Trans in Prison

Trans in Prison
By Raven Usher

There is currently a person in the Idaho State correctional facility who claims to be male to female transsexual. About once a year, during the media sweeps, he makes the news because he does something dramatic to get attention. This year he resorted to self mutilation by allegedly cutting out his own testicles.

The person has sued the corrections dept. and the state of Idaho a number of times trying to get the taxpayers to pay for hormone therapy (HRT) as a step towards sexual reassignment surgery (SRS). Each time he has failed.

Now, as you read the rest of this article remember that I myself am a pre-operative male to female transsexual. I have undergone HRT and have transition to the point where I am living full time as a woman.

In order to start HRT (without self medicating with black market medications) one must undergo psychological testing to confirm the level of your gender identity disorder (GID). Only about 10% of transgendered people qualify for those services. And even if you do qualify psychologically, there are a number of other factors that can disqualify you from actually receiving HRT and SRS.

One of the biggest disqualifiers is having a history of violent tendencies. True transsexuals are the ultimate pacifists. We just do not get violent. It is not in our nature. We tend to be so passive that most of the time we do not even fight to defend ourselves. It is part of the transsexual psychological make up.

I do not know why this person who claims to be transsexual is in prison. But being the child and sibling of police officers, I do know that you do not go to a state correctional facility for over a decade for non-violent crimes. Hormone treatment can react havoc on a person’s emotions. Starting SRS begins a period of emotional unbalance that can take three to six months to work out. If a person already has tendencies towards violence hormones will only intensify it.

I also know that a transsexual in a prison environment is all kinds of bad news! Prison society is a microcosm with its own societal rules and norms. The introduction of a transsexual would be so disruptive that it would threaten the working order of the entire prison to its very core. To have a transsexual in prison is to risk a level of unrest that could potentially trigger a violent riot that would endanger ALL the prisoners and the guard staff.

Because of these reasons, it is my personal believe that this person is trying to use HRT and SRS to keep himself isolated from other prisoners. It is actually a pretty good scam. But it is the absolute worse example possible for the transgender community. Not just in Idaho but all across the nation.

This man, note I said MAN, is not an acceptable candidate for HRT.
1) He has a history of violence.
DISQUALIFIED!
Hormone treatment will make violent people more violent.
2) He is in prison.
DISQUALIFIED!
The introduction of a trans person into a prison environment will put him in immediate danger of becoming a victim of physical violence, rape and murder.
According to the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care:
3) He does not have the ability to achieve ”the real life experience”.
DISQUALIFIED!
4) He does not have an long lasting relationship with a gender therapist.
DISQUALIFIED!

The simple truth of the matter is that this man should not start HRT in his present circumstances being in prison. Maybe when he is released from prison and undergoes regular therapy he will be able to pursue it. But right now, at this time, he should not start taking hormones. And gender activist organizations and individuals need to stop over reacting and screaming “discrimination” without taking the time to look at the overall situation. No good can come from his starting HRT in prison. It will put him in danger. It will put the prison at unnecessary risk. The Idaho State penitentiary and the State is doing the exact right thing by denying hormone treatment to this person at this time.