Help fund Charlie's top surgery

Hi! I’m Charlie. I’m a full-time law student, I’m trans, and I’m hoping you can help me to pay for my top surgery. The surgery would not only alleviate my body dysphoria by closer aligning my body to who I really am, it would set me free from a life of feeling like a prisoner in my own body.

But I can’t pay for it on my own. Only 10% of the $20,000 cost of top surgery is covered by Medicare, which means the price is well beyond my means. That makes me scared that I may never be free to live my authentic life. If you can help me get surgery via a small donation, it would be absolutely life changing. You can find out more about my story below, too.

The Story of Me

Long before I was formally diagnosed with Gender Incongruence, I was already in an enduring battle with my sense of self.

I knew as early as six that I wasn't like other kids. That the me I saw in my head wasn't the little girl in the mirror. Looking back at old photos, I do recognise myself, the shaggy mop of dark brown hair, always unbrushed, the wide green eyes, curious about the world. I see the clashing hand-me-downs I managed to wrangle from my older male cousin. At the same time, though, I feel so disconnected from my teenage self, as if she was someone I once met in a dream and struggle to remember now awake. Behind the pretty dresses and signature high ponytail was a profoundly lonely kid who never wanted to let anyone get too close, as they might figure out her big secret.

In some ways, it has gotten better. I decided to fight for myself, the little kid with the shaggy hair, so that they might have a future, a family, and a life to look back on, devoid of regret. In 2017, I moved across the country, leaving my conservative hometown on the NSW/QLD border in search of safer pastures. I legally changed my name in 2017 and started Testosterone in September 2022; both these choices have been incredibly life-affirming.

But, I still struggle with having breasts—a deeply unwanted gift of female puberty.

If I catch a glimpse of them in the mirror whilst getting out of the shower, it can completely derail my morning. I have to try not to slip on the wet floor as I desperately stifle a panic attack.

When I’m going out, I find myself trying on half my wardrobe because everything feels like it might as well have written across it: "Yes, even though I'm trying like hell to hide it, I do have breasts". Naturally, this is followed by the painful choice between wearing a hoodie in summer once again, or cancelling on your friends to cry on the floor instead.

In men's bathrooms, I feel scared that someone might recognise the strap of a binder not fully obstructed by my shirt collar and figure out I was a fraud.

I am, by default, constantly hunching, pulling my chest down and inwards, my subconscious resigned to trying to hide my shame.

All of this is feeling like a prisoner in one's own body is exhausting. Having top surgery would set me free.

This is where you enter my story. Even though Medicare and the Australian Medical Association has deemed procedures like top surgery (bilateral double mastectomy) medically necessary and 'often life-saving', less than 10% of the total cost of my surgery would be covered under Medicare.

As a full-time law student in a cost-of-living crisis, trying to fund the remaining $18,000 not covered by Medicare, I feel like I may never be free to live my authentic life. My dream would be for next summer to wear a white tee shirt, proudly stand up straight, pay homage to that shaggy-headed kid, and surf topless for the first time in over 20 years.

Once again, if you can help me out in any way, it would completely transform my life. Thanks so much for reading my story, and for your support

Charlie