My friend Ariel King had to do a paper about an interesting person. I was very surprised when I she asked me. She sent me the paper and am very proud of her work. Below is the paper as she turned it in to her class.
FTM (Female to Male)
“I had a very rude awakening when my niece asked if I was a boy. I have been asked this all my life and it was someone in my family and a child that made this question so difficult. It was there I knew I could no longer be ‘Beth’. So this is when I became Seth.”
On a recent Sunday morning, Seth Dunlap sat at a table in IHOP sipping a cup of coffee and reflecting on his decision to transition from female to male. To those who do not know him, Dunlap looks like a typical 25-year-old man. He is wearing a long-sleeved, maroon and gold T-shirt from the University of Louisiana at Monroe, jeans and K-Swiss tennis shoes. He has blue eyes and short, dark hair. Each of his forearms is emblazoned with a tattoo. One arm depicts a treble clef symbol, and the other bears a bass clef. Standing at 5 feet 7 inches tall, he has the stocky, muscular build of an athlete a remnant from his days on various sports teams. He is the picture of masculinity and although he may now look similar to the boys he grew up playing football and baseball with, he was born a woman. He was Beth Dunlap. Beth was tall, curvy and had long curly hair. Beth was attractive, but when she wore a dress or makeup, it was obvious that that she was uncomfortable and did these things only because they were expected of her.
Although his appearance has changed quite a bit since then, Dunlap has remained the bubbly, funny and sweet individual that people have always enjoyed being around. Many transgender individuals become hostile and short with people that are uninformed about the politically correct terms used for transgender individuals, but not Dunlap. He understands that most people are not aware of the expectations the transgender community has for its treatment and what the members of this society prefer to be referred to as. Therefore, instead of becoming offended, he politely corrects people when they use the wrong pronoun or term. He also is willing, almost eager, to share his story when others insist they just want to be left alone. He wants to allow others to witness his transition and become informed which makes him even more endearing.
Seth got his name when he was still “Beth” from a friend who joked that he acted like a boy and therefore needed a boy name. The name and idea stuck with Dunlap who has been on the journey to his new gender identity since 2009. It was then that he decided to take the steps necessary to become to society who he felt he had always been on the inside.
While enjoying a breakfast of pancakes and coffee, Dunlap recollected that he first noticed he was different at the age of 5. “I definitely feel like I was born in the wrong body,” Dunlap said. “I remember as a kid always playing with little boys. I liked Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters. I never understood why I couldn’t run around without my shirt like the guys.” As the years went on, she continued to feel uncomfortable as a female. In high school, Beth was bullied for being a lesbian when she identified as straight. She came out as bisexual in college. Upon discovering that the lesbian community was not as open to bisexuals as to lesbians, she came out as a lesbian. Dunlap then came out as transgender in 2009 and currently identifies as bisexual.
According to statistics from Youth Pride Inc., gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers and 33.2 percent of transgender youth have attempted suicide. Dunlap is no stranger to these statistics and also entertained the idea of suicide as a teen. He was bullied in high school for being gay long before he identified as a lesbian, but he stated that this treatment was not what caused the suicidal feelings he experienced. He said that these feelings came from being uncomfortable in his own skin. “I definitely felt like I did not fit in. I never knew why,” said Dunlap. “It was depressing to not know why I felt betrayed by my body.” He added that after coming out as transgender and starting the process to become male, he no longer feels suicidal.
He went on to address the misconception that sexual orientation and gender are separate issues. Dunlap said, “People are finally starting to understand that sexuality is fluid and not binary. It’s the same thing with gender. Gender is not binary. It is not male and it is not just female. We all fit in how masculine or how feminine we are.”
His sexual orientation was not a factor in his decision to transition. He is open to a relationship with a straight woman as well as with a gay man, but chose not to date while focusing on the transgender process and his own needs.
Seth began his process of transitioning from female to male in 2009. Transgender individuals can be divided into subcategories and the process they undergo is dependant on what their desired outcome is. In addition to the option of surgically altering one’s appearance, there are people who fall into the category of “genderqueer” and identify as neither male nor female and individuals who cross-dress which is the act of dressing in the clothing of the opposite sex. Seth is part of the transgender community that desires to completely transition and be recognized socially, physically and legally as the opposite gender.
This is an intense process and requires the person to seek medical treatment in order to achieve their physical goals. According to the website http://www.transgendered-soul.com, the first step necessary is to join a support group while adjusting to the changes presented when adjusting to a new identity. Like most of the transgender men, who are women that choose to transition to male, he began dressing like a man and assumed the identity of a man at the beginning of this process. Many transgender men use devices like chest binders that reduce the appearance of their breasts and “stand-to-pee” devices. A stand-to-pee device is often a medicine spoon with a hole puncture at the end that transgender men use to learn how to urinate standing up and to allow them use men’s public bathrooms. Transitioning from female-to-male and from male-to-female are completely separate processes, but both require individuals to participate in therapy to ensure that they are prepared to undergo gender reassignment and once this is verified by a therapist, they are then able to begin hormone therapy. Seth is now at this point in his treatment.
Dunlap is now taking testosterone. The hormone is given in the form of shots intermuscular shots that must be administered at home once every two weeks and are injected into the thigh muscle. Although the idea of having to endure shots on a regular basis would frighten most people, Dunlap said that they are virtually painless and the results have been worth the small amount of pain he has experienced. He has begun to see the physical changes he hoped for. His body has filled out and he has experienced a 20-pound muscle increase. Dunlap now has a deeper voice and has developed body and facial hair. Dunlap proudly said, “I pass as a male now almost 95 percent of the time now.” Although he has made significant progress, Dunlap’s transition is not yet complete. Dunlap will continue taking testosterone for the rest of his life. He does not intend to have surgery to create male genitalia because the current options are very expensive and not functional. He does however plan to have surgery to remove his feminine chest but since this procedure is not covered by insurance, he must postpone this step in his transition until he is able to pay for the medical expenses. He also would like to have his name and gender marker changed, which would change his gender on public records from female to male and give him the opportunity to be legally recognized as a man.
Dunlap is now living his life in a new town as a man. When he goes out in public, people refer to him as “sir” and he is treated as a man. Through this process, he is now able to look in the mirror and see himself as the gender that he has always been on the inside.
My transition from Female to Male 