While trying to think of topics to write blogposts on, I completely forgot the actual purpose of blogs, and that is to yap about random stuff nobody cares about, because, well, if nobody wants to read your stuff they will just leave the page or not even be there in the first place.

So, I will use this actual first blogpost to "document" some stuff about me, and the country I'm from, I guess.

Introduction

Hi, I'm treuks. I use she/her pronouns, I'm Ukrainian and also transgender, which is considered to be rare for all the wrong reasons. So I guess, let's talk about why.

LGBTQIA+ rights in Ukraine

Let's begin with, something, I guess. Ukrainian people aren't as.. accepting, as you might expect. Despite the fact we're closer to a western mentality compared to, for example, Russia, acceptance of gay and trans people is about as rock bottom as you might expect, though at the same time, it could obviously be much worse.

If you ask a random person on the street what they think about gay people, I suspect that 90% of the time the answer they'll give you will be something like:

Well I don't really care what they do as long as they don't shove it in front of my face

Of course, it's not that bad of an answer, but at the same time, it could be better.

In Ukraine, gay marriage is impossible and not legal. Same goes to "Same sex unions". That is caused by the the way it is worded in the constitution.

Marriage is based on the free consent of a woman and a man. Each of the spouses has equal rights and duties in the marriage and family.

Transgender rights in Ukraine

As I have mentioned prior, I am transgender, so I'm focused on this specific issue quite hard.

You ever wondered what it would take for an average trans person to properly transition in Ukraine? Probably not. Actually, most likely not. But here it goes anyway. I have contacted an unspecified trusted source and asked what it would take to get access to gender affirming care. The answer was kinda heavy but also understandable.

  1. Contact your "Family Doctor"
  2. Tell them that you are experiencing gender dysphoria
  3. Get sent to therapy
  4. Get diagnosed with gender dysphoria (may take at least 2 years or longer)
  5. Get a high enough level of dysphoria to qualify for a "Transsexual" status
  6. Finally, get access to HRT.

I, personally know, that I do not have it in me to do all of this in a fully legal way. The actual thought of going to a family doctor and saying that scares me to the core.

Of course, the doctor would also contact my family, which would be a death sentence too. So in general, it is a bit risky.

The future

BUT. As doomy and gloomy as it may seem, things might actually be going into the right direction. Due to the continuously ongoing war, we have got a sudden and extreme urge to move away from all of the hateful values and biases which we might still have from the past relationship with Russia, which includes homophobia.

The current ruling president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mentioned that it is impossible to legalise same sex unions without amending the constitution, which is ALSO impossible to do during the war.

This, however means, that when and, I guess also, if, the war ends, it may be possible that we will get legalised same sex unions and also potentially, legalised same sex marriage.

At the same time, I do not actually know the direction which we will take in terms of transgender acceptance. I think it's very much known and apparent that many countries which you might even consider to be civil (like the United Kingdom) are moving towards an incorrect and straight up cruel direction.

So I guess, we will just have to see it all with our own eyes in the future. I hope I will live to see the lives of people improve.