president of the Transgender Foundation of America, which is based here in Houston. FtM, but I'd be happy to put you in touch with either and I'm sure they could help you grow your network of like-minded MtF people. MeMail me if you're interested and we can take it from there.
posted by jph at 5:39 PM on August 2, 2013

Best answer: I know it's not nearby, but you may want to touch base with the folks at the Dallas Resource Center. Specifically, their GEAR program may be able to offer support and/or ideas.
posted by southern_sky at 6:04 PM on August 2, 2013

Best answer: Maybe check out TrueSelves. It's a web forum strictly for trans folks, with lots of folks and resources all over the places (including Texas). You need to register to see most of the information.

Also see HairFacts and their listing of hair removal providers in Austin.

And this community might interest you, too. :)
posted by jiawen at 11:52 PM on August 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Okay, this is going to be a kind of left-field possibility, but... I know some awesome LGBT people who run a... comic book store. In Dallas. Zeus Comics, owned by Richard Neal (on that linked list). His husband is an old school friend of mine, and as you can see from that link they're pretty open about supporting LGBT causes. Knowing them and how implicated they are in their community, I bet they could have some contacts for you!
posted by fraula at 3:27 AM on August 3, 2013