Help Anna Piper Scott Get Top Surgery
Hey there,
My name's Anna Piper Scott. I'm a stand up comedian based in Melbourne, Australia. A little over three years ago, I came out as transgender woman and began my transition. Socially, I started wearing new clothes, makeup, and a new name. Medically, I began hormone replacement therapy. My life post-transition, as a rule, has been far happier than any of my life pre-transition.
If you know me at all, it's probably from Queer & Present Danger, the solo show I've taken to festivals across the country. It won some awards, was nominated for some others, sold out some shows, got some good reviews. It's a pretty good show.
The show has been pretty successful, as far as these things go. It was not, however, enough of a money-maker to get me the income I need in order to take the next steps I want to take in my transition.
Hormones have done a lot of good for me, but they have utterly failed at giving me breast growth - apparently, I just don't have the genes for it. I've done a lot of work mentally to feel at home in my body, to feel comfortable with the parts of my body that might be considered by others to be masculine. One thing I've never been able to get comfortable with is my lack of breasts. Their absence makes my body feel wrong to me, a constant humming background noise of dysphoria.
On top of that, their absence, believe it or not, makes it harder for me to move through the world as a woman. Clothes made for a woman of my height, width and weight are made with the expectation that she would have a bust well beyond my own AAA breasts. The few times I've worn false breasts, I've noticed a distinct decrease in how often I get misgendered by strangers. My flat chest is something that makes "passing" far more difficult than it needs to be. I'm exhausted by feeling this constant nagging absence and I don't want to wait any longer to make my body a comfortable place to live in.
Breast augmentation is expensive. I need to cover the cost of the implants, the surgery, the surgeon, the anaesthetist, medication both during and after surgery, medical garments, and so forth. On top of that, I need to cover lost income whilst in recovery from surgery. None of these costs are helped by Medicare, because the Australian government considers top surgery for trans-feminine people to be "cosmetic" and therefore "elective".
I very much disagree. This surgery is surgery for my mind, my heart, my soul. This surgery is for my mental health.
I'm planning on supplementing this fundraiser with my own income and my own savings to reach the full cost. If, somehow, miraculously, I surpass the amount of money required, any excess funds will go either to other aspects of my transition (laser hair removal, for instance) or will be paid forward to other trans surgery funds from folks with smaller profiles. Every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated.
– Anna Piper Scott
Comedian, trans woman, voice of a generation