AGENDA. AND FOR MOST IT MATCHES THE SEX WE WERE BORN WITH AT BIRTH, BUT IT’S ESTIMATED MORE
THAN 1.4 MILLION TRANSGENDER
PEOPLE IN THE US WHO FEEL TO
THEIR VERY CORE. THEY WERE BORN
WITH THE WRONG GENDER TONIGHT AS
WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE
BORN, THE WRONG GENDER AND THE
JOURNEY IT TAKES FOR ONE TO
CORRECT WHAT THEY BELIEVE IS
NATURE’S MISTAKE. OUR PAULA
TUTMAN INTRODUCES US TO A PERSON
WHO TRANSITIONED FROM MALE TO
FEMALE AND THE SURGERY. THAT’S
HELPING THE PROCESS. THIS IS
ACTUALLY THE THREE D MODEL OF A
WOMAN WHO STILL LOOK LIKE THE
MALE VESSEL SHE WAS BORN INTO
UNTIL HIGHLY SPECIALIZED SURGERY
GAVE HER THE FEMININE FACE. SHE
WAS ALWAYS BORN TO HAVE ONCE
UPON A TIME. SHE WAS A HAIR
EVERY TIME HE LOOKED IN THE
MIRROR. HE KNEW WHAT HE SAW
DIDN’T FIT. WITH WHO SHE REALLY
WAS. SO I WOULD OVERCOMPENSATE
WITH WHO I AM. I NEED, YOU KNOW,
LEFT TOMORROW WEIGHTS, TRYING
GIRL BEARD. DO MORE FASHIONABLE
MEN’S HAIRCUTS. WHAT’S DAVID
BECKHAM? HAVE? I’LL DO THAT.
TODAY SHE IS EMILY, WHO CAN
REMEMBER THOSE PAINFULLY
UNCOMFORTABLE TIMES WHEN SHE
LEANED IN HARD TO BE THE MAN SHE
WAS BORN, AS IN HOPES IT WOULD
ERASE THE FEMININITY SHE FELT.
SHE GOT MARRIED, GREW A BEARD
WORKED OUT TO BULK UP. EXCEPT
THREE YEARS AGO, I HAD A HARD
CONVERSATION WITH HERSELF AND
HER NEW WIFE WAS FIRST POINTED
OUT BY MY WIFE THAT EVERY TIME I
LOOK AT THEM LIKE YOU SCOUR AND
I HAD HEARD THIS FOR YEARS AND
YEARS FROM HER. SHE’S LIKE YOU
NEVER LOOK HAPPY. WHEN YOU LOOK
IN THE MIRROR. YOU ALWAYS
GLARING AT YOUR REFLECTION OR
SCOWLING AND I THOUGHT, WELL,
YOU KNOW, I JUST DON’T FIND
MYSELF ATTRACTIVE THREE YEARS
AGO WITH THE BLESSINGS OF HER
WIFE AND FAMILY, SHE
TRANSITIONED HE BECAME A SHE.
BUT EVEN WITH THE TRANSITION
THAT MAN FACE WAS STILL THERE.
AND SO SHE HAD THAT CHANGED IN A
SURGERY THAT’S BECOMING MORE AND
MORE AVAILABLE IN THE METRO
DETROIT AREA. 2019 I DID ABOUT
SIX SURGERIES AND 2020. IT WAS
STILL A LITTLE BIT LOW. MAYBE
ABOUT 10 SOLDIERS AND 2021 WE
DID ABOUT 35 SO FAR THIS YEAR. I
THINK WE’VE DONE ABOUT 40 TO 50
SURGERIES. FACIAL FEMINIZATION
SURGERY IS ONE POTENTIAL PIECE
OF THE COMPLEX PUZZLE OF
TRANSITIONING FROM THE GENDER.
YOU WERE BORN INTO THE GENDER
YOU IDENTIFY AS BEING DESPITE
WHO BIOLOGY SAYS YOU WERE AT
BIRTH. BEING ADDRESSED IN SHEER
MILLIMETERS BY DR LAURA GARCIA
AT HENRY FORD HEALTH WHO PUTS A
FINE POINT ON THE IMPORTANCE BY
EXPLAINING THAT WHILE COSMETIC
SURGERY ADDRESSES THOSE THINGS,
YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE ABOUT
YOURSELF THIS KIND OF GENDER
AFFIRMING SURGERY ADDRESSES
SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER. THERE’S
SO MANY STUDIES SHOWING THAT
PATIENTS WHO DO NOT GET GENDER
AFFIRMING SURGERIES, THEIR RISK
OF SUICIDE IS SO MUCH HIGHER.
THE RISK OF VIOLENCE IS SO MUCH
HIGHER WHEN EMILY STARTED
PEELING IN A WAY THE BANDAGES
WITHIN A MATTER OF DAYS, A NEW
PERSON WAS REVEALED. SO YOU’LL
SEE RIGHT HERE ON THE FRONT OF
THE BROW. THERE’S A FEW
MILLIMETERS OF BONE THAT HAD
BEEN REDUCED ITS BONE GROWTH
THAT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED AT THE
TIME OF PUBERTY. AND THEN THE
BRIDGE OF THE NOSE AS WELL
BEFORE WAS THICKER AND PROTRUDED
MUCH MORE. A FEW MILLIMETERS OF
BONE REALLY WOUND UP BEING THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEEING
MYSELF. AND SING. THE SKEWED
VERSION OF MYSELF AND THAT THREE
D MODEL OF HER SKULL BECAME MORE
OF A BOOKEND ON HER SHELF THAN A
ROADMAP OF A FUTURE LIFE. TAKE
SELFIES. WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?
I NEVER TOOK SELFIES AND THEN
NOW POST SURGERY. IT’S LIKE I
WANT TO TAKE PICTURES AND SHARE
THEM NOW LIKES WHO SHE SEES IN
THE MIRROR, AND SHE IS WALKING
TO THE BEAT OF HER OWN DRUMMER
LITERALLY. ABSOLUTELY EVERY
SINGLE WAY YOU CAN IMAGINE. IT’S
CALLED FACIAL FEMINIZATION
SURGERY, AND IT’S SCULPTS THOSE
MILLIMETERS THAT CAN BE THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SELF
ACCEPTANCE AND LIVING WITH THE
WRONG FACE. WHEN YOU FEEL YOU
WERE BORN THE WRONG GENDER
TOMORROW AT FIVE, PAULA WILL
TAKE YOU INSIDE AN ACTUAL
SURGERY TO SHOW YOU WHAT IT
TAKES TO MAKE AMENDS FACE A
WOMAN’S FACE. IT IS A LIFE
ALTERING SURGERY THAT’S CHANGING