Support Kolja´s gender affirming surgery

Hi, my name is Kolja and I'm a non-binary trans masculine person based in Berlin. This fundraiser was created by the recommendation of friends to cover the expenses for my gender affirming surgery. After long consideration I have chosen to listen to my friends and create a way to make it possible to live as my true self.

I feel the injustice and shame of having to turn to my community for basic health care. Such treatment should be covered by the state and the tax money that I and many of my queer friends contribute. Our happiness and demands for basic health rights are not equal to the majority population. I recognize the limitations of living in a binary world and want to finally be able to live as who I am and have always been.

In addition to the system suppressing any person who does not fit the binary gender model, I have experienced unfair treatment by the German healthcare system and have no doubt that it will happen again during a process like this. Although I understand the privileges I hold as an European citizen, I still feel the psychological effects of having to explain my gender identity in order to be believed and acknowledged to receive basic healthcare needs.

Like many others in this society, I often find myself in moments of financial difficulty. Job insecurity and rising living costs mean I am not currently in a position to save money to cover such an operation.

Getting this gender affirming surgery means that I can finally live comfortably in my own body. It means reducing the feeling of gender dysphoria I experience, which is a daily stress and strain. I just wantto be aligned with my own body and gender expression – a feeling that is accessible to the majority of society, and a feeling I can't recognize now because of the societal limits placed on our understanding gender.

It took me a long time to accept myself and to come out as a trans person, doing that has already impacted my life in a very positive way and I feel more accepting of myself every day. It's incredible for me to imagine how top surgery could change me and my life, and I'll try everything possible to reach that goal.

Additionally to the mental health benefictions of getting top surgery I also believe that proceeding with gender affirmation surgeries is necessary in the society we live in to be recognized and acknowledged as trans people.