document updated 14 years ago, on Oct 7, 2010
According to popular media, there is only ONE surgey that is important, and it is the only way to cross the clear dividing line between male and female.
This depiction is wrong on so many levels:
- It ignores the fact that gender is continuous, that there's no sharp line that divides the "two halves". There is a vast gray area that many people wilfully choose to not see.
- Non-binary people don't usually get bottom surgery, but they still get harassed for being in the "wrong bathroom". People only harass you for the parts of you that they can see.
- Sure, people make assumptions about what they can't see, but they often assume incorrectly. When half the people read you as biologically male, and the half read you as biologically female, you have crossed real gender boundaries. It may not even require top surgery to do this.
- Binary people may or may not get bottom surgery. For those who can afford it, there are tradeoffs about functionality and aesthetics. It isn't always a perfect art. However, there are many in the first world who can't afford it. (it costs $8,000-$40,000, which is above and beyond the $20-50k you pay for all of the other medical costs of transition) And in the third world, it's often completely unatainable.
- Bottom surgery doesn't affect your day-to-day life. Bottom surgery only impacts your view of yourself as a sexual person, and in your sexual relations with a small number of people. While these are certainly important, they are less critical than how you interact with the normal public on a day-to-day basis. Top surgery and facial appearance are FAR more important to how 99.5% of the population perceives you.