Trans Surgeries Aren’t Cosmetic
Tags: Equality, Medicine, LGBTQ, Transgender, Social Justice

“It’s better to donate to someone in need of a life–saving surgery than, let’s be honest, a cosmetic one.” — Someone on twitter

Definition of Cosmetic: affecting only the appearance of something rather than its substance

Synonyms: superficial, nonessential, frivolous, skin–deep

There are countless online donation drives set up, and more are being created each day. People have the right to choose who they donate to and how much. The reasons are endless, but most of the time it’s some kind of medical bill. Most of the time someone is gravely ill or has been extremely injured and can’t afford to get the best care.

There are also a lot of LGBTQ donation drives that range from being homeless and hungry to mental health reasons to transgender surgeries.

Trans men and women go through hoops just to be able to get on the wait list for surgery. Then these surgeries range anywhere from $3k — 50k. It depends on the type of surgery, the place, and the doctor. It also depends on the insurance. Some trans people have amazing insurance and don’t have to come out of pocket at all. Others only have to pay for part of it. However, a lot of us ending having to find a way to pay for all of it.

Imagine being 16 and finally admitting to yourself that you’re transgender. You’ve been labeled either a boy or a girl for your whole life, but it never really felt right. Maybe you were classified as a girl, but always found yourself wishing you had been born a boy. Maybe you look at your male classmates and can’t help but be jealous. Maybe you were classified as a boy and you always knew deep inside that you’re a girl. You love dresses and makeup and wish puberty had given you breasts. You wish you could carry a baby at some point.

Imagine looking online and discovering a way to fix it. Imagine finding out all about the options for transgender people. You’re staring at the screen in wonder until you get to the part of the article that lists the approximate price.

FTM Top Surgery: 3500 — $9000

MFT Top Surgery: $5,000 — $10,000

Bottom Sugeries:

Vaginoplasty: $10,000–$30,000

Metoidioplasty: $6,000–$30,000

Phalloplasty: $20,000–$50,000 (even as high as $150,000)

These are just the surgery cost. There is also the money you need to save up so you can miss work and recover. There are also the supplies you need to have at home to take care of your scars. There is the hotel cost if you’re going to a surgeon in another state. There’s more to it than some people realize.

There is also the cost of being on hormone replacement therapy for the rest of your life. Imagine if this was your only option of being truly happy. As a teenager or young adult barely out of high school, how scared would you be? How worried would you be? How hopeless would you feel?

Just because these surgeries are helping to change appearances doesn’t mean they’re simply cosmetic. These surgeries save lives. People that fall into the trans category are much happier after getting these surgeries. Calling them cosmetic is putting them in the same category as boob and nose jobs when they’re not the same thing at all.

Trans people deserve to be happy. They deserve to live as their true selves. If you don’t want to donate to help them get the surgery, then don’t. It’s that simple. Don’t label them as cosmetic simply because they don’t affect you or because you don’t care for them.

What gives you the right to determine what medical treatment someone needs? If you’re not a doctor, what gives you the right?