THEGAYUK WINTER 13 /14 Issue 1
his own story.
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He describes how wearing a binder
every day takes a serious toll on his
physical and mental health, and also
affects his musical ability. ‘My lung
capacity has been greatly weakened
from wearing it,’ he says. Then there
are the mounting medical bills.
‘Simply put,’ he says, ‘this surgery
opens the door to a better life for
me.’
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Using Twitter, Tumblr and
Facebook to get the message out,
the chorus raised more than $2,000
towards their $7,500 target in a
week. And when the campaign
ended this Monday, they exceeded
their goal, raising a total of $7,850.
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On another crowd-funding site
called WePay, trans female Fyrah
raised money for an orchiectomy
(surgical castration) and electrolysis
to remove her facial hair. She
promised everything from tarot card
readings to tattoos, and a little
something extra for platinum
members: ‘If you want to pay for all
of it, I’ll give you my f**king balls in
a jar.’
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As tempting as this offer may have
been, Fyrah was only able to raise
50 percent of her goal. She has yet
to have her testicles and facial hair
removed.
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Fyrah isn’t the only one making
provocative promises to get
donations. Tara Emory, a selfproclaimed “transgendered model,
self-made artist, pin-up girl and
burlesque performer,” posted her
Indiegogo profile to
HungAngels.com, a transgender
adult forum. ‘Larger amounts will be
rewarded with special perks!’ she
wrote. The biggest perk? Getting to
spend the whole day and evening
with Emory.
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Corrie Kaisal, a 29-year-old maleto-female transsexual with a
Kickstarter campaign, is currently
offering special access to her social
media accounts, including
“exclusive picture section access.”
Big spenders who donate between
$10,000 and $25,000 will get two
real-life dates, one pre-op and the
other post-op.
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As many well-meaning crowdfundees have discovered, some
campaigns are less successful than
others. Ja’briel Walthour, a public
school bus driver for children with
special needs in Hinesville, Georgia,
started an Indiegogo campaign to
fund her “top surgery” in May.
Though she managed to raise
$3,075, she fell far short of her goal.
Still, she isn’t giving up. Walthour
wants to join the U.S. Air Force but
is holding out for surgery in the
hopes that she’ll face less
discrimination when
she applies. This week
she started a business
selling home-cooked
dinners (her BBQ ribs
with vegetables and a
choice of pie or cake
can be yours for $7).
!
‘I’m not waiting five
years,’ she says. ‘I will
have every dime that I
need. No matter what
I have to do, I’ll get
there.’ ∎
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Photos credits:Via
Vocativ
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REAL LIFE
‘If you want
to pay for all
of it, I’ll give
you my
f**king balls
in a jar.’
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This piece was
brought to you
by our friends
at Vocativ.com
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