Navigating a world in flux demands some understanding of who you really are, and some of my favorite pieces from this year speak to that need.
surgery
Posted inEditor's Pick
I Was Born Missing an Ear. To the World, It Was a Problem to Fix
“Surgeons promised to make me whole. No one asked what I wanted.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
On Reflection
“Angelina Mazza spends a lot of time looking at her body. And yet, she explains, she’s never truly seen it.”
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews
Behind the Story: Mailee Osten-Tan on Reporting on Gender Confirmation Surgery in Thailand
Mailee Osten-Tan on learning how to be a better ally to the members of marginalized communities and what she discovered while reporting on trans healthcare issues for Longreads.
Posted inFeature
Finding a Path in a Broken System
Thailand is a top destination for gender confirmation surgery. Its success is a symptom of Western failure.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How Ben Got His Penis
Phalloplasty, or the surgery to construct a penis, has grown increasingly popular among transgender men — but it’s medically complicated. Jamie Lauren Keiles takes a closer look at the procedure while following the transition of Benjamin Simpson. As Ben prepared for Stage 1 surgery, he told only his family and close friends. He knew that acceptance […]
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
There She Goes: How to ‘Feminize’ a Face
How a trans woman found the surgery that could restore her sense of self.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Battle to Separate Safa and Marwa
A ground-breaking series of operations in a British hospital separate two sisters fused at the head.
Posted inHighlight, Science & Nature
The Terror of Being Awake
“I thought, ‘This is it, this is how I’m going to die, right here on the table, and my family will never know what my last few hours were like because no one’s even noticing what’s going on.’”