Hey everyone, Fletch here.

Last week I released The Fight for Transgender Health Care. To everyone who left a comment, shared it with friends, or simply gave it a listen: thank you. I've been working on this for the past few weeks, and I'm delighted with how it's turned out. This topic is very personal, so being able to talk about it so openly and share the experiences of others like me has been incredible. To put it simply, I've never felt more excited to paint a target on my back.

So, thank you.

I’ve loved reading all the conversations in the comments! I’ve learned a thing or two myself, most notably the numbers of people who regret plastic surgery versus the number of people who regret medically transitioning. Obviously there still isn’t a lot of research out there about the trans community, but I’d like to see the existing research more widely shared. I still need to thoroughly read the articles that were posted in the comments, but I promise I’ll get around to it soon.

Thank you to those of you who didn’t know a lot about the topic. I’m glad you were able to learn something from it. Thank you to those of you who have shared similar experiences to the ones Kate and I discussed – I hope you feel comforted in the fact you’re not alone.

Last but not least, thank you to Kate Ribchester and The Brunswick Centre for taking part in this podcast. I have been attending their LGBT youth groups since I came out over four years ago, and they’ve been a massive help. Thank you for sharing it on your social media too! It was strange seeing my work in my Instagram feed – it made me feel like a celebrity!

Finally, something a little more serious. I want to work in news once I graduate, but I would be naïve if I wasn’t aware of the way transgender people are talked about in the media. A lot of newspaper articles and reports about us are plagued with anti-trans fearmongering, painting trans women as rapists and monsters, whilst trans men are non-existent. There needs to be changes in the way we are represented, both in the news and the wider media environment.

Once again, thank you for listening. Happy holidays and I'll see you in 2022!