Being a woman is hard, not to mention expensive. So what's a person to do?
It turns out that the cost of being a woman, becoming a woman, and living as a woman is a lot more expensive than the world thinks. Even in our beautiful nation, where much of our health care is covered by public funds, those who are assigned male at birth and come out as transgender women may pay for medications, surgeries, and other procedures that can cost more than a house.
Stef Sanjati is a Toronto-based makeup artist who has risen to viral fame promoting candid videos chronicling her transition. Within the next year, she hopes to head to Boston to receive facial feminization surgery. The only thing standing in her way? Her wallet.
In total, Sanjati estimates that total expenses of the trip will amount to around $45,000. Since she only has $5,000 in savings, she has set up a public crowd funding page in the hopes of receiving donations for the procedure.
For Canadians who may be unfamiliar with the practicalities of being transgender, a sexual resassignment surgery is typically covered under most Canadian health care plans. But facial feminization surgery and breast implants, two surgeries deemed almost crucial by transgender women everywhere, are not included. The same goes for scar removal after a mastectomy or chest contouring for those who were assigned female at birth and transitioned to male.
Add those fees to the expensive combination of therapy, medication, clothing, and legal fees, and a trans person can expect to pay thousands of dollars in the long run.
Sanjati estimates the full cost of her transition to be $100,000. That is the cost of a home in a small town.
But for Sanjati, she believes all this effort is worth it. She explains on her GoFundMe Page:
"These surgeries are about feeling like you, every day, when you wake up in the morning -- before cinching, pulling, and covering every inch of your body with body shapers, tape, and cosmetics. They're about recognizing yourself in the mirror, and feeling like living, going outside, is possible, and not something to dread."
In our current world of technology, everything is at our fingertips, including medical information. Wonder how Sanjati found out about the doctor in Boston? She probably read it online, like the 72% of other adult Internet users who say they have searched online for information about specific health treatments and issues.
It is hard to put a price on the cost of transitioning as it depends on where on the spectrum the woman wants to be. For some women, a change in name and pronoun is all they require. Others may just want to add breast implants, while some may want genital surgery in order to feel comfortable within their body.
Women have the freedom to pick and choose what they want, and it is no secret that some women — transgender and cisgender alike — will go to any lengths to have an ideal body image. It is hard not to fall for claims one reads online, and our neighbors to the south are examples of that. An FTC survey reveals that an estimated 4.8 million American consumers were victims of fraudulent weight-loss products, which was the top fraudulent product measured in the survey.
The cost of surgery aside, transgender women must front the cost for a new wardrobe, which can add up to around $3,000; hair removal and/or wigs, amounting to $10,000; hormone therapy, which can cost at least $300 a month; and legal fees for name changes and other services, costing $500.
For all these expenses, transgender individuals and advocates argue that these costs should be covered by insurance.
Back in April, on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Trudeau took a bill to the House of Commons to ensure the full protection of transgender people.
Trudeau also announced he would be back in Montreal this summer to celebrate the city's annual Pride celebrations, making him the first prime minister in Canadian history to do so. He explained to CBC News:
"Because we must continue to demand true equality. We must carry on the legacy of those who fought for justice by being bold and ambitious in our actions. And we must work diligently to close the gap between our principles and our reality."
The details of the bill were not made available, but in his mandate letter to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Rayboul, Trudeau called to list gender identity as an illegal ground for discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The inclusion of gender identity in this bill has been 12 years in the making.
But Sanjati explains that surgery is about a lot more than simply looking good. Transgender men and women who desire a physical transition do so for their mental health.
"I don’t think people understand how necessary this treatment is," Sanjati says. "There’s a big difference between I don’t like my nose and dysphoria. It’s hard to find an analogy because there’s nothing quite like it."
RELATED: Toronto Schools to Implement Gender Neutral Washrooms
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