Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.11.2018, Blaðsíða 16

16 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 20— 2018
Being a teenager can be difficult; at a
time when pressure to conform is prob-
ably at its strongest, being an outlier can
make one especially vulnerable, heaping
even more difficulties on top of what
is already a typically stressful time in a
person’s life. ‘The Trans Teen Survival
Guide,’ a newly published book by Fox
Fisher and Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir
Jónsdóttir, aims to help.
“When we were growing up, we didn’t
have any resource like this” they tell us.
“If something like this would’ve existed
and we had access to it, it would have
helped us massively in finding ourselves,
and it would’ve saved us many years of
confusion, isolation and shame.”
The book was inspired in part by a
mutual friend of theirs, Christina L.
Bentley, who set up a Tumblr page a few
years ago under the same name. They
were so impressed with her blog that
they penned their book under the same
title. Unfortunately, Christina took her
own life earlier this year, and was not
able to see the book finally come into
being, so it is dedicated to her memory.
Polling resources
“The book is a mix of our own personal
knowledge that we have gained over the
years as activists and
trans people, as well
as information from
organisations across
Europe,” they tell us.
“We basically started
by piling together all
the information that
we wish we had access
to when we were
growing up, and then
started doing research
on it and entwining it
with our own personal
experiences.”
In their estima-
tion, the greatest
obstacles trans teens in Europe and
North America face right now concern
social support and medical support, the
lack of which stems from ignorance of
the trans experience.
“Trans teens in many countries
around the world are struggling to be
recognised in their identities, and there
are a lot of misconceptions around the
support that they need, and often people
are hesitant to give it,” they tell us. “This
can lead to teens feeling massively
depressed and distressed about their
situation, leading to awful things like
being disowned by their families and
becoming homeless, to seeing no other
way out other than to take their own
lives. Giving them access to medical
interventions in order to slow down
the effects of puberty is also massively
important, as they are are perfectly safe
and give the teen time to breathe. . We
need to be able to listen to them.”
Progress, but a long
ways to go
Things have improved for trans teens
over the past ten years or so. Countries
that have taken steps forward have, for
example, made puberty blockers acces-
sible to teens, who might also be getting
greater support from their schools and
families. However, there is still a long
way to go.
“Health care systems need to take it
much more seriously and realise that if
these kids do not get access to puberty
blockers at the right time, their mental
health is going to suffer as a result,” they
point out. “It also means establishing
laws and processes around this, and
governments and those in positions of
power can make this happen; we need
their support more than ever.”
On being a good trans ally
Perhaps you reading this have a trans
friend, and want to be a good ally to
them. For Ugla and Fox, this means more
than just lip service.
“It’s about checking in with your
trans friends, and asking them how
they are and if they need any help
with anything,” they say. This includes
running errands for
trans friends to places
where misgendering
is likely, and being
vocally in support of
trans issues, in public
as well as online.
“ We need to
start recognising that
people can tell very
early on what their
gender is and what
is their experience
of their own gender,
and the sooner we
can affirm people
and allow them to
explore their expression and identity,
the happier our kids will be,” they say.
“We need to be able to listen to them.”
Fighting Erasure:
The Trans Teen
Survival Guide
Two trans activists have written a book with
the potential to save lives
Words:
Andie Fontaine
Photo:
Sharon Kilgannon
Ugla and Fox, the minds behind the guide
“We need to start
recognising
that people can
tell very early
on what their
gender is and
what their expe-
rience is of their
own gender.”
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