The photo is a 1974 photo of Leslie Feinberg, from the FBI file on hir. I’ve written a piece on my interpretation of Transgender Warriors and Trans Liberation, but I don’t think it’s quite polished enough, so I’ll post it later. Instead, I’ll go over hir FBI file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/dc-metro/rg-065/6282555/Batch0010/6282555_100-HQ-480756.PDF.
The FBI thought Feinberg could be violating the Communist Control Act, advocating the overthrow of the government, and engaging in rebellion. Needless to say, a hero to all of us. Feinberg was a member of the Workers World Party (the party still exists, but more notably PSL split from it), which apparently wasn’t openly advocating for the overthrow of the U.S, they just think it’s inevitable.
My favorite line? “captioned subject is believed to be a white female, who became male through some kind of sex change operation, and is possibly homosexual”. Some interesting language choice, and it’s an interesting snapshot into the evolution of Leslie’s identity.
The FBI found Leslie’s place of birth and birthdate from public school records. It’s a bit of an interesting look into all of the many places the FBI can get their information, along with how information like that was so much more patchwork before the digital age.
“Interview of subject is not being recommended because of the questionable nature of his sexuality”. Hmm, interesting.
It’s interesting how their investigation spanned multiple cities, from Kansas City to NYC to Bufffalo to Boston. It probably involved quite a few officers, though I’m sure it wasn’t the main focus for all of them.
There’s some interesting mention about changes in Leslie’s gender identity. Born a girl, for a time wearing a beard and mustache, then going back to “she”. I’m sure we all know, Feinberg’s gender didn’t stop evolving there.
“Subject reportedly contributes all extra money to WWP”, Leslie definitely was dedicated to the cause. Leslie doesn’t attend NYC WWP meetings, but the FBI doesn’t mention why.
The FBI isn’t immune to typoes, Leslie did some “criminal terspass” that garnered some attention.They wasted some time checking if Leslie was in Boston, but verified where Leslie in NYC lived by pretending to be a part of the Voter Registration Commission.
There’s a whole 43 pages of documents, all just from 1974-75. There’s plenty of interesting tidbits in there, so maybe check it out.
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How medical gatekeeping is handled varies a lot from country to country and i wouldn’t feel comfortable giving advice to somebody who isn’t dealing with the German healthcare system (which you most likely aren’t when you’re talking about a gender incongruence diagnosis, transferring clinic wait times and so on). You should connect to local trans orgs and communities over this.
Yeah that makes, I was mostly curious about personal experiences (doesn’t matter from where) out of interest. I’m not really looking for advice but I understand how my post can be read like that
Well, my personal experience is that trans people tend to find ways to navigate or even speedrun gatekeepy systems. We’re persistent in that, and connecting with others can save you a ton of unneccessary trouble. Personally i’ve found waiting lists to be the biggest obstacle to accessing care. The therapist i went for gave me the paperwork to access HRT after two sessions, and the one i later switched to would’ve done the same after the first session, but getting appointments in the first place still meant it took me about 8 months from my decision to start HRT to my first dose. But if i had been active in the communities i’m in now, i could’ve cut down on that time massively. It really helps to keep an ear to the ground, and to get new and up-to-date advice instead of digging up old posts somewhere that may not be accurate any longer. Like, the endocrinologist i go to is somebody i’m really happy with, listens, centers patient needs and experiences, is fine with me adjusting my dose on my own and i got a slot within two months, but by now she doesn’t take in new patients anymore and what i’ve heard from other doctors at the same place makes me feel sorry i recomended it to others. A lot of the quality of care boils down to individual doctors and therapists.
Self medicating isn’t as common across the border (The Netherlands) as far as I know. It’s easier to get a diagnosis online from a country where the process is much shorter and then get hrt at a private clinic that’s not covered by insurance. If I wasn’t able to skip the waiting time at my current clinic I’d probably have gone for that option as well