You're listening to shortwave from NPR.

Navigating the US healthcare system can be extremely difficult for trans folks.

A lot of trans people face medical discrimination, a lot of trans people can live in places where

they don't have access to affirming providers or might not have insurance.

Some trans people might have insurance, but might not be able to get procedures covered,

even if they have, quote-unquote, good insurance.

And that's an unfortunate reality.

Even finding information about trans healthcare can be a challenge.

You know, just a lot of reporting on trans stuff tends to be by cis people.

And this isn't always the case, but a lot of the times that means like from the get-go,

it's kind of being portrayed in this light that isn't actually geared towards trans people,

but is really more about centering cis people.

That's James Fectora, a trans journalist who covers queer and trans news, culture, and

health.

And they recently wrote a piece for Vice called a Beginner's Guide to Hormone Replacement

Therapy.

Gender affirming.

Hormone therapy or hormone replacement therapy or HRT is basically just when you take

hormones by any variety of delivery methods that can mean a shot or like a pill or a gel,

for example, to align what you look like, what you sound like, to be more aligned with

who you already know you are.

And more colloquially, a lot of trans people refer to it as a second puberty.

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