In this very special episode of The Joy Tuck Club, we sit down with Dr. Marci Bowers—trailblazing surgeon, passionate advocate, media-figure, WPATH President, and genuine trans icon. Marci shares her deeply personal journey from childhood in small-town America to becoming the first transgender woman to perform gender-affirming surgery.

We talk candidly about her early attempts to access hormones, the challenges of transitioning while building a medical career, and what it meant to take over the practice of the legendary Dr. Stanley Biber. Along the way, she reflects on identity, privilege, sexism, and why sisterhood sometimes looks like someone holding your pizza box while you pee.

This is the first of a two-part conversation that covers everything from obstetrics to Oprah, all told with Marci’s trademark warmth, wit and wisdom. Whether you’re trans yourself, an ally, or just curious about the lives shaping modern gender medicine—this is not one to miss.

https://marcibowers.com/

https://www.marcifoundation.org/

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Visit The Joy Tuck Club online at redandfreckles.com and learn more about us and our upcoming book, How To Transition.

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The Joy Tuck Club is written, produced, and edited by red+freckles, of Two Damp Trans Ltd, UK.

In an exemplary move toward clarity, the High Court in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has ruled that transgender women are women. This important legal shift helps relieve discrimination against those whose human rights were traditionally filtered through the lens of a being a third, lesser, gender, giving them the same rights as other women. In a notable decision, the judge rejected the notion that womanhood could only be tied to those who may have had a capacity to give birth, thereby outright rejecting the idea that only natal females can be women.

Meanwhile, in the lands of India's colonial forebears, a blighted chaos had reigned since a now well known Supreme Court judgement, and a subsequent alarmingly biased interpretation by the laughably named Equality and Human Rights Commission, unleashed a wave of poorly-informed gatekeeping against not just trans people, but cis women too.

The UK Parliament has now declared that trans women are women if they work there, but not if they are just visiting, but when the history books are written, there will perhaps be no confusion greater than that being shown by the Scottish police force.

Tune in as red and freckles dive into what the heck just happened.

Support the show

—

Visit The Joy Tuck Club online at redandfreckles.com and learn more about us and our upcoming book, How To Transition.

You can also find red+freckles (Rachel & Phoebe) at:

Instagram: @twodamptrans
Threads: @twodamptrans
Bluesky: @twodamptrans.bsky.social
TikTok: @twodamptrans
YouTube: @TwoDampTrans
Spotify: The Joy Tuck Club
Apple: The Joy Tuck Club

The Joy Tuck Club is written, produced, and edited by red+freckles, of Two Damp Trans Ltd, UK.

Come join us in this episode with Dr. Loren Schechter, one of the United States’ foremost experts in gender-affirming surgery and the President-Elect of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health).

With over 20 years of experience performing some 150–200 surgeries annually, Dr. Schechter is not short on insights into the evolving field of transgender healthcare.

He also performs numerous types of surgeries, including bottom surgery for MTF and FTM patients, along and strongly believes in the importance of multidisciplinary care including dealing with the emotional realities afterwards.

Of course, being the future president of WPATH, we had us an opportunity to probe, ever so gently, on what the future might hold under the current political threats to trans healthcare. While there were no fiery speeches, you'll certainly get a sense of the steady hand on the tiller he'll provide. WPATH continues to play a critical role in advocacy and setting standards of care, and we all need it to remain relevant.

Support the show

—

Visit The Joy Tuck Club online at redandfreckles.com and learn more about us and our upcoming book, How To Transition.

You can also find red+freckles (Rachel & Phoebe) at:

Instagram: @twodamptrans
Threads: @twodamptrans
Bluesky: @twodamptrans.bsky.social
TikTok: @twodamptrans
YouTube: @TwoDampTrans
Spotify: The Joy Tuck Club
Apple: The Joy Tuck Club

The Joy Tuck Club is written, produced, and edited by red+freckles, of Two Damp Trans Ltd, UK.