Transcript Slide 1
Loree Cook-Daniels
Founding Executive Director
Transgender Aging Network
October 16, 2010
“Transgender Elders and SOFFAs: A Primer for
Service Providers and Advocates”
http://www.forgeforward.org/handouts/TransEldersSOFFAs-web.pdf
Significant differences from LGBs
Who social workers will work with
The ones to worry about
Gender first identity assigned at birth
Presumed tied to biology
Presumed unchangeable
Clothing
Names
Titles/honorifics
Bathrooms
Sports
Advertisements
Men are from Mars, Women
are from Venus
Anger
Suspension of civility
Violence
Confusion
Curiosity
Jokes
Bathroom fights
LGB people can
be transphobic
Transgender
people can be
homophobic
Marriages involving a trans person are in legal limbo:
law and policy are unsettled about legalities, eligibility
for benefits like Social Security
Result: More income insecurity
There are fewer employment, housing, and public
accommodations non-discrimination laws (and
organizational policies) covering gender identity
compared to sexual orientation
Result: 97% of transgender people have been
discriminated against or experienced
harassment on the job
Lower income, particularly in retirement
Health care insurance has routinely excluded
transgender-related benefits
(This may change under health care reform’s
outlawing pre-existing condition exclusions)
Result: more “non-congruent” bodies
Document changes governed by many different
laws with different requirements
Result: more document discrepancies
A “non-congruent” body automatically outs a trans
elder in health care and intimate care settings
Documentation discrepancies may involuntarily out a
trans elder
...transgender individuals experience sexual abuse or
assault at some point in their life.
Assaults by police officers: 5 - 9%
(5% FORGE, SA only; 9% NCAVP, all anti-LGBT hate
crimes)
Assaults by health care
providers: 6%
“…[A]s a trans 35 year old – who is a service provider
who has borne witness to incidents of violence and
abuse for elders, I’m scared to death about my own
future. There is Alzheimer’s in my family, and I know
there’s a good chance it’s going to claim me as well.
What will happen to me once I can no longer advocate
for myself? Will they call me “she”? Will they make
fun of my body right in front of me, knowing I won’t
really understand? Without a significant other, and
without children, I fear I’ll be left in a nursing home
somewhere where no one actually cares about me as a
human being.…”
“…At 35 I’ve already written a “living will.” In Ontario
it’s called a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. And
honestly? I have more or less decided that I just won’t
let myself get to that point where I can’t take care of
myself. I’d rather take matters into my own hands and
self-euthanize (that’s a nice way to say it, don’t you
think?) while I am mentally cognizant and physically
capable of it. Should the time come when I need to
take my own life in order to avoid these horrific
experiences, I will.”
“I have decided not to have any life-extending surgery
because of past mistreatment by nurses at [the
Veterans Administration hospital].”
Turning points:
Retirement
Death of parent/s
Launch of child/ren
Divorce
Health scare
WorldWideWeb
If an elder transitions later in life, will probably
need to get “the letter” from a therapist; may
therefore not disclose mental health issues,
trauma histories, etc.
Financing psychotherapy on top of
hormones/surgery, aging health issues, and
fixed income may force unhealthy choices.
Everyone can see the changes.
People feel free to comment,
ask questions.
Questions that are “too
personal” to ask the
transperson are often asked of
the SOFFA.
Example #1:
A man’s wife of 30 years
transitions female-to-male (FTM)
and they remain married partners.
What is the original husband’s
sexual orientation?
Example #2:
A longtime lesbian meets and
falls in love with an FTM.
What is the woman’s sexual
orientation?
Partner Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual?
Gay?
Lesbian?
Bisexual?
Queer?
Confused?
Flexible?
Transsensual? Trannyfag?
Trannychaser?
If a non-trans partner
doesn’t identify as LGB,
will he feel comfortable
in “LGBT” space?
If a non-trans partner
does identify as LGBQ
but the couple looks heterosexual, will she be
comfortable in “LGBT” space?
Many trans/n0n-trans couples are “mixed
orientation” – one identifies as LGB, the other as
heterosexual
Local physicians may not want to oversee
a trans elder’s hormone regime.
Only a few surgeons worldwide specialize
in transgender surgeries (chest
reconstruction, genital revision), so most
transgender people travel a long way for
their surgeries.
Post-surgery problems? Local physicians
don’t know how to handle.
Requirements of early transitioners:
Divorce
Must be heterosexual post-transition
Abandon children and have no further contact
Move
Create a fictional history
Never tell
Stay away from other transgender people!
Loree Cook-Daniels
Founding Executive Director
Transgender Aging Network
414-559-2123
www.forge-forward.org/TAN
[email protected]