Back in the 80's my D&D group just scratched our heads when all this was going on. Our parents were fine with it, we rotated who's house were at, they supplied snacks and gave kids rides if their parents couldn't bring them. The other thing was most of use went to the same church and youth group and I think once or twice we even played at the church with no issues.
Back in the 80's my D&D group just scratched our heads when all this was going on. Our parents were fine with it, we rotated who's house were at, they supplied snacks and gave kids rides if their parents couldn't bring them. The other thing was most of use went to the same church and youth group and I think once or twice we even played at the church with no issues.
The national press corp is REALLY beating the drum on Biden not having any press conferences yet. Would it be better if Biden held regular press conferences than not?? I guess so. His Press Secretary is up there every day, but I take the point. But the media is absolutely addicted to the drama Trump caused on a daily basis. And the Biden Administration is (quite strategically, imo) just......not giving them any. And I said this a hundred times during the campaign. Part of the appeal of Biden was having a President who wasn't constantly inserting himself into your daily life with his antics and statements. Frankly, most of the country is PERFECTLY HAPPY to have a President who is generally off the radar more days than not after four years of Trump. But the Beltway press, after the same time period, is now a smack addict who has no idea how to quit cold turkey. If Trump still had his Twitter account, they would be covering him more than Biden.
I don't want to get too excited but, I heard tonight that the VA may soon cover gender confirmation surgery. I dropped straight to the floor and started crying. Then they threw up all of these things;
What if you don't get a choice of your surgeon.
What if they have their own surgeons?( not bloody likely )
What if it comes out horrible.
I don't fucking care! Who would want me? It is not for anyone but me. I don't care, I just want to be completely myself. It does not matter how good it is. I am fine with the rest of me and I can't imagine anybody would ever want to get intimate with me so who cares?
I have lived as a girl for a long time, happily. The only real storm cloud was if I stopped taking hormones, it would all go back. I don't care if it is great, I don't care if everything looks great, I don't even care if it kills me, at that point I will not, can not go back. That I would do anything for.
I just mean that after the surgery, detransitoning is impossible. It can't be reversed by anyone, ever. The fear of lack of the proper hormones had me tweak the hormones I take for a long time now. My, not so enlightened endocrinologist thinks I should have the hormone levels of a typical woman of my age. Not even true. Anyway, I adjust before I have my blood work done every six months, use less. So at this point I could go six months without actually changing my doses now and probably a year without fear of detransitioning. But that fear is strong.
I got past the suicidal phase long ago, but... yeah, if somehow, someway I had to endure enforced detransitoning? Nope. Would never happen. Better to just let me go and forget I ever existed. Better to just end it before it all went away.
I know other folks in the military who could really benefit from that. That would be really healthy for a lot of people.
It's hard for cis folks to understand, but not getting the surgery can be as bad for trans folks as getting the surgery would be for cis folks. A lot of cis men would tell you they'd rather die than lose their junk, and assume the same holds for trans women. But honestly, we kinda start out in their "fate worse than death" scenario. Surgery can fix that.
We still don't encourage bottom surgery for most trans women, though. These days a good doc can make you indistinguishable from a cis woman, but bottom surgery still usually (not always, but usually) means a loss of function, and depending on the type of surgery, you might have to undergo weekly dilations, which are painful. The regret rate is like 1% for surgery, but that's partly just because it's rare; the folks who get it are usually the folks with the most severe bottom dysphoria. Even if it were universally free, most would still not get it.
I wouldn't get it. I hate the little monster but I wouldn't roll the dice; I'm in a pretty good situation where I am now. Hormones and electrolysis are enough for me.
I feel bad for trans men. Bottom surgery for them isn't remotely as effective; the material isn't there. It's why trans men almost never get bottom surgery. Top surgery is pretty standard for trans men, though. Dysphoria from having boobs is a lot harder to ignore than having the wrong set of junk (it's harder to hide), and fortunately a mastectomy is a pretty safe and reliable procedure.
Hormones are the standard treatment and they work pretty well for most folks. They've been life changing for me. Everything feels better.
Since you mentioned the VA, I would assume you were in the armed services in some capacity. Practically the only end of the bargain we hold up with our soldiers (beyond slapping a yellow ribbon sticker on the back of an SUV) is that you will have your healthcare taken care of for life if you go through the VA. Since this is a medical procedure, I don't see any cause whatsoever to deny it. Anyone pretending to be against it because of the "cost" is, frankly, selling you a load of bullshit. The cost of one missile could probably fund the transition surgery for every transgender soldier (past and present) in the country.
I would like to know how hormonal therapy makes you feel better. Is it a physical change you feel or an emotional change?
I am hyper-oxytocin myself but there is no clear treatment to that or so I was told. I can only do mindfulness and close off to others deliberately. (in general it makes me hyper empathic when physically interacting with people and I cannot watch movies without feeling strong emotions, generally crying at positive heroic or love expressional moments. And classical music or emotional music makes me sad or makes me want to cry).
So I would like to know what hormone therapy would have as a feeling.
Yes in the Army. Was long ago, Desert Storm. I don't feel like I did anything to be honest. Ostensibly I was a truck driver, during Desert Storm we hauled fuel, ammo, water and food for 3rd Armored Division, didn't even do that after getting back to Europe. Worked in the mail room, from there became the dispatcher and the last year and a half was the commander's driver. I don't know what I did to deserve those jobs when everyone else was either driving trucks or working on them. My one friend said it was because I looked good in uniform, I don't buy that. I mean, I was always squared away. The only person in the barracks with a three person room all to myself so I had a living room and a bedroom. Plants, giant sofa, recliner, coffee table, 31" tv(as big as you could get at the time), and a super Nintendo. Everyone hung out in my room, play golf, super Mario cart, chess or spades, I would be behind them ironing my uniform or polishing my boots. So yeah, my uniform was always looking good but I saw the others that had those jobs before or after me and they were not even close to staying as neat as I did, I can only assume that I was not given those jobs because of the state of my uniform. It always baffled me. I have always felt guilty when someone said thank you for your service, I didn't do anything. I am more grateful for the VA than I could express, I have always felt like a poser though, like maybe I did not deserve everything they have done for me. Will never complain about it however.
I mean yeah, obviously a function will be lost, a different function is gained. The ones I know that have had the surgery all say everything is working the way it is supposed to. Yes there is dilating involved with most of the methods, at the risk of grossing everyone out, well no I won't, but there are at least 5 methods, three of them are similar at their core, of those only one does not need dilation after the first few months. After the first year though the other two only need to dilate once a month, if they are sexually active enough not even that. Two of the methods are completely different from the rest and require no dilation at all after the initial few months post surgery.
For me I always that I would go one of those routes, then after being with someone and still not active, I started looking into zero depth surgery. What if though you know? What if a miracle happens and I meet someone else and I can be sexually active, too late to go back and have the full surgery then. Yes sex will still be possible but it will never again possible they way I have always felt it should be, that would be lost to me forever.
It must sound awful to everyone but I have never wanted that ridiculous thing. Now everything else about me is complete, I am who I always should have been... except one thing, and I hate it. Someday, somehow I will have the surgery in one form or another. I have more than enough money for the zero depth now, but what if. So I save and keep looking for a way to make it happen. Once a year I buy a pair of pants that would be difficult to wear now, I buy them for that day. Once a year because I lose weight gradually and my body shape gets, um... curvyer. I will wear that pair of pants one day, I will.
I would like to know how hormonal therapy makes you feel better. Is it a physical change you feel or an emotional change?
I am hyper-oxytocin myself but there is no clear treatment to that or so I was told. I can only do mindfulness and close off to others deliberately. (in general it makes me hyper empathic when physically interacting with people and I cannot watch movies without feeling strong emotions, generally crying at positive heroic or love expressional moments. And classical music or emotional music makes me sad or makes me want to cry).
So I would like to know what hormone therapy would have as a feeling.
It is both physical and emotional for most. The emotional from what I can tell from my own experience and what I have heard from others, is partially from the physical changes and partially because the hormone change alters our mental and emotional state. Most go gaga when their breasts start going, never really hit me that way, all I thought was, Well it's about time. I am no expert on all of that. My guess would be that estrogen would only heighten the emotions you are talking about. I have talked to a few trans men and testosterone seems to block off those emotions to a greater or lesser extent.
Do you mean emotional relief that the physical now matches the emotional? That sounds fantastic.
For my own affliction, it is really just oxytocin, the rest is tested multiple times and I would have physical symptoms if estrogen would be elevated (like gynaecomastia and loss of drive). If I isolate a bit from the world there is no real problem for me.
Do you mean emotional relief that the physical now matches the emotional? That sounds fantastic.
For my own affliction, it is really just oxytocin, the rest is tested multiple times and I would have physical symptoms if estrogen would be elevated (like gynaecomastia and loss of drive). If I isolate a bit from the world there is no real problem for me.
Yes and it is fantastic. I don't think I could describe it.
To me that doesn't sound too bad. If it isn't as strong for me as it must be for you, I have always been the same way. I am glad it doesn't negatively impact your life too much.
Gender euphoria, the counterpart to gender dysphoria, is harder to describe. It's just really broad. Everything feels better and I feel happier.
The funny thing is how small the cause can be. The tiniest things can change your mood.
So, the other day, I wore some sweatpants and a shirt that's pretty thick and heavy and so it flattens my already flat chest. I look a lot more androgynous in that outfit, and for most of that day, I just felt kinda down. Then I changed into one of my favorite outfits, a pink shirt that I can cinch up at my waist and a lightweight pink skirt that I hike up around my belly so it makes my hips look a little wider. All I did was change my clothes, from androgynous in black to girly in pink.
And for the rest of the day, I just felt brighter and more energetic and happier.
At its best, gender euphoria for me just means feeling small and cute and pink and girly, and it feels warm and safe and secure. When my girlfriend lifts me clear off the ground and I squeal and get all giggly, when I'm doing a little dance or deliberately acting cute for her attention and she smiles down at me and calls me her smol little bean, when I catch myself in the mirror in just the right light and feel cute, that's gender euphoria.
I think for most cis guys the closest equivalent would be something I can't post here (owning a big sword, and having the right person make a big deal out of it). If a woman ever did something for you that made you feel like the goddamn king of the world, if you lift something incredibly heavy without trouble or score a touchdown against all odds, if you really nail something at work and people are impressed, that would be gender euphoria for the average cis guy. You feel confident in yourself and proud.
I think in general, gender euphoria at its finest comes from getting approval or attention from the other gender. Gender euphoria doesn't need to be sexual at all, but that's the feeling as I would describe it.
For me, I get it when I feel cute. I am a little pink cupcake and everything feels okay.
I am very happy to hear that. Those must be amazing steps forward.
There is a lot of emotional peace in freedom of expression as well as the recognition and acceptance of it by others and by yourself. Those are certainly necessary on the road to any desired end state whether that is a possible full transition or only something part way.
One question will probably pop up in some people's minds as, could this also have been achieved by mere cross dressing? I am guessing the level of euphoria will be quite different.
As I said before, I am not a good representative for the trans community. Probably the only time I have ever felt euphoric was the night I found out that hormonal transition was possible and not just surgical. I had considered surgical transition many, many times. I don’t know maybe it has to do with why I don’t wear makeup, wear what I want to wear, don’t wear a bra, I just wanted to be me completely. Just me and if every single person in the world hates it, hell I have enough issues that I hate me most of the time, but I am me now, only me and that gives me a peace I had never experienced before. That night that I found out that there was something I could do that didn’t require surgery, wow. It was like a bell went off inside me, a perfect note that vibrated for hours. I knew that there was nothing in the world that would stop me and nothing did. Now the one thing that hormones, a bit of hair removal, and a tremendous amount of work on my voice could not do is the one surgery. When my boyfriend was alive that need wasn’t all consuming, even though there were times when I wanted to grab a large knife and remove the stupid thing, every other part of my life was so amazing that that one thing was not eroding my sanity. Anyway, it is past time that I finish what I started years ago.
Really, I never experienced the euphoria just a loss of the agony that was my life before, and the peace and contentment that came with it. I have all of the right curves in all the right places, and even if is not all gorgeous, it works. It is just me, everything seems right and I don’t think anything about it at all. I don’t think I ever believed I would. It was always only about being myself.
Now Feeling like you look good is something that will change the mood of every woman, I just did it on Friday. It was 76 degrees, I had been down, dealing with slowing down my drinking, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and missing him so much it hurt so I put myself together and went out. Wore a dress that I know turns heads, jewelry to compliment, didn’t do anything with my hair luckily enough I don’t have to(one thing I like about myself), and went out for steak and lobster. I don’t usually like being stared at, it gets so old, but going from just one of the girls in a room to being the girl in the room. Yep, guaranteed pick me up. Pretty lame huh? Works every time though. Thing is there is nothing special about me so I have no idea what people could be looking at other than the clothes, and usually it bothers me, but I won’t complain when it makes me feel better.
Guess that is all I have to say about that. Not very political is my vanity. Many apologies.
@lroumen: Cross-dressing definitely helps with gender dysphoria for trans folks; it's just an incomplete solution for most of us. Hormones, name changes, and pronouns also help, and the impact of each change varies from person to person. Some folks who are still in the closet will dress up and/or use makeup part-time but not transition publicly or get on hormones, which helps with the dysphoria but doesn't entail the risks that come with being openly trans--either because they want to strike a balance between safety and euphoria, or simply because doing it part-time is enough.
Part-time would not be enough for me. I remember going out in boymode one day early in the transition and immediately feeling gross and uncomfortable.
It's hard to imagine a level of transphobia that would make crossdressing part-time a better option for me. Even if I got beaten up once a week for being trans, I'm not sure the closet would be better for me.
Transitioning is a treatment plan at heart. And like almost any treatment plan, you can do it halfway or part-time and get some of the results. But usually the best results come from going all-in, if it's safe to do so.
Thank you for all the openness. This is not a topic that occurs much in my country which is strange because same sex relationships is really no doors barred. I feel I learned a lot recently.
Thank you for all the openness. This is not a topic that occurs much in my country which is strange because same sex relationships is really no doors barred. I feel I learned a lot recently.
Absolutely! You have no idea how welcome it is to hear cis folks ask honest questions. It's nice to be able to speak up about this stuff and know that someone is really listening. I appreciate it a lot.
May I ask what your condition is, with oxytocin? I understand if it's too personal, but I thought I'd ask.
I have never liked the word “cis”. It can engender feelings of us against them, might as well just check into the Hotel Rwanda. Not even though right, they were close in population, we are not even remotely close. If the trans population exploded the cis population would not hear the sound for three days. That is how far apart we are. Labels are wrong, labels that can have an adverse effect on me? Well, call me a coward but not really excited about promoting them. I think we are all compromised; cis, trans, bi, gay, straight and... other, possibly it is time to stop naming our differences and celebrating our commonalities.
Lol, folks though? All I can think of is my aunt Ida. Maybe before the forty years I knew her she was a randy wench, while I knew her she was the most homsey person I have ever known. When I got a nail in my knee at eight or nine years old because I had picked up a piglet and the sow chased me out of the pen, everyone freaked out but her. It’ll be okay! Evan! Get the truck, probably gonna need a tetanus shot here. Baby, it’ll be okay. Gonna have peach cobbler and ice cream for you when you get back. Her feathers were waaaay past being ruffled by anything. “Folks” just reminds me of home. Warm dinners, sweet deserts, lots of people with the faint aroma of farm about them. Maybe my childhood was crap, there were perks though. Love it to be honest and orders of magnitude better than critters.
May I ask what your condition is, with oxytocin? I understand if it's too personal, but I thought I'd ask.
I am a GG polymorph of the oxytocin receptor, and the breakdown of it is partially impaired. Very rare among my part Asian background. This means physiologically that I just have too much of oxytocin and the response to it is prolonged.
In simple terms, I get stuck into it for too long if I am not careful. It can be good for trust, honesty, attachment and romance, but at the same time negative feelings are also enhanced. I could be hooked on a feeling for days or I could go from extreme to extreme. People thought I was either a crybaby or ADHD, but neither is the case. I was not aware of what it could be until I got myself tested at the age of 25 or such. After that things fell into place but because this is unknown territory in medicine the current solution lies in addressing the emotional responses. That and being careful with vitamin C.
It is not all bad. I actually enjoy it sometimes. There is just nothing better than watching a movie and crying on the couch at every happy and sad moment, and putting on music to change my mood works very easily. Just put on a few specific songs and the world immediately changes: REO speedwagon (keep on loving you), blue swede (hooked on a feeling),.... (spirit in the sky), Heather Nova (Valley of sound, London rain), and the best one ever, Electric Light Orchestra (Mr blue sky).
Btw, classical music is also great. The baldurs gate soundtrack can really drag you into the game. That is why I stuck with it for so long.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
It's mostly a relic of the 1950s-1980s, with Iran and Central America being particularly egregious. We didn't so much "interfere in elections" as back outright coups. That article is fine and accurate right up to the point where it seems to suggest that we shouldn't have done anything about Milosivic committing genocide, which was stopped without the loss of a single American soldier. There were civilian casualties of the NATO strikes, measuring in the hundreds. On the flip-side, the Yugoslav forces were responsible for killing tens of thousands, at a minimum, in a addition to the ethnic cleansing already taking place. I dont have any qualms about putting the finger on the scale to make sure a butcher didn't stay in power.
The example of Clinton "expressing support" for Shimon Peres after the Rabin assassination as "election interference" is specious at best. Were the peace negotiations supposed to be suspended to placate Netanyahu?? The involvement of James Carville, who had no official government position EVER, in an Israeli election, is even more laughable. He's a political strategist. He was hired to help a certain candidate win, not dispatched as an agent of the US government. He also legally reported what he was doing, unlike, say, oh.....Paul Manafort.
People seem to forget that the Russian interference angle was a problem because there were laws being broken, which people were convicted of (and then pardoned). If you want to have shady characters in your innermost circle, at least have the foresight to have them declare themselves correctly and fill out the right paperwork when they are working overseas. There is a process that legally allows it. Manafort and Flynn ignored it. In any case, the issue in 2016 was not legal Russian political advisers openly working for Trump. If Israel had problems with American political strategists working for Israeli candidates (in full transparency) they should have written laws making it illegal.
Did people just assume high-level political operatives just sit on their ass at home for 3 out of every 4 years and dust themselves off twice a decade?? The issue is if they do it within the bounds of the rules and the law.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
This article was behind a paywall for me, just fyi. Had to look it up on archive.org. I guess I'd appreciate a reply that answered a question instead of just a link that doesn't work for the public. Feels like this was just a search result that wasn't vetted, gotta say.
I'm not ignorant of mid 20th century US behavior, honestly no one on here needs to be told that. But the most recent malicious example in that article is 1986. It's worth noting that's 34 years ago, seven presidencies ago. That's why I'm asking the question. I'm not sure it's right to whatabout that long ago?
The more recent, 1996 examples in the article aren't equivalent. They weren't surreptitious acts and they were done with the consent of the countries involved. The collapsing USSR was working with the US then. Israel and Palestine seek US involvement in their situation. The 2000 Balkans example is even more benign.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
This article was behind a paywall for me, just fyi. Had to look it up on archive.org. I guess I'd appreciate a reply that answered a question instead of just a link that doesn't work for the public. Feels like this was just a search result that wasn't vetted, gotta say.
I'm not ignorant of mid 20th century US behavior, honestly no one on here needs to be told that. But the most recent malicious example in that article is 1986. It's worth noting that's 34 years ago, seven presidencies ago. That's why I'm asking the question. I'm not sure it's right to whatabout that long ago?
The more recent, 1996 examples in the article aren't equivalent. They weren't surreptitious acts and they were done with the consent of the countries involved. The collapsing USSR was working with the US then. Israel and Palestine seek US involvement in their situation. The 2000 Balkans example is even more benign.
Sorry, the link worked for me and I assumed would work for everyone else. I did vet it and, IMO, gave a coles note history lesson on American political interference as I didn’t have time to type out a long winded response. I did know that if people were interested in this topic, the article would spark discussion.
If you want a more recent example of political election meddling, I suggest reading up on recent Egyptian history after the Arab Spring, which is stuff happening since the turn of the century. Unless you think backing a military dictator to overthrow an elected government and then allowing that dictator to hold sham elections where he received 97% of the vote doesn’t constitute as political interference.
Egypt imo, is blatantly in the open. Who knows what is actually being done elsewhere as it usually takes a decade for this type of information to come out as documents become unclassified.
Comments
Musta been one o' dem dere "Librul" churches... ?
What if you don't get a choice of your surgeon.
What if they have their own surgeons?( not bloody likely )
What if it comes out horrible.
I don't fucking care! Who would want me? It is not for anyone but me. I don't care, I just want to be completely myself. It does not matter how good it is. I am fine with the rest of me and I can't imagine anybody would ever want to get intimate with me so who cares?
I have lived as a girl for a long time, happily. The only real storm cloud was if I stopped taking hormones, it would all go back. I don't care if it is great, I don't care if everything looks great, I don't even care if it kills me, at that point I will not, can not go back. That I would do anything for.
I just mean that after the surgery, detransitoning is impossible. It can't be reversed by anyone, ever. The fear of lack of the proper hormones had me tweak the hormones I take for a long time now. My, not so enlightened endocrinologist thinks I should have the hormone levels of a typical woman of my age. Not even true. Anyway, I adjust before I have my blood work done every six months, use less. So at this point I could go six months without actually changing my doses now and probably a year without fear of detransitioning. But that fear is strong.
I got past the suicidal phase long ago, but... yeah, if somehow, someway I had to endure enforced detransitoning? Nope. Would never happen. Better to just let me go and forget I ever existed. Better to just end it before it all went away.
It's hard for cis folks to understand, but not getting the surgery can be as bad for trans folks as getting the surgery would be for cis folks. A lot of cis men would tell you they'd rather die than lose their junk, and assume the same holds for trans women. But honestly, we kinda start out in their "fate worse than death" scenario. Surgery can fix that.
We still don't encourage bottom surgery for most trans women, though. These days a good doc can make you indistinguishable from a cis woman, but bottom surgery still usually (not always, but usually) means a loss of function, and depending on the type of surgery, you might have to undergo weekly dilations, which are painful. The regret rate is like 1% for surgery, but that's partly just because it's rare; the folks who get it are usually the folks with the most severe bottom dysphoria. Even if it were universally free, most would still not get it.
I wouldn't get it. I hate the little monster but I wouldn't roll the dice; I'm in a pretty good situation where I am now. Hormones and electrolysis are enough for me.
I feel bad for trans men. Bottom surgery for them isn't remotely as effective; the material isn't there. It's why trans men almost never get bottom surgery. Top surgery is pretty standard for trans men, though. Dysphoria from having boobs is a lot harder to ignore than having the wrong set of junk (it's harder to hide), and fortunately a mastectomy is a pretty safe and reliable procedure.
Hormones are the standard treatment and they work pretty well for most folks. They've been life changing for me. Everything feels better.
I am hyper-oxytocin myself but there is no clear treatment to that or so I was told. I can only do mindfulness and close off to others deliberately. (in general it makes me hyper empathic when physically interacting with people and I cannot watch movies without feeling strong emotions, generally crying at positive heroic or love expressional moments. And classical music or emotional music makes me sad or makes me want to cry).
So I would like to know what hormone therapy would have as a feeling.
I mean yeah, obviously a function will be lost, a different function is gained. The ones I know that have had the surgery all say everything is working the way it is supposed to. Yes there is dilating involved with most of the methods, at the risk of grossing everyone out, well no I won't, but there are at least 5 methods, three of them are similar at their core, of those only one does not need dilation after the first few months. After the first year though the other two only need to dilate once a month, if they are sexually active enough not even that. Two of the methods are completely different from the rest and require no dilation at all after the initial few months post surgery.
For me I always that I would go one of those routes, then after being with someone and still not active, I started looking into zero depth surgery. What if though you know? What if a miracle happens and I meet someone else and I can be sexually active, too late to go back and have the full surgery then. Yes sex will still be possible but it will never again possible they way I have always felt it should be, that would be lost to me forever.
It must sound awful to everyone but I have never wanted that ridiculous thing. Now everything else about me is complete, I am who I always should have been... except one thing, and I hate it. Someday, somehow I will have the surgery in one form or another. I have more than enough money for the zero depth now, but what if. So I save and keep looking for a way to make it happen. Once a year I buy a pair of pants that would be difficult to wear now, I buy them for that day. Once a year because I lose weight gradually and my body shape gets, um... curvyer. I will wear that pair of pants one day, I will.
Anyhoo, waaaaaay to much information. Sorry.
It is both physical and emotional for most. The emotional from what I can tell from my own experience and what I have heard from others, is partially from the physical changes and partially because the hormone change alters our mental and emotional state. Most go gaga when their breasts start going, never really hit me that way, all I thought was, Well it's about time. I am no expert on all of that. My guess would be that estrogen would only heighten the emotions you are talking about. I have talked to a few trans men and testosterone seems to block off those emotions to a greater or lesser extent.
I am no doctor, maybe consulting one could help.
For my own affliction, it is really just oxytocin, the rest is tested multiple times and I would have physical symptoms if estrogen would be elevated (like gynaecomastia and loss of drive). If I isolate a bit from the world there is no real problem for me.
Yes and it is fantastic.
To me that doesn't sound too bad. If it isn't as strong for me as it must be for you, I have always been the same way. I am glad it doesn't negatively impact your life too much.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-03-15/real-guardrails-democracy-are-its-citizens
The funny thing is how small the cause can be. The tiniest things can change your mood.
So, the other day, I wore some sweatpants and a shirt that's pretty thick and heavy and so it flattens my already flat chest. I look a lot more androgynous in that outfit, and for most of that day, I just felt kinda down. Then I changed into one of my favorite outfits, a pink shirt that I can cinch up at my waist and a lightweight pink skirt that I hike up around my belly so it makes my hips look a little wider. All I did was change my clothes, from androgynous in black to girly in pink.
And for the rest of the day, I just felt brighter and more energetic and happier.
At its best, gender euphoria for me just means feeling small and cute and pink and girly, and it feels warm and safe and secure. When my girlfriend lifts me clear off the ground and I squeal and get all giggly, when I'm doing a little dance or deliberately acting cute for her attention and she smiles down at me and calls me her smol little bean, when I catch myself in the mirror in just the right light and feel cute, that's gender euphoria.
I think for most cis guys the closest equivalent would be something I can't post here (owning a big sword, and having the right person make a big deal out of it). If a woman ever did something for you that made you feel like the goddamn king of the world, if you lift something incredibly heavy without trouble or score a touchdown against all odds, if you really nail something at work and people are impressed, that would be gender euphoria for the average cis guy. You feel confident in yourself and proud.
I think in general, gender euphoria at its finest comes from getting approval or attention from the other gender. Gender euphoria doesn't need to be sexual at all, but that's the feeling as I would describe it.
For me, I get it when I feel cute. I am a little pink cupcake and everything feels okay.
There is a lot of emotional peace in freedom of expression as well as the recognition and acceptance of it by others and by yourself. Those are certainly necessary on the road to any desired end state whether that is a possible full transition or only something part way.
One question will probably pop up in some people's minds as, could this also have been achieved by mere cross dressing? I am guessing the level of euphoria will be quite different.
Really, I never experienced the euphoria just a loss of the agony that was my life before, and the peace and contentment that came with it. I have all of the right curves in all the right places, and even if is not all gorgeous, it works. It is just me, everything seems right and I don’t think anything about it at all. I don’t think I ever believed I would. It was always only about being myself.
Now
Guess that is all I have to say about that. Not very political is my vanity. Many apologies.
Part-time would not be enough for me. I remember going out in boymode one day early in the transition and immediately feeling gross and uncomfortable.
It's hard to imagine a level of transphobia that would make crossdressing part-time a better option for me. Even if I got beaten up once a week for being trans, I'm not sure the closet would be better for me.
Transitioning is a treatment plan at heart. And like almost any treatment plan, you can do it halfway or part-time and get some of the results. But usually the best results come from going all-in, if it's safe to do so.
May I ask what your condition is, with oxytocin? I understand if it's too personal, but I thought I'd ask.
D&D has fried my brain.
Lol, folks though? All I can think of is my aunt Ida. Maybe before the forty years I knew her she was a randy wench, while I knew her she was the most homsey person I have ever known. When I got a nail in my knee at eight or nine years old because I had picked up a piglet and the sow chased me out of the pen, everyone freaked out but her. It’ll be okay! Evan! Get the truck, probably gonna need a tetanus shot here. Baby, it’ll be okay. Gonna have peach cobbler and ice cream for you when you get back. Her feathers were waaaay past being ruffled by anything. “Folks” just reminds me of home. Warm dinners, sweet deserts, lots of people with the faint aroma of farm about them. Maybe my childhood was crap, there were perks though. Love it to be honest and orders of magnitude better than critters.
In simple terms, I get stuck into it for too long if I am not careful. It can be good for trust, honesty, attachment and romance, but at the same time negative feelings are also enhanced. I could be hooked on a feeling for days or I could go from extreme to extreme. People thought I was either a crybaby or ADHD, but neither is the case. I was not aware of what it could be until I got myself tested at the age of 25 or such. After that things fell into place but because this is unknown territory in medicine the current solution lies in addressing the emotional responses. That and being careful with vitamin C.
It is not all bad. I actually enjoy it sometimes. There is just nothing better than watching a movie and crying on the couch at every happy and sad moment, and putting on music to change my mood works very easily. Just put on a few specific songs and the world immediately changes: REO speedwagon (keep on loving you), blue swede (hooked on a feeling),.... (spirit in the sky), Heather Nova (Valley of sound, London rain), and the best one ever, Electric Light Orchestra (Mr blue sky).
Btw, classical music is also great. The baldurs gate soundtrack can really drag you into the game. That is why I stuck with it for so long.
This should shock no one, but Russia once again attempted to interfere in US elections. The report apparently also notes that Iran and China were also trying to interfere.
Perhaps the most absurd thing about the entire 2016-2020 political cycle was the fact that the GOP did little to nothing to try to stop or slow down the election interference campaigns because they perceived it to be in their benefit. Having someone less awful in the White House at least gives me some hope that maybe we'll see more governmental action to prevent.
I do truly believe that Biden (and Democrats writ large) want no interference whatsoever in US elections - even if that interference would be beneficial for them. At least that is what they've both said and shown in the past 4 years.
The China + Iran part is noteworthy too. One of the risks of being paralyzed on this issue was that Russia would use these tactics more aggressively in far weaker democracies. We've seen unfortunate evidence of that. But a second risk is that other authoritarian regimes would do it to the US as well, and, imo, will start doing it to other democracies. A world with fewer or weaker democracies is a more dangerous place, imo.
While I can't say I have a silver bullet solution here -- I'm definitely against physical war against these nations. It does seem like this is an issue that could generate partisan consensus.
The stupidity of our own population is definitely not something worth invading another country over. Besides, it's not like we don't try to interfere in their elections.
People keep saying this, but what's the last election we interfered in?
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-us-intervention-foreign-elections-20161213-story.html
It's mostly a relic of the 1950s-1980s, with Iran and Central America being particularly egregious. We didn't so much "interfere in elections" as back outright coups. That article is fine and accurate right up to the point where it seems to suggest that we shouldn't have done anything about Milosivic committing genocide, which was stopped without the loss of a single American soldier. There were civilian casualties of the NATO strikes, measuring in the hundreds. On the flip-side, the Yugoslav forces were responsible for killing tens of thousands, at a minimum, in a addition to the ethnic cleansing already taking place. I dont have any qualms about putting the finger on the scale to make sure a butcher didn't stay in power.
The example of Clinton "expressing support" for Shimon Peres after the Rabin assassination as "election interference" is specious at best. Were the peace negotiations supposed to be suspended to placate Netanyahu?? The involvement of James Carville, who had no official government position EVER, in an Israeli election, is even more laughable. He's a political strategist. He was hired to help a certain candidate win, not dispatched as an agent of the US government. He also legally reported what he was doing, unlike, say, oh.....Paul Manafort.
People seem to forget that the Russian interference angle was a problem because there were laws being broken, which people were convicted of (and then pardoned). If you want to have shady characters in your innermost circle, at least have the foresight to have them declare themselves correctly and fill out the right paperwork when they are working overseas. There is a process that legally allows it. Manafort and Flynn ignored it. In any case, the issue in 2016 was not legal Russian political advisers openly working for Trump. If Israel had problems with American political strategists working for Israeli candidates (in full transparency) they should have written laws making it illegal.
Did people just assume high-level political operatives just sit on their ass at home for 3 out of every 4 years and dust themselves off twice a decade?? The issue is if they do it within the bounds of the rules and the law.
This article was behind a paywall for me, just fyi. Had to look it up on archive.org. I guess I'd appreciate a reply that answered a question instead of just a link that doesn't work for the public. Feels like this was just a search result that wasn't vetted, gotta say.
I'm not ignorant of mid 20th century US behavior, honestly no one on here needs to be told that. But the most recent malicious example in that article is 1986. It's worth noting that's 34 years ago, seven presidencies ago. That's why I'm asking the question. I'm not sure it's right to whatabout that long ago?
The more recent, 1996 examples in the article aren't equivalent. They weren't surreptitious acts and they were done with the consent of the countries involved. The collapsing USSR was working with the US then. Israel and Palestine seek US involvement in their situation. The 2000 Balkans example is even more benign.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-urges-all-americans-to-get-covid-vaccine-its-a-safe-vaccine
Sorry, the link worked for me and I assumed would work for everyone else. I did vet it and, IMO, gave a coles note history lesson on American political interference as I didn’t have time to type out a long winded response. I did know that if people were interested in this topic, the article would spark discussion.
If you want a more recent example of political election meddling, I suggest reading up on recent Egyptian history after the Arab Spring, which is stuff happening since the turn of the century. Unless you think backing a military dictator to overthrow an elected government and then allowing that dictator to hold sham elections where he received 97% of the vote doesn’t constitute as political interference.
Egypt imo, is blatantly in the open. Who knows what is actually being done elsewhere as it usually takes a decade for this type of information to come out as documents become unclassified.