Essay on Transmasculine Hormone Synthesisation Post-Capitalism; The facts on Testosterone Production

 Essay on Transmasculine Hormone Synthesisation Post-Capitalism; The facts on Testosterone Production

Like many other politically left and anti-capitalist trans people, I’ve thought long and hard about a world different to our own. A world without capitalism, corporations and medical monopolies controlling the supply of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A world in which trans people are in control of our own HRT production and usage. It’s important to remember the minds that dream of such a world can have very different guiding philosophies. An anarchist might envision a world post-capitalism still retaining vital industries such as medicine production- such a world might be anarcho-syndicalist and is much like the current world, just with no capitalism to control everything and everyone. Other people like anarcho-primitivists for example, might envision a world with the complete abolition of all of modern society, thus creating a need to create HRT from scratch. Whatever the philosophy, there is a vital question that often remains unanswered in discussions of synthesising HRT post-capitalism and that question is: ‘How do we synthesize testosterone HRT for transmasculine people post-capitalism’. Like transfeminism, the discussion on synthetisation of HRT tips heavily towards transfeminine thoughts and opinions. The field badly needs to diversify to include all kinds of trans experience in order to make a complete picture of what needs to be done post-capitalism. Transfeminine thought on its own is good, but it does not cover every kind of trans experience and thus, leads to a gap where transmasculine people are underrepresented. 

So, that leaves us with the task of beginning to answer this question and plug that gap so our HRT boat can stay afloat post-capitalism, should the situation call for it (ideology dependent). 

I’m no specialist in the medical side of HRT nor an expert in its production. The average trans people living post-capitalism most likely won’t be either, unless we speak to biologists and biochemists for their authority. On the authority of the boot we turn to the boot makers and on the authority of complex biology and biochemistry we turn to the biologists and biochemists. But, for the purposes of this essay I will lay out a basic framework for laypersons like me to understand and think about the very real challenges of synthesising HRT and especially synthesizing testosterone post-capitalism. 

Conjugated Equine Estrogens or CEEs are the primary method of synthesizing estrogen HRT. As the name suggests this is derived from horses, specifically the urine of pregnant mares. CEEs and CEE products are mainly estrogens (something within the realm of 98%) and very few progesterones and testosterones (2%)  - but there would have to be an immense amount of production to create enough testosterone through this derivation for testosterone HRT. While androgens like testosterone are present in CEEs, they are in incredibly small quantities that are not enough for clinical effects on its own [1]. 

This presents a challenge to any would-be testosterone synthesiser post-capitalism. As I understand it, it wouldn’t be impossible to create testosterone HRT from CEEs in pregnant mare urine (if you're an incredibly experienced biochemist) , it would be at an immediate disadvantage to synthesizing estrogen HRT- and that's if you had the expertise. If you’re making estrogen from 98% of what you have versus making testosterone from 2% of what you have (best case scenario), then you are going to be making more estrogen than testosterone HRT. This means that transmasculine people are going to need more support in accessing and being supplied HRT than transfeminine people, yet this is a conundrum that is not addressed in these conversations on post-capitalism HRT and is done so at the expense of transmasculine people, which must stop if good, proper and well thought conversations that include all trans people are to take place. It also means that extensive knowledge on the synthetisation of hormones is required for any synthesis to take place and thus means that thought needs to be put into not only how HRT is made, but how it is stored, transported and administered post-capitalism. Not only this, but extra thought must be put into details such as where are people getting the horses to produce CEEs? How much breeding is required to have a continuous flow of hormones? How are people addressing the care and upkeep of these animals? What, if any, processes are happening for these horses at the end of their lives- be that from old age or prematurely for food? Who can be contacted to help with the biochemical side of things? How do we get hormones to people who live far away from where it is being produced? What will people do if they live in a place with no horses at all?

The whole subject is hypothetical- interesting- but hypothetical. If these questions are not addressed, complete independence in synthesising HRT is not possible post-society. More conversations need to be had beyond the fantasies of: ‘post-capitalism, we will all live in transfeminine communes and make our HRT from horse urine’. More conversations need to include transmasculine, biochemist and animal welfare voices in them in order to truly succeed. Until then, methods to improve trans HRT and surgery in our own world should be focused on more readily.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Marc A. Fritz; Leon Speroff (28 March 2012). Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 751–3