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Transition

Max Valerio's initial exposure to transsexual information where two pieces that have been considered by LGBTQ groups as being exceptionally trans-phobic. The first book Valerio picked up was Famale-to-Male Transsexualism by Leslie Lothstein MD. Valerio says in The Testosterone Files that "Lothstein's book is damning" and that he "paints the transsexual men he is working with as psychopathic, borderline, fractured, pathetic". Valerio also says that Lothstein's book says that Lothstein "feels that most of the men are mistaken in asking for sex reassignment". Laurie Shrage critisizes Lothstein by critcizing Majorie Garber for using Female-to-Male Transsexualism uncritqually as a point for her argument that transsexualism undermines gender identity.
The second resource Valerio picked up was Janice Raymond's book, The Transsexual Empire. Valerio states that "Raymond postulated that all transsexuals were dupes of the patriarchy, "mutilating" their bodies in order to live out stereotyped sex roles instead of changing those roles through rigorously applied program of radical feminism". Raymond's book has been highly criticized by gender study scholars including Sandy Stone, who ten years after Raymond's book came out, published The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto.

Max Wolf Valerio talks about his first steps of transitioning in the Movie "MAX with Max W. Valerio", a short documentary style film by Monika Treut, Max goes into deeper depth about the testosterone side of transitioning and early steps in The Testosterone Files, a book by Max Valerio and you see Max 7 yrs after the filming of "MAX" in "Gendernauts" another film by Monika Treut.

In the film MAX, Max Valerio talks about who he was and who he is becoming and the realization that he "was a transexual and [..] was really a straight man". Valerio imagined himself as a boy when growing up and could not imagine himself growing into a women. He felt he was always male and identified with male children/adults. Max Valerio would cry himself to sleep as a child wishing to be a boy. When Max Valerio found out that becoming a boy could happen it was like "a dream come true".

In the years that followed childhood, Valerio went to college and came out as a lesbian feminist in 1975. Max Valerio, although, could not relate to lesbian sex until he was 25 and started role playing and experimenting with sex playing the masculine side with a strap on dildo. Valerio started to feel more male and a male gender identity started to come back from childhood.

In the summer of 1988 Valerio really started to access his life and sit for hours honestly re-examining his life and past. After chatting with a friend and roommate who was formally transitioning from male to female, Valerio realized that he was transsexual and might be considering a sex change. Max found the FMT Organization in San Francisco run by Lou Sullivan and started attending meetings. Valerio was amazed by the other female to male transsexuals/transgender people and realized that it could be done. Like an "explosion" in his mind Max Valerio had realized he was not a lesbian but a transsexual and really a straight man. A quote from his friend but the changing process in perspective "It's the question of whether or not you should do this, you have to examine, am i willing to give up everything I have in order to have everything I ever wanted".

Max then talks about the process in declaring transsexualism to a psychologist or counselor so one may obtain the female to male transitioning hormone: testosterone. Sometimes called "T" in the FTM scene.

What Max went through was a visit to a counselor for three months. That counselor then decides if the patient is "sincere and that [they] probably are transsexual". The counselor then writes a letter so that the patient may obtain testosterone to start the transition from female to male. The standard dosage of testosterone is one injection every tow weeks inter-muscularly. That is what Max Valerio did in early stages of transitioning.

Valerio went to an Endocrinologist to obtain the hormones with the letter from the counselor. Max Valerio then went through a number of physical and psychological tests to obtain the hormones. But Valerio knew he had made the right choice when the Endocrinologist asked "which way are you going".

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Testosterone is a male sex hormone used in female to male gender reassignment. In women, the ovaries and adrenal glands produce testosterone naturally but at about one tenth the amount the typical male would produce. The hormone plays a role in the development of the sex drive, sperm production, fat distribution, red cell production and the maintenance of muscle mass and muscle strength.
FTM transexxuals report an increase of sex drive because of the testosterone as Max goes into detail in his book The Testosterone Files

The physical effects of HRT or Hormone Replacement Therapy using testosterone are: loss of menstruation, deepening of the voice, hair growth both facially and body hair growth, the face taking on more masculine aspects, increase in muscle mass the clitoris enlarging, male pattern baldness could occur if in the genes as well acne. Valerio experienced most of these symtoms, excluding the baldness and Valerio experienced less hair growth but he contributes this fact to being half Blackfoot.

The emotional effects include a harder time accessing emotions and crying, an increase in energy, an increase in confidence, some people have felt more rage or anger, it could possibly worsen mental health, and could change sexuality not just sexual attraction to a specific sex but what is arousing in the bedroom. Max Valerio had an increase in energy almost immediately, and increase in sex drive as well an inability to cry as he once had as a female.

The main form of testosterone given is inter-muscular injections every two to three weeks of synthetic testosterone. There is also a way of injecting testosterone subcutaneously, just under the skin. There are also creams, gels sprays, under-arm applications, patches and many more. Valerio used the common way of inter-muscular injections.

FTM Gender Reassignment Steps

Today there are many resources for transitioning and the steps are fairly similar to what Max went though. The typical steps (but not always followed in the same order or each step directly) is first coming out to friends and family as Transgender or Transsexual/Tans*. This involves coming out to people that are the closest, a partner, friends and family. Helping them understand the transition.

The next step could be counseling to begin the process of gender reassignment. A family doctor or endocrinologist may require a note form a counselor explaining mental well being in order to prescribe testosterone. Finding a support group is also recommended generally. Gender reassignment surgery can be very expensive. Approximately $7000 for top surgery and up to $20000 for bottom surgery depending on the route chosen.

During this time Testosterone Hormone Replacement is used to achieve a male appearance if it is in the transition goals. Some choose not to go this route and live as a male through cross dressing.

One of the steps is changing identity legally through paperwork. Drivers License, Passport, state ID etc is needed to be changed legally to assume the new identity in the eyes of the state.

There are many options for Gender Reassignment Surgery sometimes called Geniosplasty. One of the options is top surgery. The two more popular options for top surgery or mastectomy are: Double Incision Bilateral Mastectomy and Keyhole Pen-aeriolar Incision. Double Incision Bilateral Mastectomy is when two large incisions are made below the nipples that run the breast across the chest. The breast tissue is removed while not disturbing the pectoral muscles and the nipples are re-formed to match a more male nipple and replaced. This surgery is chosen most commonly by people with medium to large breast.

The Keyhole Pen-aeriolar Incision surgery is completed by making an incision around the nipple and using liposuction to pull out the breast tissue. This surgery is not meant for those with larger breast as the re-shaping of the skin is not typically done in this surgery. A Hysterectomy can be performed (the surgical removal of the female sex organs). The benefits of this would be the increase affect of testosterone and a lowered chance of ovarian and cervical cancers.

Metiodioplasty is one of the female to male Gender Reassignment Surgeries (or GRS) commonly used as it has a high rate of success and tends to be cheaper than a Phalloplasty. It is a customize-able surgery where the patient can make it work for them. The enlarged clitoris (from testosterone) is moved upwards to create a micro-penis. The labia and surrounding skin is dropped to make a larger penis sensation. Scrotum tissue is made by using the labia and testicle prosthesis can be inserted if desired to give the affect of testicles.

The Phalloplasty is a more invasive surgery where a neophallus is created using a skin graft. This surgery has evolved over the years and now one can obtain erotic sensation. This surgery has a longer downtime than Metiodioplasty and can cost quite a bit more. The result varies from surgeon to surgeon. There are other steps to consider than just the surgeries and changing paperwork. The idea of passing as the chosen gender is something to consider. Max Valerio talks about passing in The Testosterone Files and his obsession with looking the part.

Valerio used a common way of holding down breasts known as binding. Valerio used a posture belt up around the chest to give the appearance of a manly chest.

Valerio also used a common form to give the impression of a bulge in the pants known as packing. Soft packing or "packers" as they are known sometimes is using materials to create the look of a buldge as well as the sensation of a soft package should the area be grazed. In MAX, Valerio talks about his packer being jelly balls and a jelly animal in two layers of stocking to create the shape of male genitalia.

Other ideas of passing involves using men's washrooms, wearing men's clothing, developing men's mannerisms and even shaving.

FTM Support Groups

Many individuals under the umbrella of transgender make use of the many support groups offered to help in any way be it through transition or just living daily life. Individuals take comfort in being around those going through a similar life hurdle. Max Valerio took advantage (may still) of the FTM support group founded by Lou Sullivan in the Bay Area.

Lou Sullivan was the founder of FTM holding the first meeting in San Francisco in 1986. FTM is now an international resource in 18 countries. There are over 2500 meetings worldwide. Sullivan based his meetings on Jeff Shevlowitz's meetings and newsletters that started in 1983 in LA. Shevlowitz attended Sullivan's meetings regularly. FTM is now run in a local chapter form with a centralized resource FTMInternational. Run by a group of board members. Their role is to have education initiatives, help out local support meetings and have their own, networking, referral services as well to promote FTM visibility. Sullivan died in 1991 but the FTM groups have grown and expanded being run by the board members.

The LSS, Lou Sullivan Society is another FTM support group that has opened in honor of Lou Sullivan. This group dedicates itself to the same ideals Lou Sullivan held. It is dedicated to historical information on FTM, education, support, community building and advocacy for transgender and transsexual men.

Lou Sullivan was a large support for Max Valerio and a helpful deciding factor in transitioning as Max Valerio was shocked when he met Sullivan as he had heard only horror stories of FTM transition and was pleasantly surprised by Sullivan's transition. This when Valerio realized "the hormones really work".

Louis Graydon Sullivan was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in summer of 1951. in 1973 Sullivan identified as a female transvestite. At this time Sullivan began his career as a transgender activist with his first publication in the Gay People Union News (GPU), A Transvestite Answers a Feminist. Looking Towards Transvestite Liberation was Sullivans second article in GPU the next year.

by 1975 Sullivan identified as FTM and moved to San Francisco. in 1976 he began the search fro sex reassignment surgery but was repeatedly denied as he was a declared homosexual. Sullivan started taking testosterone in 1979 and began volunteering at the Janus Information Facility (now J2CP) the same year. J2CP is a gender dysphoria clearing house and referral service for sex reassignment.

in 1980 Sullivan had a double mastectomy and began living as a gay man.

In 1986 Sullivan had genital reconstruction surgery and formed FTM (support group).

Change Makers

Max Valerio is mentioned under the heading "Today's Change Makers" in the article A Brief History of FTM Trans Culture on the Trans Guys website. Valerio is mentioned as someone who is paving the way for trans men and making sacrifices to improve the trans world.

There is a well formed idea that Trans* people should own their history before and after transition. Instead of focusing on passing the trans* individual should focus on being self aware and living their own identity. This notion was made famous by Sandy Stone in the Article The Empire Strikes Back, A Posttransexxual Manifesto. "To deconstruct the necessity for passing implies that transsexuals must take responsibility fro all of their history". Max Valerio is owning his history by publishing his own autobiographies and memoirs of his transition including information before the transition began.

It is not well known if transgender figures in history identified as a specific gender or if they had other reasons for dressing as a specific gender other than their sex assigned at birth.

Hatshepsut (c. 1479–1458 BC) was a successful Egyptian Pharaoh, ruling for 22yrs. There were no other female rulers at the time so historians do not know if Hatshepsut identified as male or if she was trying to stick with the tradition of the male ruler. Hatshepsut was known for using both the she and he pronoun and wearing typical female jewelry while dressing in typical male clothing including the use of a gold beard.

Joseph Lobdell (1829-1912) was a skilled marksman living in the working class in upstate New York. Joseph married a women and lived as a man fro many years until he was sent to an insane asylum because he claimed he was male.

Jack Bee Garland (1869-1936) joined the Philippine war as Beebe Beam. Once Beebe was discovered he was not allowed back on the ship. Beebe worked as a nurse once returned but then assuming the identity of Jack Bee Garland living our his life dedicated to social and charitable work.

Michael Dillion (1915-1962) was the first FTM Transsexual to undergo Phalloplasty surgery in Britain. All the media attention made Dillion flee to India where he became a monk and practiced Buddhism. The success of the surgery was groundbreaking in the advancements of FTM sexual reassignment.

Other FTM Transsexual change makers include: Stephen Whittle, Dragonsani Reteria, Michael Woodward, Aiden Key, Matt Kailey and Aaron Devor just to name a few.

Filmography

"Max with Max W. Valerio" (Documentary)

Category:Gender studies