“Prioritizing your own mental health and safety ensure those who experience you in relationship will have a positive impact on their wellbeing and mental health.”

- Brielle (she, her, hers), activist, freedom fighter and visionary

Quote pulled from here.

1) the medical system discriminates.

Discrimination in health care is defined as negative actions or lack of consideration directed towards an individual or group based on preconceived notions about their identity related to race, ethnicity, gender, disability, social class, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, primary spoken language, and geographic region.

2) Harm & Discrimination are different.

Harm does not need to occur for discrimination to exist. In fact, most discrimination in health care is subconscious, unintended, and just one of the cumulative results of living in societies that were designed for some to flourish and the rest of us to get left behind.

3) Distrust is warranted.

Discrimination in health care causes distrust and can lead to transgender people avoiding care, which leads to countless health disparities. This applies to everything from basic primary care to health support for trans folks living with HIV, diabetes, and severe chronic illness.

Poor, uncomfortable, and harmful treatment by medical providers is one of the most significant reasons why many trans folks do not know where to turn when desiring to access treatment related to disordered eating. But the U.S. healthcare system absolutely has a legal and moral responsibility to both address and change this.

4) Trans community & Eating Disorders 101

Eating disorders are deeply connected to our embodied experience, sense of self, bodily autonomy, personal agency, gender affirmation, and experiences of discrimination and oppression.

Transgender folks face multifaceted forms of violence, stigma, and pathologization, and our embodied experiences are too often reduced to pain, suffering, gender dysphoria, and an invitation for intrusive questions.

5) Lack of education in providers is a concern.

Medical and mental health providers are typically not trained to understand the intersections of gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and the unique body-related pressures trans folks may experience.

They are often unfamiliar with the systemic, legal, social, and financial barriers trans people face in accessing autonomy and agency around their bodies and identities, leading to ineffective and harmful care.

6) BMI Surgery Restrictions

BMI limits on gender affirming surgeries are arbitrary, not regulated or standardized, and not transparent. As a result, fat trans folks are often subjected to weight discrimination, compounded barriers to access, and coercive pressure to lose weight when seeking gender affirming surgeries.

Surgeons need to use informed consent about the risks of surgical complications, have size inclusive equipment, and be transparent about or remove BMI limits . For Surgeon BMI Limits by Area, go to fedupcollective.org/gender-affirming-surgeon-guide.

7) the need for mutual aid

Trans people are are twice as likely to be living in poverty as the general U.S. population because we face issues like employment discrimination, housing instability, and healthcare exclusion. Financial hardships often make it difficult to afford specialized care, therapy, or medications.

Mutual aid networks help bridge this gap by providing direct financial support, community-based resources, and peer-led care, ensuring trans folks can access the care they need in safe, affirming spaces.

Resources for Trans People Struggling with Disordered Eating

Trans Lifeline - crisis support

Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community.

Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers.

Call (877) 565-8860 if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in a crisis or if you’re not sure you’re trans. Learn more at translifeline.org.

FEDUP Collective - Peer Support

FEDUP is a collective of trans+, intersex, and gender diverse people who believe eating disorders in marginalized communities are social justice issues.

Our mission is to make visible, interrupt, and disrupt the disproportionately high incidence of eating disorders in trans and gender diverse individuals through radical community healing, recovery institution reform, research, empowerment, and education. Find out more at fedupcollective.org.

Point of Pride - Mutual Aid

Founded in 2016, Point of Pride is a trans-led, primarily volunteer-operated non-profit organization. We provide financial aid and direct support to trans youth and adults to access healthcare they otherwise could not afford.

Point of Pride offers funding for surgeries, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), permanent hair removal, and other essential healthcare services. Additionally, the organization distributes free chest binders and femme shapewear to trans individuals in need.

Each program operates with specific eligibility criteria, application deadlines, and grant amounts tailored to the unique needs of the community. You can learn more and apply at www.pointofpride.org.

Project HEAL - Eating Disorder Healing Access

Project HEAL is a direct-service non-profit creating more equitable access to healing Americans’ relationships with food and their bodies.

We have six life-saving, low-to-no-cost programs, including access to free treatment placements, free insurance navigation support, free clinical assessments, cash assistance grants, free meal support sessions, and free community care cohorts. To find out more or get support, go to theprojectheal.org/apply-for-support.