Source: İpek İzci, “Hem görünür hem görünmez: Trans erkekler,” (“Trans Men: Both Visible and Invisible,”) Radikal, 3 July 2013, http://www.radikal.com.tr/hayat/hem_gorunur_hem_gorunmez_trans_erkekler-1140133
LGBT activist Aras Güngör in his book The Other Men (Öteki Erkekler) conveys the experiences of trans men in family, education, health, hormone therapies and transgender reassignment surgeries.
In Turkey, it is obvious that when it comes to transsexuality, the first thing that comes to mind is male-to-female trans people. What about female-to-male trans people? “I will say that I am alive only when we get to live in a free world for real,” says Ersin. Is he more camouflaged compared to trans women, is his life easier? What does he try to tell us when he says, “Biologically I am in a female’s body; I am male in my brain”? What risks did he face in the identity reassignment process from pink (female) to blue (male) identity? Did he get support from his family or was he alienated?
In order to find answers to these questions, LGBT activist Aras Güngör published a book called The Other Men (Öteki Erkekler) with Sel Publishing. In The Other Men, which hit the shelves on July 1st, 2013, seven trans men; Ersin, Utku, Doğu, Uzay, Mete, Kamil and Tarık tell their experiences of their daily lives, families, education, health, hormone therapies, sex reassignment surgeries and legal processes. Güngör answers our questions and tells us that though trans men are not as visible as trans women, it would be wrong to think that this situation makes the lives of trans men any easier:
“At times, not being visible creates bigger problems. (Blue) (Un)Identity is a serious deal. Trans men have no access to vital needs such as employment, health care and housing: along with that, many trans men are subjected to police violence because of the color of their IDs. Our daily lives are under siege.”