morgan-of-the-faries

[morgan-of-the-faries]

heyy darlin' 😏 *spins, trips over shit converse, catches my arms in an oversized flannel and face-plants at your feet*

hey baby 😏 *heelies over to you wearing an ugly hawaiian shirt*

[morgan-of-the-faries]

Alrighty! Here we go!

Hey y'all! My name is Morgan, I'm a queer, AFAB, non-binary minor in New York and this is my process of starting testosterone! I have zero idea how this is going to go, but I want others to have the information as I'm getting it.

TW: Internalized transphobia

I have been looking into NYS laws around HRT for minors and there are few to none-other than establishing the fact that like any other medical procedures, minors who are: emancipated, parents, pregnant, or in the military can consent to receiving HRT without a guardian's consent too. What this means is that I have zero information about the process of getting HRT as a minor with the ability to consent to most other medical treatments.

I'm planning on calling my local Planned Parenthood tomorrow, to see just what I need my parents' consent for. I know that name and gender marker changes require parent/guardian consent. But I think that's a conversation for another day.

One of the difficult things I'm running into is that my internalized transphobia is rearing it's ugly head, telling me that I'm not "trans enough" to get HRT and that since I love the shape of my breasts (most of the time), the rest of my dysphoria is insignificant. While I know in my head and my heart that I am valid in all of my needs, there is that little voice in the back of my head invalidating my every thought.

Recently I brought up the concept of HRT with my therapist and she seemed supportive! I am so very grateful that I have a therapist who I trust with things like this. I 100% did not tell her the extent that I have been researching HRT but I'm eager to discuss it more.

Like I said, I decided to write about my experiences for the benefit of others but I'm also super eager to look back on this and think about what I had wrong and what I had right!

Some of the resources I looked at:

Am I "Trans Enough" to Take Hormones? (them.us)

What is T therapy, and when can a person start it? (Medical News Today)

Information on Testosterone Hormone Therapy (UCSF)

Transgender/Nonbinary Hormone Therapy (PPGNY)

Health Coverage Information for Transgender New Yorkers: What You Need to Know to Get Care (NYS DFS)

Transgender Related Care and Services (NYS DOH)

TEENAGERS, HEALTH CARE, AND THE LAW: A Guide To Minors’ Rights in New York State (NYCLU)

Bye Y'all!!

[morgan-of-the-faries]

Resources for Teaching Your Children About Sex and Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic

If school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic left you homeschooling your kids, or just having more time together at home, you may be looking for opportunities to talk with them about sex, sexuality, and relationships. But where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Tip Sheets

Using TV to Talk With Your Children About Sex

While you’re watching TV, you can use storylines about sex and relationships to spark conversations and find out how your kids might make decisions if they were in the same situation. It’s a good opportunity to share your values, expectations, and hopes for them, as well as understand their values, perspectives, and needs.

Talking About Consent and Healthy Relationships at Every Age

This tip sheet gives you specific ways to talk with your children to help them have healthier relationships (and sex, if they’re older).

Glossary of Sex Education Terms (March 2020)

In March, the Future of Sex Education (FoSE) Initiative — a partnership of Advocates for Youth, Answer, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)  — released updated National Sex Education Standards to support K-12 educators in providing sex education. The standards are very helpful for schools and sex educators, but a lot to go through for busy parents. So, we’ve highlighted the glossary, which includes real-world definitions for modern terms related to sex and relationships.

Activities

Healthy Relationships Bingo

Watching a show with your kids? Try playing this bingo card to spot when the people on screen treat each other in healthy ways (BINGO!). You can each play on your own card, and then compare your cards to see how your ideas of healthy relationships are the same and different as a way to spark conversation.

Sex Education Word Find

Young people can learn while they search for words and phrases like birth control, clitoris, consent, and safe sex. You can ask them if they have questions about any word they find. Then, you can answer — or if you don’t know the answer, you can look things up together on plannedparenthood.org. 

Websites

PlannedParenthood.org/Parents

Our website has a ton of information on how to talk about different sex and relationship topics to kids at different ages, including videos and other resources in both English and Spanish.

SIECUS: Sex Education, Homeschool-Style

SIECUS is a national sex education advocacy organization. They’ve got a great resource list to help parents and educators who are social distancing and serving as sex educators at home or virtually. 

AMAZE Parents

AMAZE offers a great online library of sex education videos for middle-school-aged kids and their parents. It just launched an Askable Parent Challenge, offering resources to help you navigate kids’ questions about sex and relationships while at home and social distancing.

Articles

Rewire: “Are You Home Schooling Your Kids? Don’t Forget Sex Education”

This article includes a great list of books about sex, puberty, and relationships for kids of different ages.

Huffington Post: “So, Your Kid Is Masturbating While Your Family Isolates. What Should You Do?”

Toronto-based sexual health educator Nadine Thornhill shares how to deal with your kid masturbating while everyone is home together, which can both be tricky, and an opportunity to talk about masturbation with them. 

Books

For Parents

“Talk to Me First: Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Kids’ ‘Go-To’ Person about Sex” by Deborah M. Roffman

This book helps parents become the most credible and influential resource about sexuality in their children’s lives. 

“Making Sense of ‘It’” by Alison Macklin

This book is for both parents and teens, and it offers trustworthy, gender-neutral advice on how to be safe, informed, and honest about sex and sexuality. 

”There’s No Place Like Home… For Sex Education” by Mary Gossart (for ages 3 to 18)

This book offers a friendly and practical guide for conversations about sex and sexuality from the experts at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. 

For Children

”What’s in There? All About Before You Were Born” by Robie Harris (for ages 2-5)

This book follows the stages of pregnancy and childbirth in a matter-of-fact and comfortable way.

“Sex is a Funny Word” by Cory Silverberg (for ages 8-10)

This cartoon book provides information about all things bodies, sex, and puberty for kids, as well as their parents.

”Let’s Talk About Sex” by Robie Harris (for ages 9 and up)

The 20th anniversary edition of “Let’s Talk About Sex” provides information on texting safety, birth control, and LGBTQ topics.

For More Information

Visit our Resources for Parents to see more resources about sex education, and visit our COVID-19/New Coronavirus page for information about the pandemic. 

—Miriam at Planned Parenthood