Help Glenn Transition
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Hi everyone, my name is Glenn and I need your help to continue my transition.
I am a trans man born and raised in Jamaica. Though Jamaica is becoming less homophobic, trans-phobia is something I still deal with every day. Despite the hate, the fear, and the difficulties I face, I am determined to live my truth and be who I am. To do this, I need your help to be able to afford my quarterly T shots every January, April, July, and October.
You might be wondering how I got here or why I need your help. Here is my story.
I was raised in a physically and mentally abusive household. During high school my mom sent me to live with an Aunt in Kingston who instead of helping me during this fragile time chose to further the mental abuse. Eventually I grew tired and though I had no money I decided to run away to an elder and the only other family I trusted to help me. I walked miles to my great grandma’s house, but she turned me away.
At that point I knew I was alone. See, I knew who I was, and I was ready to be that person, so I did what I always do, kept trying. I called a teacher I knew, and she suggested I stay with a male teacher that she trusted. I called my mom to explain but she cursed about my sexuality and told me if I could not change then I could not live with her. I had to choose. Do I go back to the abuse and risk my mental health, or do I choose to stay with this teacher who I didn’t really know?
I could not go back; things could only get worse if I did. I told her I could not pretend to be someone I was not anymore, and she then made it clear that I would have to stay with the male teacher. A few days later, she signed over her parental rights to him.
I was 16 when I moved in and in the beginning, everything was fine until he deicide that he wanted to sleep with me. I refused.
He then called my mom, I guess to get her consent and she was happy to oblige. Her exact words being "I wish a group of men would rape her" and " I'd rather you be with her than her being with a woman". He took this as his consent and told me that either he sleeps with me or I sleep on the street.
I had another difficult decision to make.
As I am writing this my heart fills with anger and my eyes with tears because I have buried these stories so deep.
I weighed my options; do I leave and possibly get raped by multiple men as my mom would have liked or do I stay and finish school so I would have a chance as a masculine presenting individual living in Jamaica? I knew my safety was most important and that in the long term I needed the qualifications in order to be able to get a job in the future, so I made the tough decision to stay.
For months I endured the sexual abuse over and over just to secure an education, but I was still searching for someone who would help.
Eventually I found someone else to help me. Since then, I have been moving around Jamaica because I was not old enough to work and no matter where I stayed I always had to leave. I kept moving from house to house, job to job continuing to endure mental and physical abuse because of my perceived sexuality. I had enough.
I decided that sleeping on the street had to be better than my current reality, come what may. So, I slept on the street and on benches for a couple days, I was hungry and did not have anything to eat or any shoes on my feet.
Eventually I found somewhere to stay and as I got older began to introspect and learn more about myself. This introspection led me to better deal with what I know now to be my bi-polar disorder, depression, and other factors of my struggles with my gender identity. This all led me to begin transitioning.
Currently I have a little stable job, but I am still struggling to survive physically and financially. I made the first sacrifice with the help of God and was able to gain approval and pay for my first testosterone shot but every day I worry if I will be able to afford subsequent shots.
I continue to work hard and have started a YouTube channel to help me as much as possible, but that income will take time. I need your help to get my shots for April, July, and October.
If you would like to learn more about my journey you can watch the videos on my Youtube channel. Thank you so much for reading and for your donation.
Yours Truly,
Glenn
I am a trans man born and raised in Jamaica. Though Jamaica is becoming less homophobic, trans-phobia is something I still deal with every day. Despite the hate, the fear, and the difficulties I face, I am determined to live my truth and be who I am. To do this, I need your help to be able to afford my quarterly T shots every January, April, July, and October.
You might be wondering how I got here or why I need your help. Here is my story.
I was raised in a physically and mentally abusive household. During high school my mom sent me to live with an Aunt in Kingston who instead of helping me during this fragile time chose to further the mental abuse. Eventually I grew tired and though I had no money I decided to run away to an elder and the only other family I trusted to help me. I walked miles to my great grandma’s house, but she turned me away.
At that point I knew I was alone. See, I knew who I was, and I was ready to be that person, so I did what I always do, kept trying. I called a teacher I knew, and she suggested I stay with a male teacher that she trusted. I called my mom to explain but she cursed about my sexuality and told me if I could not change then I could not live with her. I had to choose. Do I go back to the abuse and risk my mental health, or do I choose to stay with this teacher who I didn’t really know?
I could not go back; things could only get worse if I did. I told her I could not pretend to be someone I was not anymore, and she then made it clear that I would have to stay with the male teacher. A few days later, she signed over her parental rights to him.
I was 16 when I moved in and in the beginning, everything was fine until he deicide that he wanted to sleep with me. I refused.
He then called my mom, I guess to get her consent and she was happy to oblige. Her exact words being "I wish a group of men would rape her" and " I'd rather you be with her than her being with a woman". He took this as his consent and told me that either he sleeps with me or I sleep on the street.
I had another difficult decision to make.
As I am writing this my heart fills with anger and my eyes with tears because I have buried these stories so deep.
I weighed my options; do I leave and possibly get raped by multiple men as my mom would have liked or do I stay and finish school so I would have a chance as a masculine presenting individual living in Jamaica? I knew my safety was most important and that in the long term I needed the qualifications in order to be able to get a job in the future, so I made the tough decision to stay.
For months I endured the sexual abuse over and over just to secure an education, but I was still searching for someone who would help.
Eventually I found someone else to help me. Since then, I have been moving around Jamaica because I was not old enough to work and no matter where I stayed I always had to leave. I kept moving from house to house, job to job continuing to endure mental and physical abuse because of my perceived sexuality. I had enough.
I decided that sleeping on the street had to be better than my current reality, come what may. So, I slept on the street and on benches for a couple days, I was hungry and did not have anything to eat or any shoes on my feet.
Eventually I found somewhere to stay and as I got older began to introspect and learn more about myself. This introspection led me to better deal with what I know now to be my bi-polar disorder, depression, and other factors of my struggles with my gender identity. This all led me to begin transitioning.
Currently I have a little stable job, but I am still struggling to survive physically and financially. I made the first sacrifice with the help of God and was able to gain approval and pay for my first testosterone shot but every day I worry if I will be able to afford subsequent shots.
I continue to work hard and have started a YouTube channel to help me as much as possible, but that income will take time. I need your help to get my shots for April, July, and October.
If you would like to learn more about my journey you can watch the videos on my Youtube channel. Thank you so much for reading and for your donation.
Yours Truly,
Glenn
Organizer
Ell Williams
Organizer
East York, ON