Transgender Services Come to Kansas City

Starting April 11th, at their Kansas City North location (Gladstone, MO), Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri will be offering comprehensive services specifically for the transgender community. They join the more than 27 Planned Parenthood locations offering similar services across the country. Currently finding some of the vital transgender services needed has been difficult. However, Planned Parenthood has made it easier to find them; and most importantly, in an environment that strives for safety and inclusive.

At launch the northland clinic will be offering counseling referrals and guidance, HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) for both trans men and women, as well as all of the blood tests and monitoring that are so important to HRT. However, there is one service that is critical but often overlooked. Many trans men fail to get yearly exams such as pap smears, for fear of embarrassment or body dysmorphia. Planned Parenthood understands those fears and has sought making this as comfortable as possible a paramount goal.

Part of their commitment to this goal is the approach they’ve taken with their own education. They have taken great pains to make sure their staff and doctors understand the particular needs of the transgender community. They have reached out to therapists in the area for guidance, seeking to understand and embrace the “standards of care” for transgender individuals. Additionally they are bringing in transgender men and women to talk to the staff so they can share their experiences and needs.

“We want to focus on caring for both physical and emotional needs in a safe place.” said Bonyen Lee-Gilmore, Director of Communications & Marketing for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, “We need to put health first.”

Reproductive Health for All

Part of this initiative is the growth of their PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) services for HIV/AIDS. On March 14th, Planned Parenthood expanded those services with launches in midtown Kansas City, MO as well as Columbia, MO- with plans to expand to all six locations within six months to a year. In fact, this chapter of Planned Parenthood in particular finds itself in a state of great growth.

The reason for the expansion of these services is simple, women are the fastest growing segment of the population to contract HIV/AIDs. This includes the often overlooked menopausal and post-menopausal population.

Their treatment program is multi-faceted, covering risk factors as well as treatment. Not only do they handle the prescription of the drug Truvada, they also monitor kidney function, and over health with regular screenings and checkups.

However, most importantly, they seek to service the community with education. Bonyen Lee-Gilmore continued, “There is a great need for education about reproductive health and STI symptoms. We are seeking to change this by providing education and treatment for all regardless of gender, gender identity, or generation.”

For further information visit Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri online.

For transgender specific services you can reach out to the Gladstone office at 816-453-6000 or at their clinic page.

You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

(edit- Corrected proper name for mid-America branch. Added social media. Corrected start date for transgender services.)

Finding out someone you know is transgender, and either just starting or fully transitioned, can fill you with questions. If you’ve never been around someone who is transgender, it’s a whole new world and you are curious.

Most questions are understandable. However, there are some things you should probably not say. Unless you want to offend a trans guy- or just make them super uncomfortable.

Are you a girl or a boy?

Do you have…things?

She…I mean she back then…

Can I see?

Check out the entire video below and be sure to go to the FTRealM YouTube page to see more videos.

Let us know in the comments some of the “well meaning” things you’ve heard or been asked.

Now that you are on hormones, everything switches. You probably already have stopped shaving your body but now you have to contend with your facial hair. Of course for trans men, like cis boys going through puberty, seeing that hair come in is exciting and a huge checkpoint in growing into manhood. That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to want to keep it looking good.

Perhaps want to keep it shaved down until it comes in less patchy. Or once it’s coming in fully, you might want to shave the neck and the edges to keep it neat looking. Of course that is IF that’s what you want. As we all know there are no real rules to transition and how you present. Shave half of it if you like. Live your life player.

While there are tricks and tips to shaving your body, there are also tricks to shaving your face and skin care for men. So here is Skin Care with Ross checking in with a great video on everything you need to know about face shaving.

He covers skin prep, technique and aftercare that you were tragically not introduced to.

Let us know in the comments about your experience shaving. What mistakes did you make?

*I want to make clear that I know it would be preferable to have a video from a trans man demonstrating shaving. However, there aren’t many very good options for that out there. Most I found were poor technique, or poor quality. And most videos were less about how to shave as they were about the experience of shaving for a trans man. If you have any suggestions on videos with trans men, I will be happy to post them. Let me know in the comments.

Checkout Ross’ YouTube channel or his blog.

Okay, don’t forget them, they are pretty awesome too. But one of the biggest physical traits men exhibit is that class “V” shape that starts with a broad top and tapers down to a fit waist. And let’s face it, the bigger your back, the smaller your waist looks.

We aren’t talking about super definition, at least not right off the bat. What we want to focus on is getting the foundation muscles laid and starting to shape your body.

The best reason to really focus on your back is the most obvious. The stronger your core is, the stronger your body is. You will never build true strength if you don’t pay proper attention to your back and core. Plus it helps prevent back injury and fatigue, and in general, it just makes you feel better and more energized.

So check out these exercises to start getting your muscles built up, and you might be surprised how quickly you see the changes in your body.