Dylan's Top Surgery

Happy Pride Month, everyone! My partner Dylan Volk is pursuing gender-affirming top surgery! After the success of my own campaign for gender-affirming care in 2019, I want to show that same outpouring of support to the person who cared for me in the weeks, months, and years following. To show what you’d be supporting by donating to this campaign, I’d like to share a few notes about who Dylan is as a person.

Dylan is…

…a caretaker!

During my own recovery from top surgery, it was Dylan who was by my side, day in and day out, more than any other. In that icy Vermont winter, Dylan made warm biscuits and grits, drew my baths, and made the holiday season one I would remember for the rest of my life. Dylan has cared for me and so many others so deeply, and has taught me how truly complex, tender, and beautiful queer networks of care can be.

Isaac and Amaya, Dylan’s nephew and niece are among the youngest to receive regular care from Dylan. The favorite babysitter by far, Isaac and Amaya now immediately reach for their Tié Dylan (a gender-neutral variation on the Spanish Tío/Tía), who lives just around the block and comes over at least once a week for dinner, playdates, and bedtime snuggles.

…an organizer!

In the aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosion that left thousands injured, displaced, and economically devastated, Dylan worked with our dear friend (a native of the city) to collect gently used chest binders for trans and gender-nonconforming youth in Lebanon. This effort ensured that gender-affirming products were prioritized alongside other basic necessities in a time of national crisis.

As an elected steward and picket captain for the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO 3500) at the University of Michigan, Dylan effectively organized multiple weeks of student-led strikes in the Fall of 2020 to protest unfair working conditions in COVID-19 and to advocate for a safe and demilitarized campus for all. In addition to launching one of the first labor campaigns in American history with abolitionist demands, GEO also has some of the most comprehensive and accessible gender-affirming care in the country for university students. It is through this program that Dylan is able to pursue top surgery.

…a teacher!

When we first met in the summer of 2019, Dylan taught me how to use athletic tape for chest binding. They use binders and tape nearly every day, and I know they look forward to when this will no longer be a necessary part of their day-to-day life. Dylan is always eager to share resources with their loved ones—a dinner party with friends is never complete without the lending of a favorite book from the shelf.

Dylan’s commitment to queer community directly translates into the work they do in the classroom. This past year, they taught over 75 students as an adjunct instructor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at American University. Dylan’s approach to teaching is one that centers collaboration and values students’ lived experiences alongside their acquired knowledge; they treat their classroom as a place where students can put solidarity politics into practice. Still a current PhD student at the University of Michigan, Dylan is working on their dissertation project, affectionately titled Lips Touch: Lesbian Aesthetic Strategies and the Body Impolitic, 1990-1999, which also emphasizes the importance of queer coalition-building in the history of American art.

…a total babe!

Last, but certainly not least, Dylan is an absolute cutie! Please consider supporting this sweet sweet face, and read on to see a breakdown of where your donation would be going.

In a time of increased attacks on bodily autonomy—the Supreme Court’s impending threat to abortion access; virulent campaigns against gender-affirming care for trans children; even acts of anti-queer violence in our own city of Baltimore—shows of queer solidarity feel all the more urgent. It is more and more through community-led efforts that we advocate for and actively create the change we wish to see.

Dylan is incredibly fortunate that GEO has used their labor power to secure employee health care that will cover a majority of the cost of surgery. Even so, they still face several serious expenses, including the cost of travel to and from Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, Dylan will be lucky to receive the highest quality medical care from The Comprehensive Gender Services Program (CGSP) at Michigan Medicine.

Estimated Costs:

$1500 for travel to/from Ann Arbor, MI

$2000 for 3 weeks of accommodations during the initial recovery period

$250 for prescription pain medication and various recovery supplies

$2750 for any unexpected procedure, physician, or hospital fees that insurance may not cover

6500 Total

Dylan has requested that any remaining proceeds not used to cover these costs be donated directly to Baltimore Safe Haven, Baltimore’s only trans-led drop-in wellness center. Baltimore Safe Haven provides at-risk TLGBQIA people in Baltimore City with free transitional housing, harm-reduction resources, GED preparation courses, vocational training, case management, and primary/mental health care, in addition to everyday necessities like food and personal hygiene products. Dylan’s connection to their hometown runs deep, and we want to directly support those in our local community who need it the most.

If Dylan has made an impact on you or you are moved by the work they are doing for others, please consider donating and/or spreading the word. Thank you!