Kerry's Breast Augmentation Fund
I am a trans woman of Japanese, Okinawan, and Hawaiian ancestry. A little over three years ago I came out to myself and to my peers as trans. These past three years have been equally exciting as they've been difficult. It's amazing to have friends who, for the first time in my life, see me as the woman I am and always have been, and simultaneously paralyzing to see the amount of work that lies ahead to see myself through. In writing this fundraiser description, I am assigned the difficult task of conveying what gender affirmation surgery serves to do for my life - breast augmentation means having a body that aligns more with the person I see myself as; it means being able to wear a sweater without fear that I look like a boy; it means having one less thing to obsess over to ensure I'm read as a 'woman' (i.e. I still need to shave my face, monitor the tenor of my voice, tuck my genitals, and enforce the validity of my gender identity against every other arbitrary standard that women, cis and trans alike, are held to).
Breast augmentation will cost me about $8000 out-of-pocket. I've received a denial from my medical insurance because of a 'lack of medical necessity' (re: medical-industrial complex/for-profit healthcare; capitalism ☠️). I'm coordinating fundraisers in Portland, OR with some great friends to raise the bulk of the funds needed. I created this gofundme to supplement funds and provide a means of donating and supporting me w/out having to physically be at a fundraiser.
T H A N K S ⚡️
Reminder that trans women should never feel pressured to retell a tragic life story/experience for people to understand and support our need for gender affirmation. Whether that pursuit for affirmation includes hormones and surgery or not, it's important that everyone (i.e. all your family and friends, the transphobic ones too) learn to understand and work to alleviate the societal pressure put on trans women in order to walk out into the world and survive, even more so to receive a modicum of respect.
