Cut off the titties

Kia ora! I’m Stevie (they/them) a nonbinary performer and artist in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I’m trying to raise funds to pay for top surgery. The current wait time to be funded for gender affirming surgeries under the NZ public health system is decades long, with 265 people currently on the list. With COVID, as we all know, the health system has been slammed—that’s why publicly-funded surgery was declined for me. The list has simply stopped accepting more people. The only way I will be able to get this surgery is through fundraising to pay for it privately.

From the age of 12 I have felt like an alien in my own body. When my chest started growing I stopped doing a lot of things—dancing, playing football to name just a few. My posture developed badly and I slowly became the hunchback of notre dame (something that, jokes aside, genuinely affects my job as a performer). I’ve now swapped out the bras and tight singlets for binders, which comes with its own health risks.

Getting this surgery will mean the absolute world to me. It will mean I can stand up straight—well, not *straight*..vertical? Perpendicular Hancox-Monk (Thelonius’ lesser known sibling). It will mean I will finally feel comfortable in my body, and who knows—maybe join a football team again!

Anything you can spare would be the absolute breast present—sorry, *best present—you could ever get me. It’s like medical philosophers NSYNC said: I wanna see them out that door, booby bye bye bye.