When my office was downtown I use to see a person walking everyday who in my eyes looked like a man, but had a long hair wig on and wore women’s exercise clothes. Most people in Kelowna will know who I am talking about. My first go to was to judge this person as they moved through the area. I very quickly realized how lucky I am to be comfortable in my identity as a woman.
My question is how many people judge me and what have I changed to fit into society?
Growing my hair long is one of the changes I have made to try and change people’s perception on me. The fact that I lift weights and with my muscles, more then once my sexuality has been questioned. So I grew my hair longer in hopes of changing people’s perception of me.
Please know that I do not care about another person’s sexuality. My choice is to be seen as a woman who loves sports and men. 🙂
The Banff Mountain Film Festival movies are online and I was watching a film on women in India. These women love sports and they talk about the challenges they have in being able to do their sport. One woman said, that she loves her sport and she is still all female. I could relate to that comment.
So what does this have to do with Gender Transitioning??? Most of us deal with other people’s perceptions, and judgements of who they think we are or should be. Trust me, I am working on trying to remove my judgements and I find the best way to do that for me is to listen. Notice, I said I am working on it. I believe this will be a lifetime of learning.
Green Shield is looking into providing coverage for Gender Transitioning. Below is the information they have provided.
This post might give rise to a conversation and it should. I just hope that when you have this conversation with people that you are open to learning and understanding another side.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Plan members seeking coverage from their benefits plan today for gender transitioning may find limited coverage for drug therapies, psychological and/or counselling services, and other paramedical services over and above what the province provides. And any benefits will be subject to the overall limitations of their plan. Additional expenses not eligible through a provincial plan may be covered by a health care spending account – if one is available to them.
In the coming months, an optional gender affirmation product will be available for plan sponsors. We’ve been consulting with several organizations throughout the product development cycle, including, but not limited to, the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
While we don’t yet know exactly which expenses will be eligible within the product, we can confirm that it will include costs not covered under an individual’s provincial or territorial health care plan (most fund procedures required for gender reassignment surgery). The CPATH has published a helpful reference document that outlines publicly funded gender affirming medical care available in Canada. Much more to come once the product is available, so stay tuned.
If you want to stay connected to the changes in the Insurance Industry, contact Glendinning Insurance Services 250-764-0142.
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