Navigating the Ontario health care system as a trans youth is not an easy thing to do. Yet, according to research by Trans PULSE Project, as many as one in every 200 Canadians may identify as trans (transgender, transsexual, or transitioned).
Algonquin QSA has created a safe space to talk and help make the process easier by hosting a talk and workshop with Lisa Ugray on April 11 in the Student Commons.
The talk focused on getting a first prescription, informed consent, bodily autonomy, and more.
“Your family doctor actually can prescribe hormones, but a lot of them are uncomfortable because they don’t know a lot about it,” said Ugray.
Lisa describes herself as queer and trans, and a public educator about oppression, sex, sexuality and gender. She also has a masters degree in Materials Science from the Physics Department at Trent University.
Ugray gave an updated version of her workshop to include information about the new regulations from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, which came into effect March 1, 2016.
Students were also given the opportunity to ask questions and share stories about their own personal experiences.
“Trans issues are becoming pretty mainstream and I think that it’s important for the QSA to stay on top of those issues and the more it’s talked about, hopefully the more it will become an everyday thing,” said Kayla Spag, a member of the QSA who has seen Ugray speak before.
Ugray shared a variety of useful tips that youth and young adults can use when looking to transition.
For example, many people transitioning do not identify with their legal given names. She says there are ways to avoid being referred to it in a medical setting, like having prescriptions prescribed to an OHIP number, rather than a legal name. This can reduce the negative feelings one may have when constantly having to refer to themselves as something they do not feel connected to or even just seeing the name on their bottle of hormones each day.
Ugray also addressed the issue of the perceived risks when transitioning. She says that it can be overwhelming when doctors go through the risks of taking hormones. For example, she remembered when she was told that she would be at greater risk for breast cancer.
She stressed that it’s not that she was at any greater risk for breast cancer than any other person with the same level of estrogen as her. “You are not more at risk than anyone else, you’re just changing your risk profile,” she said.
The new regulations in Ontario in regards to surgeries for trans people involve 12 months of taking regular hormones, as well as living in accordance to your preferred gender. In addition, you are required to have two letters of approval from health practitioners. These practitioners need to have undergone specific training in relation to trans health care.
To Ugray’s knowledge, nobody in Ottawa has undergone a procedure under the new regulations, but she recognized that it was still pretty new.
“The big thing now is that doctors get the training so that they can write these letters of approval,” said Ugray.