hi! hello! it’s jo.

i am here to ask for support.

at the beginning of october i will be accessing gender affirming care by way of top surgery. top surgery is covered under ohip (ontario health insurance plan). however, there is a $2938 “cosmetic” fee that is not covered even though it is a nonnegotiable part of the surgery. no one should have to navigate gatekeeping for healthcare and its affects, nor should there be an extra fee to access this care.

for this reason i am seeking monetary support.

i am a white settler and citizen, average sized (to the medical industrial complex) , educated, non binary/ genderqueer person and recognize the ways in which accessing this care has been relatively easy because of my intersecting identities and the ways they exalt and privilege me.

at the same time, there are ways i am precarious, have experienced demoralizing instances of gatekeeping and transphobia, and accessing this care on my own would come at a cost i cannot afford. i have student loan debt, had a significant amount of money stolen from me this past year, am currently unsure if my immediate family of origin will be present/ materially supportive [besides my sweet bro and some stellar cousins!], have lost multiple jobs this past year, and am currently stringing together a variety of gigs without benefits to make ends meet.

getting to access this affirming care will be life altering for me in ways i cannot and also refuse to articulate and perform publicly. doing so without incurring more debt would be an act of gender justice.

as such, if you are white AND cis, i am asking for your support. if you have learned from me, received care from me, ESPECIALLY if you have extracted from me and/ or refused my asks of accountability (white cis l’archie’s!) i invite and encourage you to support and care for me in this material way as a form of wealth redistribution. you do not have to like me to think i am deserving of care.

a run down of what the amount i am asking for entails:

- $2938 cosmetic fee including tax

- $300 for gas $/ ubers+ tip to and from the clinic (day of op + 1wk post op, both ways)

- $275 for medical supplies and prescriptions

- $150 to help get groceries delivered/ take out/ ubers for pals to visit to relieve some pressure from my roomie

- $100 for a sleeping wedge

- $113 for the 3% fee gofundme takes from funds raised

i will be using my savings to pay for my usual monthly costs of living.

i need to have this money secured by: September 14th, 2021

if any extra resources remain when my healing journey has subdued they will be forwarded to other trans folk in need, prioritizing racialized and disabled trans folks.

if you are looking to support or care for me in other ways, please see my ig: @/buernorkie for prayer and good thoughts/ energy requests and a (maybe) silly, but special-to-me ask.

if you are able to donate to me, please consider matching your donation with someone who is Black, Indigenous and/ or racialized as these folks historically have a harder time getting their funding goals met.

*thank you*, with care, and in deep gratitude,

jo.

*graphic by my sweet bro @/_dunce on ig, who is available for freelance gigs! ;)

**if gofundme is not a platform that works for you my PayPal is PayPal.me/jomo902

image description: a picture of jo against a digitally illustrated background. against a pastel purple background, jo rests their right elbow on their knee with their knuckles resting on the side of their face. they are wearing a teal t-shirt and a pair of black overalls. they are gently smiling with rouge on their lips towards the camera. above their head, fuchsia bubble letters with yellow twinkly stars reads: Jo’s Top Surgery. to the left, slightly below it, there is a orange-ish plus sign meant to stand for the word ‘and’ and a little yellow banner that is slightly curved at the bottom that reads “healing fund” with a smiley face. surrounding jo from left to right is a cute neon pathos type plant, angie and bea with some hearts over their head and an opened safety pin with a heart through it. throughout the empty space of the background there are more twinkly stars scattered about.