Help Audrey get Voice Feminization surgery

Hi! My name is Audrey and I'm a trans woman looking to get vocal feminization surgery.

About me:

For those who may not know me, I came out as a transgender woman in mid/late 2018 and have been living full time as a woman since then. I've never been comfortable or confident living my life as a boy and since transitioning, I've never been happier.

I've come a long way since 2018. My appearance, behavior, wardrobe, and lifestyle have all changed to align more closely to what makes me happy in my own body. I've made many great friends and have had incredible support along the way.

About trans people and their struggles:

As some of you may know, even though I've transitioned socially, many trans people feel the need to transition medically as well. I'm no exception. We do this to help alleviate the parts of ourselves that bring us the most gender dysphoria (mental anguish from having your appearance/presentation not match your preferred gender). For me, the thing that brings me the most gender dysphoria is my voice.

Male to female (mtf/trans-feminine) trans people who have transitioned after their birth puberty find many aspects of ourselves permanently disfigured away from what makes us comfortable with ourselves. This ranges from the further development of genitals, body and facial hair, disproportionate height, broad shoulders, more masculine facial features, and lower voices. All of these can be distressing and irreversible consequences of transitioning before birth puberty. Many need expensive and painful surgery to fix, while others can never be changed.

Why GoFundMe?

While I've come a long way in my transition, certain roadblocks that I inevitably hit due to capitalism, our failing and discriminatory healthcare system, and people who would rather see people like myself suffer.

As such, I've come to GoFundMe to ask for assistance on the aspect of myself that brings me the most Dysphoria: My low and masculine voice.

For trans women like myself, this can be the deal breaker between a random person treating you as your preferred gender, or getting misgendered and called "sir" or "young man". This can happen despite our best efforts present ourselves in a stereotypically feminine manner. I've literally been "sir" while wearing a dress and makeup in public. All because my voice doesn't come off femininely enough. Needless to say, this invoke a lot of gender dysphoria for me. The most gender dysphoria than any other aspect of myself

There are many days I try not to speak to people in fear of them misgendering me and looking at me like some sort of freak. I've frequently made myself dysphoric just from coughing or even laughing. I even feel stressed around my friends when I sound too masculine, thinking that it ruins their mental image of me as a woman. It's because of this that I still feel uncomfortable in most women's spaces, despite my other aspects of my presentation.

One of the things I've done to get to a somewhat "passable" level of speaking, is through rigorous speech therapy. And while I've done this, it still can't 100% make me sound like a cisgender woman. It's still an active and difficult effort I have to make on my part to even sound somewhat passable. If I relax too much or make an involuntary vocal noise, I still very much sound like a man, causing stares from all around public spaces.

That's where surgery comes in.

What I'm funding:

Luckily with very modern and safe technology, surgery is an option to return my vocal cords to what they would have been, had male puberty not permanently damaged my vocal cords.

You can learn more about the actual surgery itself here:

https://omnicosmetic.com/procedures/gender-confirming/voice-feminization/

Point being, by getting this surgery, I will naturally be able to speak as high pitched and gently as any cisgender woman, and without the mental taxing that keeping my voice in check would be. As a side note, I constantly am clearing my throat and coughing due to the immense strain I'm putting on my voice just from daily life and my career choices. This would be helped through the surgery as well. This drastically improving my quality of life.

HOWEVER, this costs money. My current health insurance (and most in general) don't cover life saving procedures such as the Vocal Feminization Surgery I need.

What I'm funding (continued):

When all is said and done, this procedure will come out to $8673.00 after discounts and rates that are subject to change at any time. As such, I'm rounding up my goal as to aid in any unforeseen costs of care or fees from this funding method.

Luckily, transportation costs are minor, as one of the few doctors who can do this procedure is only a few counties away!

And needless to say, contributing by myself has proven to be impossible, as my wife and I live paycheck to paycheck with no significant savings whatsoever. And with me recently out of work, this all feels like an impossible reality on my own.

This includes:

Treatment Plan - Fees:

Procedure Fees:

Voice Feminization Surgery= $4720

(10% off) = $4248

Total Procedure Fees Before Discounts= $9870.00

Total Procedure Fees After Discounts= $4248.00

Surgical Supplies = $150.00

Anesthesia Fees (Procedure Time: 3.5 hours) = $960

Facility Fees (Procedure: 3.5 hours) = $3315

Total Fees = $8673.00

Thank you:

If you made it to the end of this, I greatly appreciate you consideration for help. By helping me, you're aiding to a quality of life I've only dreamed of. Every tiny amount helps. And even if you don't contribute directly, please consider passing a link to my page around to friends, family, and colleagues. Thanks again! Love you all!!