DIY HRT Guide
Due to the growing amount of anti-trans legislation across the world, the increased scrutiny and obstruction of hormone replacement therapy for transgender people, and the growing amount of support for censorship of anything deemed to be "obscene" across the Internet and in offline spaces, we need to have backup avenues through which to disseminate information about access to DIY HRT.
This document was originally created as a website - which is still accessible - but I have taken it upon myself to create an archivable, offline copy. You can print it, add your own information to it, distribute this information within safe spaces, keep it on your computer to distribute it amongst friends, you name it. Check back every now and then, as the website may have been updated with additional information that would need to be added to the document.
There are several reasons why I have taken it upon myself to create an offline, printable, archivable version of the DIY HRT info page:
- The amount of anti-trans legislation across the world, as well as the increased scrutiny and obstruction of hormone replacement therapy for transgender and nonbinary people, has - in my mind - justified the existence of the DIYHRT website, as well as my redistrubition of it. Even causing temporary confusion around the state of care for trans and nonbinary people can cause a huge ripple effect in the wellbeing of the community, as proven by the temporary pause of puberty blockers in the UK in 2021, due to the Keira Bell case against Tavistock. Even if you do not wish to be on HRT yourself, the impact that a lack of access has on the mental wellbeing of the entire trans community cannot be overstated.
- The growing amount of support from various political parties for censorship of information considered to be "obscene" or "pornographic," in the name of "defending children." While on its face this sounds like a worthwhile goal, all this does in practice is harm sex workers - who overwhelmingly rely on Internet services to vet clients and to help ensure their safety, as well as to secure more stable sources of income - as well as make it harder to find information that can genuinely help youth identify issues they may be having, such as anything relating to reproductive health, or identifying harm that was done to them.
- A not-insignificant amount of the people in support of said censorship of the Internet consider material relating to queer and trans people to be "obscene" or "pornographic" in nature. They also have an express interest in controlling what information is available concerning historical fact; a reality that has already been harming racialized people for many generations before now, and unless something is done about it, will continue to harm them for unknown generations to come. Whether or not those who want to control information say so in plain, easily-understandable terms is a moot point. Those who want to control what people can and cannot learn want to shape their own version of the truth, in order to meet their own white supremacist, able-bodied, patriarchal, allocisheternormative, capitalist goals. Plainly put, in the context of the 2020s, they want to ride the fascist wave spreading across the globe - the reason they want to do so does not matter, just that they are. Even if they did clearly state their goals, we are at the point where people will still doubt the sincerity of their claims, and unless something is done about it, then they will have the resources to push their wishes into reality, regardless of what even the majority of people think about that action.
- Many political figures from across the political spectrum are calling for social media companies to either limit or entirely restrict minors from using their services, via the use of identification verification. This would not only lock out young people from social media usage, but also any disadvantaged person, who may not have any ID or an updated ID. This would include a lot of immigrants, racialized people, and queer/trans people. Those same political figures are also calling for a total ban on services like TikTok, and while the reasoning behind it is usually Sinophobic in nature (be it intentionally or otherwise; this in and of itself tends to hide behind critiques of mass surveillance by corporate social media, without critiquing the same types of services hosted by "Western" countries), it can also stray into talk of "brainwashing the youth" into thinking positively about various issues, including a positive perception of queer and/or trans care.
I have added some information to the documents, due to having the knowledge on hand, as well as having personal years' worth of experience with HRT injections. Also, I would encourage people to translate the document, or add vetted information to it - especially if you live in a place with different rules around different types of HRT. Despite the best efforts of the original authors to cover as much geographical ground as possible, the document is still fairly Eurocentric in nature, and while I do not blame them for that fact, I also want to make it clear that we should always seek to broaden our horizons when it comes to building up a store of information around DIY HRT.
The cryptpad link to the DIY doc is listed below, as well as my email for any questions you might have. To print it as a zine, either open the base file in a PDF viewer and select the Booklet option, or download the pre-generated booklet format for an easier print job. This file is set for a non-duplex printer (meaning, a printer which cannot automatically print double-sided pages), with the paper feed located at the back of the printer, and for 8.5x11 Letter size paper. In either case: print a test page first, to see how and when you need to flip your paper during the print job.
I am not associated with the creators of the DIY HRT website. I have attempted to contact them about this document, to (currently) no avail. I am distributing this information in an alternative fashion, on an individual basis, so as to help maintain the availability of this information should it become harder to access. I do not claim to have written anything in the document, other than the things that are openly marked as a "Document Author" note; everything else was written by the original authors of the website. Other than minor edits to account for the fact that this is a text document, and not a website, no changes have been made.