Oakley's Top Surgery

Hi. My name is Oakley. I really need some help.

I’m a transgender man and I began transitioning 7 years ago. I came out when I was 12. I started hormone therapy when I was 16. I chose my name and I have a beard. All of these things make me indescribably happy and proud of who I am.

However, I haven’t been able to access gender-affirming top surgery that will give me a flat chest. Gender affirming surgery is not covered by Medicare and so it costs $10,000 out of pocket in Australia. This price tag feels like an insurmountable barrier to my wellbeing. I am in great need of your support and contributions to overcome this barrier.

Currently, I have to wear a binder to flatten my chest. The binder is extremely tight, it’s not breathable, it cuts into my skin, it chafes, and it makes summer an unbearable, annual nightmare. Wearing a binder restricts my breathing, reduces my ability to exercise and creates chronic back pain. I hate binding but it is the only way I can feel comfortable in my body. Without binding, my relationships, experience and existence is overshadowed by an incongruence I have no choice in.

Though the separation I feel between my body and self is agonizing and the defining symptom of my so-called condition, I feel so much more isolated from society than I do from my body. I am terrified that anyone who looks at me will know exactly what I am and exclude me from everything I could be a part of. I am expected to be ashamed and secretive. Transgender people are not allowed to have open, healthy relationships with themselves, and consequentially, anyone else.

Connection is hard when being authentic can only happen in secret. Gender affirming surgery is both a way to protect myself from being misunderstood and othered, and a way to connect to myself and those around me.

I want to be a part of so much. I want to be a doctor. I want to learn about how we become injured and sick and how we get better again. I want people to look at me and know I’m going to help them. I want to be so involved and connected to my peers that I could help them on an intimate, fundamental level. Gender affirming surgery will empower me to pursue these goals.

By chance, I am facing a $10,000 hurdle that feels impossible to pass and impossible to stay behind. And so I ask for help.

I also want to remind you that I am not the only one in this situation. An overwhelming number of transgender people exist in these circumstances. For me, and many others, being transgender means disconnection; from our bodies, from others and from society. Supporting my connection with my body and with my peers lets other people see that it’s possible and positive. You could help me turn that possibility into concrete change.

Donating is an opportunity to tackle transphobia and produces genuine long-reaching effects. Our right to exist is under constant threat, so every act of kindness is a knife in the side of bigotry against transgender people. Please donate, and please share this with absolutely everyone you have ever met. Ever.

Your help is life-changing.

Thank you for reading.