The older cat is finally warming up to the kitten

Bonus Ruby

Abstract

Purpose: Chronic gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) with sublingual estradiol (SLE) has not been studied. We aimed to compare GAHT with SLE only, to combined oral (CO) estradiol and cyproterone acetate, in treatment-naive trans women.

Methods: Twenty-two trans women enrolled into either the CO arm or the SLE-only arm (0.5 mg four times daily) in this 6-month prospective study. Anthropometric and laboratory variables were collected at baseline and 3 and 6 months. At the study beginning and end, body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance, and gender dysphoria, sexual desire, and function were assessed by validated questionnaires.

Results: Subjects in the SLE were older, 26.3±5.8 years versus 20.1±2.3 years, p=0.006. All anthropometric, body composition, and laboratory variables were identical at baseline. Although dysphoria appeared greater, and sexual function lower at baseline in the CO group, this canceled out after age adjustment. Both treatments induced similar biochemical and hormonal changes. Creatinine, hemoglobin and cholesterol decreased significantly, while testosterone was suppressed to the same level in both groups: 3.22 [1.47-5.0] nmol/L in the SLE group and 2.41 [0.55-8.5] nmol/L in the CO, p=0.65. Significant changes in body composition toward a more feminine body were noted in both groups. Dysphoria did not significantly improve in either group, while sexual desire and function decreased at six months in both, p<0.001.

Conclusions: Both treatments achieved similar clinical changes. At this stage, SLE, which repeatedly induces alarming excursions of serum estradiol throughout the day, appears to offer no advantage over the CO approach.

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The website of online retailer Shein has been banned by a decision of the Central District Court of Tula. The authorities interpreted rainbow-colored bracelets offered at the marketplace as LGBTQ+ symbols. The court's decision was reported by the independent publication Verstka.

According to the court ruling, the ban was requested by the Tula branch of state-run consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. It states that agency officials were “monitoring online resources” that sell LGBT symbols and found such merchandise on the Shein website.

Specifically, officials found rainbow-colored bracelets on the Shein website by searching for “LGBT bracelet.” The court ruling points out that such goods are available for order by customers of all ages, including minors.

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She's going to be so hard to photo!

This is my first time posting. I've posted the same picture on reddit. I wonder if there will be any problems.

Based on this famous cartoon by XKCD

Joy can be a fleeting emotion. Perhaps for this reason I’ve relished the opportunity to capture moments of Black joy—Black trans joy, Black queer joy—through my drawing project Activist Portrait Series. I’ve been able to draw, larger than life, moments of belly laughter, of teeth exposed, torsos bent in wriggling joy. I’ve been thinking a lot about joy this year—as we have witnessed a rising tide of right-wing backlash to any wins we have had since the uprisings of 2020 around racial justice and queer justice. How do we hold on to joy in moments when lawmakers, judges and those who uphold the laws, and everyday citizens who push for such legislation, seem hell-bent on our despair and disappearance? To better understand the role of joy in these moments of strife and unrest, I turned, as I always do, to Black queer and trans artists to help me make sense of the now.

French operator SNCF has previously asked passengers to self-declare as 'Monsieur' or 'Madame'.

The EU's top court ruled on Thursday that requiring rail passengers to declare a gender when buying a ticket is in breach of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/51625630

This article appeared in my mind as I woke up