THEGAYUK WINTER 13 /14 Issue 1
PLEASE CROWDFUND MY SEX CHANGE
REAL LIFE
REAL LIFE
By Alessandria Masi
Trans woman seeking
castration: ‘If you want to pay
for all of it, I’ll give you my
f**king balls in a jar.’
!
Jackson Schad had breasts on the
brain for seven long years. He
couldn’t take a shower without
feeling like he was looking down at a
stranger. He couldn’t walk around
without hunching over to hide them.
Adding to his daily humiliation was
the chest-flattening corset, known
as a binder, he wore to hide his
breasts, which caused crippling back
pain and constricted his breathing.
It had been this way ever since
Jackson, born Tina Maria, started
living as a man at the age of 21.
!
By April of last year, at 27, his selfesteem was at an all-time low. The
breasts had to go. But having them
removed permanently was way too
expensive.
!
At a bar one night in Lexington,
Kentucky—a revelation. A
sympathetic friend suggested Schad
take his plight to the Internet and
crowdfund the surgery he needed,
seeking donations from family,
friends, even total strangers touched
by his plight.
increments as small as $10 and as
large as $500.
Schad got to work on an Indiegogo
profile, posting photos, an extensive
bio and a detailed outline of how
he’d spend the money if he got it. He
offered donation-based incentives
like pancake breakfasts ($100) and
mix CDs ($50), and he created a
series of compelling videos
demonstrating his binder and the
complications it caused. In one
video, he showed pictures of himself
as a young girl.
On a Wednesday afternoon last
June, just weeks before his
Indiegogo campaign was scheduled
to end, Schad sat at his computer
and posted on Facebook that he
needed just $500 more dollars.
!
!
Within two days, Schad raised
$1,000 toward his goal of $7,000.
Each night, he watched eagerly as
friends, acquaintances and
strangers pledged money to him in
!
‘It was kind of breathtaking,’ says
Schad, looking back. ‘It’s an
experience I’ve never had before. It
was super overwhelming. I cried a
lot.’
!
!
‘Before I knew it, I hit my goal
because a woman whose husband
was dying of cancer contributed
$500 of their leftover fundraising
funds,’ he says.
!
That night Schad announced the
news on Facebook and said he’d be
celebrating at a karaoke bar nearby.
Lexington doesn’t have a very active
midweek bar scene, but when Schad
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