According to a recent study known as the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, transgender women are four times more likely to live in extreme poverty with a household income of less than $10,000 vs. the general population.
The reasons behind this destitution are several fold. First off, the cost to successfully transition is high: surgeries, counseling, wardrobe and ongoing health care costs. Until you’re able to present your new gender in a manner considered “presentable”? You’ll usually face consequential prejudice getting a decent job. Even after your full-time and skilled with your presentation you’ll often face an invisible ceiling on upward mobility. All this occurs at the same time family and friends usually pull away - causing us to lose typical pillars of support during a setback. This “chicken & egg” condition on jobs and income is one of the biggest reasons many transsexuals end up in a stalled transition and/or stuck between genders. Rarely does anyone in the transgender community talk honestly about personal finances since almost every gal gets creamed financially during transition. Most of us take a huge hit to our income, net worth and / or credit rating during and following transition.
In fact, I’m betting more transitions end stalled or unsuccessful for this reason than any other obstacle. Personally? I ended up homeless for a while because of poor planning, bad choices and allowing myself to become completely overwhelmed by the transition process. For our lot to improve in the years ahead? We must develop and maintain optimal habits with career and finances during a gender transition. Sharing ideas in this regard is what this section is all about.
