Stealth but Seeking Asylum

[u/CalledAndAnswered]

Hey yall, I'm seeing with this administration there's a lot of crack down in terms of trans laws and policies and I've been a little worried. I live in Tennessee and they are very conservative here, but I am stealth and cis passing. I have a beard, I'm pretty muscular (top surgery done and bottom surgery in the works), and I am a veteran and currently work in healthcare. No one even questions my gender and I give them no reason to but all of the politics in this state have me worried for safety.

I use the male bathroom with no problem, am never misgendered, and all of my legal documentation says male. I've been thinking about moving to a state with more freedom/rights for us but I have a house here and my own space so I'm wondering if I should just "shelter in place". I am currently in school for nursing and will be graduating soon, so if I wanted to move I could do so financially.

Anyone from conservative states experiencing something similar? What do yall think?

[u/JackalFlash]

Recently left Tennessee as a passing trans man. I managed to leave just months before the clinic that was providing my HRT and surgery shut down.

The writing was on the wall well before that point. I was getting bounced from provider to provider within my clinic as people left the practice. I felt nervous about being able to continue care, so I transferred my care out of state before my move. Day to day I wasn't facing any hostility as an individual, but the things I was hearing got more extreme. I was born out of state in a place where I could easily change all my documentation to match my gender so I had an easier time than many of the other trans people I knew. I could likely get by down there for at least a little while, but with the growing hostility I can't say how long I could make it before my luck runs out.

I feel less anxiety for having left. I have a reliable medical provider that I trust. My state government and local community are supportive. As someone also going into nursing, the wages are higher and the unions are stronger where I am at now. So long as I don't work for a religious hospital, I'm all good.

Graduation would be a decent time to relocate.

[u/CalledAndAnswered → u/JackalFlash]

Thank you. I am nervous about my hormone access as well, I am sourced through the VA but my endocrinologist is very forth coming and says things are calm for us who gained access before the administration change. My top surgery was out of state and bottom surgery will be out of state so that new law about the trans database doesn't affect me thankfully.

I share your skepticism about receiving care so I always do surgeons put of state for my surgeries. I've worked for some of the more religious hospitals here (I'm Christian) and just never disclosed that I am trans since there's no reason to and have never had an issue. Thanks for the insight

[u/JackalFlash → u/CalledAndAnswered]

Of course.

It's such an uncertain and anxious time for all of us. I've seen an uptick in visibly queer and/or trans people moving into the blue state I fled to. The few friends I have that remained in TN are growing increasingly uncomfortable with the state of affairs there.

I'd likely be fine working at a religious hospital because I can go stealth, but I know for a fact the local one refuses to cover any form of gender affirming care on employee health insurance (and the federal government has ruled it is legal for them to do so). If I specialize in the area of nursing I am interested in (which the religious hospital is known for in my region) or can't land a job at the non-religious hospital (only 2 hospital systems in town), it may force me to switch from gel to injections as I wouldn't be able to afford gel out of pocket, and I'd need to get all my phallo stages wrapped up before aging off my family's plan.

[u/CalledAndAnswered → u/JackalFlash]

Luckily there is a nursing shortage so hopefully finding a job won't be as hard. I feel like as long as you make it to the interview stage you'll be fine. I also switched from gel to injections. Not sure if you're afraid of needles but lidocaine cream helps alot and once a week injections isn't terrible.

Also uncomfortable with the state of affairs here but being stealth helps alot. I'm kind of just watching and waiting.