Tag Archives: transgender

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Tampa Bay Times: For those in transition, a little makeup goes a long way

Heather Fontaine, left, applies makeup to Bree Alkire during a class at the LGBTQ Welcome Center in St. Petersburg, hosted by Metro Inclusive Health. Fontaine, a long-time drag performer, offers makeup tips in a class setting every other month for people in the transgender community and others whose gender expression is feminine. [Courtesy of Metro Inclusive Health]

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

ST. PETERSBURG — Bree Alkire walked into the LGBTQ Welcome Center on Central Avenue unsure about what to expect, but hoping for guidance.

Behind her was her partner, Stephen Holland, and her mother, Cathy Naabe. They settled into a small living room space to wait for the start of class, a session for transgender women and others on how to apply makeup.

Alkire pulled out her cellphone and used the camera as a mirror. As others began to fill the room, she squinted at herself behind glasses and a cropped haircut. She fussed with her eyebrows.

“I feel like I need a complete makeover every day to feel good about myself,” said Alkire, 35, leaning into Holland.

“That’s why I make you shave every day, so you look good,” said Holland, 37.

The room felt quiet, a little uneasy.

People filled the chairs and couches quickly, but few chatted with their neighbors. Some wore makeup, others came in worn clothes and chipped nail polish. Some were early into their transition, or still just thinking about it, but had no idea where to start when it came to eyeliner and lipstick.

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A transgender man in search of hormone therapy, he turned to Planned Parenthood

After leaving Pasco County to attend Florida Gulf Coast University, Kasey Fraize received hormone therapy through Planned Parenthood. The resulting changes made him more comfortable as a transgender man and inspired him to become active on campus, teaching fellow students about transgender issues. "I struggled to find my place here at first," he says. "There's a huge gap between the students. So I wanted to fill it." [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

Kasey Fraize wasn’t afraid any more.

One day early in his freshman year at Florida Gulf Coast University, he entered the campus wellness center intent on finding ways to fit in.

“I walked right up to the desk and asked what kind of resources they had for the transgender community,” Fraize, now 20, recalls. “She handed me a dusty old pamphlet that was so bad.”

It used the scientific but sometimes negatively charged term “hermaphrodite” to describe transgender people.

The moment propelled Fraize to get involved, and to prod his new school toward a better understanding of students like him. But he says it never would have been possible without help from an unexpected source.

Planned Parenthood, best known for reproductive health services including abortions, had just started a program to offer hormone therapy at many of its Florida health centers. Fraize discovered the program, and got a prescription for testosterone from a Planned Parenthood doctor not far from campus.

After struggling to find acceptance back home in Pasco County, where some still call him “Cassandra,” the therapy brought welcome changes to his body and helped him feel more like himself.

He got a job at FGCU’s wellness center and began to host forums about the transgender community and other issues. This year, he ran for a seat in student government.

“Maybe it was the hormones,” Fraize says, “but I was on a mission.”

Read more here.