I wouldn’t. Why? No trans rights. Familial approval for medication is a killer for trans people, in practice it might as well be a ban outside of two neighbourhoods in San Francisco.
I know almost nothing about LGBT stuff in China, and am kind of generally ignorant about most LGBT experiences in the US, so I definitely agree with your skepticism of China on the prospect of living there, but at the same time, I don’t feel confident that either of us have reliable information on where China is in terms of cultural progression to adopting LGBT rights. You might be standing on shaky ground regarding the US’s apparent progress and recent advancements, which appears at high risk of reactionary regression. I’d say staying in the US is perhaps not as safe as one may assume, but also, moving to a northern state is much easier than moving to China, so the mean time, I’ll give you that, proving China is better on LGBT stuff will likely be a tall order. The burden of proof is probably going to be on us, and it will be a heavy burden.
Not to mention the clamping down on DIY, which unlike the west, the Chinese government has real power to actually enforce to some extent.
I have no idea what this is referring to, but I feel like this is also happening in the US, but it’s enforced via corporations using profit motives. The usual barrier to DIY projects in the US is that John Deere/Apple doesn’t want you to, or Radio Shack closed and you have to buy your parts online, some parts too complicated/miniaturized to build on US soil.
I don’t feel confident that either of us have reliable information on where China is in terms of cultural progression to adopting LGBT rights.
Agreed. All my statements can be appended with an asterisk that all of these things would appear to be that way based on information available.
You might be standing on shaky ground regarding the US’s apparent progress and recent advancements, which appears at high risk of reactionary regression
100% agree. It is a very worrying and increasingly likely prospect.
Yes! Cuba’s reforms are very welcome and positive for LGBT folks, and I often use it as an example myself!
I have no idea what this is referring to
No problem, I’m happy to explain: In context of trans issues - DIY is referring to DIY Hormone Therapy (DIY HRT for short), where instead of whatever the medical process in a country is for transition (e.g. you go to a psychiatrist and they assess and diagnose you and then you go to an endocrinologist who issues a prescription for hormones) you go around all that by simply buying medication from usually a grey-market pharmacy that does not ask for prescriptions or even a homebrew unlicensed project that makes their own injectable hormones (it sounds dodgy, but the community is really good at self-policing the bad stuff from the good stuff, so it’s a viable option).
Since HRT is what the bulk of physical transition is and what causes the most physical changes, especially to secondary sex characteristics (external physical traits that are not genitalia), it is highly desirable to trans folks, and the ability to do so without wait times, costs or legal restrictions associated with their country’s medical system is extremely important, especially when such a system is or appears to be unfriendly and restrictive (UK, Russia, China).
The UK government was talking a big game about restricting DIY by blocking websites where one can buy hormones, but it culminated in one request to Google to take down a search result, so I feel fairly safe saying that the UK government simply doesn’t have the means to do this, but in China, the government is fairly good at internet censorship (though the actual extent of it is overblown by western media of course), hence my original point is that they have capability and appear to have demonstrated a political desire to restrict DIY, which will harm trans folks.
That’s the short version, hope it makes sense and thanks for reading.
I know almost nothing about LGBT stuff in China, and am kind of generally ignorant about most LGBT experiences in the US, so I definitely agree with your skepticism of China on the prospect of living there, but at the same time, I don’t feel confident that either of us have reliable information on where China is in terms of cultural progression to adopting LGBT rights. You might be standing on shaky ground regarding the US’s apparent progress and recent advancements, which appears at high risk of reactionary regression. I’d say staying in the US is perhaps not as safe as one may assume, but also, moving to a northern state is much easier than moving to China, so the mean time, I’ll give you that, proving China is better on LGBT stuff will likely be a tall order. The burden of proof is probably going to be on us, and it will be a heavy burden.
On the other hand Cuba recently did a 2022 Cuban Family Code referendum (wikipedia).
I have no idea what this is referring to, but I feel like this is also happening in the US, but it’s enforced via corporations using profit motives. The usual barrier to DIY projects in the US is that John Deere/Apple doesn’t want you to, or Radio Shack closed and you have to buy your parts online, some parts too complicated/miniaturized to build on US soil.
Agreed. All my statements can be appended with an asterisk that all of these things would appear to be that way based on information available.
100% agree. It is a very worrying and increasingly likely prospect.
Yes! Cuba’s reforms are very welcome and positive for LGBT folks, and I often use it as an example myself!
No problem, I’m happy to explain: In context of trans issues - DIY is referring to DIY Hormone Therapy (DIY HRT for short), where instead of whatever the medical process in a country is for transition (e.g. you go to a psychiatrist and they assess and diagnose you and then you go to an endocrinologist who issues a prescription for hormones) you go around all that by simply buying medication from usually a grey-market pharmacy that does not ask for prescriptions or even a homebrew unlicensed project that makes their own injectable hormones (it sounds dodgy, but the community is really good at self-policing the bad stuff from the good stuff, so it’s a viable option).
Since HRT is what the bulk of physical transition is and what causes the most physical changes, especially to secondary sex characteristics (external physical traits that are not genitalia), it is highly desirable to trans folks, and the ability to do so without wait times, costs or legal restrictions associated with their country’s medical system is extremely important, especially when such a system is or appears to be unfriendly and restrictive (UK, Russia, China).
The UK government was talking a big game about restricting DIY by blocking websites where one can buy hormones, but it culminated in one request to Google to take down a search result, so I feel fairly safe saying that the UK government simply doesn’t have the means to do this, but in China, the government is fairly good at internet censorship (though the actual extent of it is overblown by western media of course), hence my original point is that they have capability and appear to have demonstrated a political desire to restrict DIY, which will harm trans folks.
That’s the short version, hope it makes sense and thanks for reading.