Help me afford top surgery (a.k.a YEET my yiddies)

Hi! Like many others, I've struggled with my relationship to my body for most of my life. I experienced a small respite when I found feminism and realized that the standards for femininity that I had chased but never attained were based off colonial standards of whiteness and constructed to serve the male gaze. I found peace knowing that my performance of femininity with a muscular, hairy body without makeup or "feminine" clothes was just as womanly. My femininity was as valid as every other presentation of femininity, all of which should be cherished and celebrated. I grew less fearful and allowed myself to perform a masculinity that felt authentic.

Fast forward a year or two and I was consistently being misgendered as a man (he/him) in public by strangers despite identifying as a girl (she/her). I found it funny my performance of femininity brought me so far into the realm of masculinity people assumed I was a boy. I girlbossed my bodily autonomy too close to the sun and I loved it. It felt right in an unfamiliar way.

Existing between genders as a transmasculine/nonbinary person is a gift and I want a body that reflects how I feel. In the spring of 2024 I set a consult with a surgeon and dreamed of the day I would no longer have a chest that contradicts my chosen and most authentic presentation. I waited eight months for the initial consult and surgery was scheduled for five months after that. Truth be told I was lucky to have the process happen so fast, as there are many others who have waited far longer. Next week I will have top surgery and I couldn't be more excited to celebrate the downfall of my chest.

The costs associated with this surgery and recovery are steep and I do not have the resources to afford it myself. While I took a leave of absence from my Ph.D. program in the spring of 2024, being a graduate student for the years before did not allow me to develop any savings and my current job doesn’t pay much better. Whomp whomp we hate capitalism. I am disqualified from a paid medical leave because I have only been working at this job for 11 months, not 12, despite having the necessary amount of hours. It’s hard to ask others to share their resources but I could use some help if y’all have the means. I won’t be able to work for a few weeks during my recovery and my insurance is good but the procedure is costly. I tried to create a plan to afford it myself but that is not feasible so I have decided to turn to my community and hope that some of y'all will be able to help.

Thank you all for reading.

Thank you to those who donate, your support is everything to me.

xoxoxo

Mic