“Transsexual Turkiye”: An anonymous perspective

A trans woman in Turkey speaks about the costs and realities of being trans within the harshly gendered regime.

By Artemis T. Douglas | artemis@theneedlenews.com

Turkey isn’t known for it’s kindness to LGBT+ people. However, this unkindness has been intensifying for trans people in recent years. To understand what it’s like to live in Turkey and be transsexual, The Needle spoke to a trans woman who was granted anonymity.

Question 1: For the benefit of our readers, can you give us a general sense of trans rights and being transsexual in Turkey?

Answer:

“Turkey requires SRS, available only to adults, for "gender reassignment" in our ID papers. HRT is not covered by our healthcare system. 

It used to be over-the counter until last year... November, I think, after which most meds with HRT purposes got removed from the counters, and locked behind a vague transition acceptance pipeline, similar to that seen in many European countries, as well as the UK. 

It is still possible to get some "mostly similar" meds to do DIY HRT, but if one wishes to take the official route, they need to apply to a public gender specialist therapist (private clinics aren't allowed), who will need to believe you are trans enough to relay your situation of transness to an assembly of doctors, who then decide whether you’re trans enough once again to then relay you to an endo. 

The pipeline is uncomfortable, invasive, and requires you to nod along and do whatever you're told if you want to change a letter in your ID. 

Also, some months ago, the government collected the names of all transsexuals who applied to gender specialists in these universities (where the public clinics are), making a list of all us that applied and may or may not have dropped out of the "official route". 

They have been tightening the noose slowly under the guise of "the year of the family" over the past year or so, which in most senses of the word is an islam flavored re-creation of the trans crisis fabricated in the US. Not very surprising, since Turkish politicians have a bad habit of barking after the American political zeitgeist. 

I don't know when they will do their next move, but it would be naive to assume they won’t.”

Question 2: What does trans culture look like in the environment in Turkey, both broadly and for you personally?

Answer: 

“I cannot talk for transmascs in terms of general acceptance, but for transfemmes, for the longest time, it has been "pass or be seen as a faggot", which can result in getting no reaction or getting lynched in the streets or being treated as a sex worker even if one isn't, depending on what part of a city (or what city) they live in. 

In general, some universities are going to be the safest places to exist for any trans person, since they will be (likely) away from their parents for extended periods of time, as well as be in an environment that protects minorities, willingly or begrudgingly. 

In general, private unis can be a bit further separated from the government, so it's healthier to assume one will be seen as normal during their time of drastic change and experimentation there. 

This too is unfortunately getting choked under "the year of the family", as the government, just a month or so before the start of the new semester this year, closed down all official LGBT student clubs in universities, so they cannot petition for more visibility or rights, or access events as clubs to make themselves visible anymore. Any sort of existence has to happen underground. 

I'm not really a student anymore since I don't have the time to spend time in my university due to my job, but I'd assume this is going to isolate more queer students than it ever has had before.”

Question 3: Many but not all of our readers are from the US, and in the US context, there's a lot of doom and gloom put forth by some other outlets and others in the trans space. Given that Turkey is already where the US is heading in many ways, can you share what gives you hope and what trans solidarity looks like both in your life and in the broader community?

Answer:

“It is kind of the other way around, in that Turkey is closely following the steps of USA in terrorizing trans people. Sure, we had our visibility problems, and being "a faggot" always had its problems, but it really wasn't all doom and gloom before this. 

The therapists that officially oversaw the process even often recommended starting DIY because they would know the process would be an arduous pain in the ass officially.  

Is doing DIY HRT in the spirit of this realization that I didn’t need doctors to “ okay me” going to be my doom? Maybe. We are now told by our government that changing our body is "an affront to the sacredness of our body and deserves punishment", so who knows. 

Time will tell when I mess up and become visible at some point.

In terms of hope and local community, I'm afraid I have none left of either. 

A shame, but it's fine. I've also lost contact to all others I knew since I deleted my twitter. But in general from both groups from as far as I've seen, its mostly a group of eggs and broken eggs that are in various stages of 4chan brain poisoning, ranting about how "they're already 18, it's joever, they’re a bricky oldshit" or something. 

Hope is a weird thing. 

Our passport is already basically useless, and since around 2022 I've been hearing that countries are becoming more and more averse to accepting Turkish visa applications.

Anecdotally speaking, I've been rejected from half a dozen jobs in the last year only because the company "did not sponsor work visas". Guess time will tell if anything changes, but I'm not counting on it. It is a timer ticking down and I have wool over my eyes.”

Question 4: I want to follow up about what you said about "a timer ticking down."  What are your strategies for resilience in the face of what is, by all accounts, a real risk of doom?

Answer:

“Logically, outside of the realm of emotions? 

Just apply to as many international jobs as I can, Finland, Spain, Australia, China, Japan, Thailand specifically, from dawn to dusk, every day, until one place eventually accepts me, and I get a second chance at settling abroad in a country that (hopefully) wants me dead slightly less (and where I can hopefully afford my other life saving meds). 

Realistically? I am broken. 

I am severely burnt out and can pump out maybe a handful of applications once every couple of months, in addition to other things slowing down life to a halt for me. Really, most of it is my fault. I'm sure a more resilient girl would have made it out again already.

If you're asking me how I survive while I'm here, it is to hide. 

I am financially lucky in that my family wants me to stay with them, and I can walk to and from work without having to think about additional financial burdens. 

But this means I have to be undercover, live as a man, and just accept the slurs I take from my family calling me "faggy" and "sick" in stride, and keep moving as if nothing is wrong. 

Because if I break, if I lose my housing, I'll barely be able to scratch by with the money I'm making, and that's if I'm not also fired and kicked out of school.”

Question 5: What is a tangible action people can do to help you or if they find themselves in similar circumstances?

Answer:

“Find local community. Never give up. Never ever give up- You’re dead the moment your hopelessness overpowers your will to at least make it through as far as it goes.”