My Life Is Too Dark To See the Light | страница 47

Hormone use
Transgender women often have a great need for hormones, because the physiological
changes brought about by hormone therapy can bring them physically closer to
the gender they identify with. For those diagnosed with gender dysphoria, hormone
replacement therapy is also seen by many doctors as an essential treatment method.162
36 (37%) of the interviewees for this research had experience with hormone use.
However, hormone therapy can lead to some irreversible physiological changes and
should only be undertaken under the guidance of a medical professional.163 However,
in China, the medical treatments available to the transgender community are very
limited. In all of China, there are fewer than ten medical establishments that can
provide specialized instructions on hormone use.164 Public hospitals lack professional
knowledge regarding sex transitions, and are not only unable to provide professional
advice to transgender people but, according to our interviewees, also often respond
with discriminatory attitudes.
Yanyan once went to a hospital to seek advice on hormone use, but she was unable to
find the relevant department, and doctors also didn’t know how to deal with her. She
was sent to an endocrinologist, a urologist, an internist and then a gynecologist without
obtaining any useful suggestions: “The doctors all treated me like a monster, asking
me if I was a man or a woman and poking me and prodding me, and everyone in the
doctor’s office came out to look at me.”165
After leaving the hospital, she found various kinds of information about hormone use on
the internet, including English material from overseas websites, which she read using
translation software. She tried all kinds of hormones that she could find on the market to
see what would be most effective for her. “I tried Premarin, Progynova, Diethylstilbestrol,
Marvelon, Progesterone. I took progesterone in tablets and as injections, not to mention
all kinds of contraceptives available on the market. I tried them all.”166
Since contraceptives are relatively cheap and easy to purchase at pharmacies, many
interviewees had used them as hormone medication. Only a tiny minority had consulted
a doctor while taking medication, with most obtaining information from friends.
162 World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming
People, 7th version.
163 Ibid.
164 Xu Jingxi. “Qian Jinfan: The 84-year-old transgender person’s ‘best part of life has just begun.’“People’s Daily, June 20, 2012. http://www.chinadaily.
com.cn/dfpd/shehui/2012-06/20/content_15515350.htm (accessed October 1, 2014).
165 Interview with Yanyan, Shanghai, June 16, 2014.
166 Ibid.

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