Jennifer's Gender Confirmation Surgery
Donation protected
Hey there friend! My name is Jennifer, and I need your help.
When I was little, I thought bodies were unchangeable. I believed, because I had been taught this, that no matter how much I hated my body, how wrong it felt, or how desperately I needed it to be different, my body was my body and there was nothing that could be done about it. I'd always be stuck the way I'd had the misfortune of being born: "male." If you're here reading my story, odds are you've learned the same truth I eventually did: there are ways to be transgender and not hate your body! You just have to be clever, wealthy, or resourceful.
A little background here just in case some of you aren't in the loop yet. I'm an uninsured transgender woman from Kansas. I've known since before age 7 that I'm a girl, and every day since then has been spent dreaming and hoping that one day I'd have a body to match. I'll be honest. I haven't had the happiest life. I experience what's called "severe gender dysphoria," which if you're unfamiliar with the term, basically means there's such an extreme disconnect between my mind and my body that it causes me intense emotional distress, pretty much all the time. I've learned ways to cope with it, but there's been many times when that hasn't been enough. I don't wish to be grave but, if I don't find a more permanent solution, this dysphoria will kill me.
So, what is the solution? It has different names. "Gender confirmation surgery" is the current popular one, but you might have heard it more specifically referred to as "sex reassignment surgery." When I was a child, I heard people tell jokes about it in class, and now it might be the only thing that can save me from my own body. I won't get into the nitty-gritty details of the procedure, but it does exactly what it sounds like: a surgeon will go in and reform certain tissues the way they should have been in the first place. It isn't magic, but it doesn't have to be. It just has to work.
It also costs a whole lot of money. According to my research, I should expect to have to pay at least $25,000 for this kind of procedure while uninsured, and I unfortunately just don't have that kind of money. I live paycheck to paycheck, so saving money at all is out of the question right now, and has been for the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I've also yet to find an insurance plan that will fit within my very meager budget. Even should my situation improve, $25,000 isn't a sum I could save up in less than a decade. But that's where all of you come in.
If you donate, every penny you give will be saved up until I have enough to cover this procedure, colloquially known as "bottom surgery." I have set the initial goal at $26,000 to account for GoFundMe's charges, and will adjust the goal amount appropriately should my situation change. In the meantime, I will be saving up some what funds of my own I can to cover the cost of followup appointments, travel costs, and any other unexpected charges. Truly, any donation helps, no matter how small. If every one of my social media followers gave just $15, I'd already be past the halfway mark, so please keep in mind that even a quick share with your own could make all the difference.
Thank you to anyone and everyone who has read this far. Even if you cannot support me, I truly do appreciate your kindness in reading my rambling. I am so very scared to be putting myself out there like this.
I wish you all happiness and good things. Please don't forget to love each other.
Jennifer
When I was little, I thought bodies were unchangeable. I believed, because I had been taught this, that no matter how much I hated my body, how wrong it felt, or how desperately I needed it to be different, my body was my body and there was nothing that could be done about it. I'd always be stuck the way I'd had the misfortune of being born: "male." If you're here reading my story, odds are you've learned the same truth I eventually did: there are ways to be transgender and not hate your body! You just have to be clever, wealthy, or resourceful.
A little background here just in case some of you aren't in the loop yet. I'm an uninsured transgender woman from Kansas. I've known since before age 7 that I'm a girl, and every day since then has been spent dreaming and hoping that one day I'd have a body to match. I'll be honest. I haven't had the happiest life. I experience what's called "severe gender dysphoria," which if you're unfamiliar with the term, basically means there's such an extreme disconnect between my mind and my body that it causes me intense emotional distress, pretty much all the time. I've learned ways to cope with it, but there's been many times when that hasn't been enough. I don't wish to be grave but, if I don't find a more permanent solution, this dysphoria will kill me.
So, what is the solution? It has different names. "Gender confirmation surgery" is the current popular one, but you might have heard it more specifically referred to as "sex reassignment surgery." When I was a child, I heard people tell jokes about it in class, and now it might be the only thing that can save me from my own body. I won't get into the nitty-gritty details of the procedure, but it does exactly what it sounds like: a surgeon will go in and reform certain tissues the way they should have been in the first place. It isn't magic, but it doesn't have to be. It just has to work.
It also costs a whole lot of money. According to my research, I should expect to have to pay at least $25,000 for this kind of procedure while uninsured, and I unfortunately just don't have that kind of money. I live paycheck to paycheck, so saving money at all is out of the question right now, and has been for the past 5 years. Unfortunately, I've also yet to find an insurance plan that will fit within my very meager budget. Even should my situation improve, $25,000 isn't a sum I could save up in less than a decade. But that's where all of you come in.
If you donate, every penny you give will be saved up until I have enough to cover this procedure, colloquially known as "bottom surgery." I have set the initial goal at $26,000 to account for GoFundMe's charges, and will adjust the goal amount appropriately should my situation change. In the meantime, I will be saving up some what funds of my own I can to cover the cost of followup appointments, travel costs, and any other unexpected charges. Truly, any donation helps, no matter how small. If every one of my social media followers gave just $15, I'd already be past the halfway mark, so please keep in mind that even a quick share with your own could make all the difference.
Thank you to anyone and everyone who has read this far. Even if you cannot support me, I truly do appreciate your kindness in reading my rambling. I am so very scared to be putting myself out there like this.
I wish you all happiness and good things. Please don't forget to love each other.
Jennifer
Organizer
Jennifer Keimig
Organizer
Wichita, KS