'Love yourself': local transgender man opens up about top surgery

Love yourself.

That's the message Dane Woodland is sharing this week, following his recent topsurgery a mastectomy and chest sculpting procedure for which he had been fundraising for the past year.

Woodland, who was born female but identifies as male, recently travelled to Mississauga, Ontarioto have the operation.

The surgeryremoved bothbreastsand contoured his chest to give it a more masculine appearance.

After returning to St. John's following the surgery, he reached a significant milestone in hisjourney by officially completing the paperworkto changehis birth certificatefrom female to male.

The changes comeafter a year in which Woodland said he worked hardto improve his own self-image.

Road to surgery started last year

Woodland said he was feeling very self-conscious and anxious about his physical appearance around this time last year.

Like many people in their early 20s, he had a busy lifestyle: studying at Memorial University, working as a personal trainer at afitness centreand bartendingdowntownon the weekends.

At work and in public,he said his gender dysphoria made it difficult to be fully comfortable as he was.

For the last year, he's worn a binder under his clothesto conceal his breasts.

As a personal trainer, however, Woodland said wearing it could be quite frustrating.

The binder often gave him rashesand affected his breathing as well as the type of clothes he could wear.

He decided he wanted to have top surgeryto help him feel more comfortable in his own skin.

Difficult to receive government funding

Althoughthe federal government provides funding for a transgender mastectomy, the process comeswithlong wait times.

Woodland said this was hard to accept, given his mental and physical health.

"There was no help from public health care," he said.

"There is a wait list ofabout twoto fiveyears to get into the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto to get diagnosed and then be referred."

The funding also doesn'tinclude contouring: the chest sculpting procedure that many female-to-male transgender people get following a mastectomy.

Due to this,Woodlanddecided to create a GoFundMe pageto raise money to have the surgery sooner, at a private clinic.

"I was going through a lot emotionally, it was very difficult for me," he said.

"With the opportunity to raise the money and get the surgery sooner, I definitely went for itbecause I can't imagine waiting any longer than that."

ThroughGoFundMeand other community fundraising events, Woodland was able to reach hisgoal.

The total cost of the surgery, not including transportation and after-surgery care, came to $7,910.

Surgery has increased confidence

Since having the surgery just over two weeks ago, Woodland said he already feels a lot better.

Many of the things that once made him hesitate, like showing his ID at airportsor seeing himself in the mirror at work, are easier now.

"The gym is full of mirrors, so I was constantly looking out of the corner of my eye, or checking my shirt, or adjusting my jacket," he said.

"I used to wear a jacket always when I was working, to make sure I was covering my chest and stuff like that to feel confident."

"I'm wearing tighter clothing [now]and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable and confident."

He said mostmembers of his gymhave been incredibly supportive.

"Even people that I probably made the mistake of judging and assumed they probably wouldn't be supportive of me, took the time to come over and introduce themselvesand say, 'I'm here if you need anything.'"

Woodland said he's learned a lot in the past yearand is trying his besttobecome a more visible advocate for the transgender community.

"A lot of people have said to me they've learned stuff that they would have never otherwise had an opportunity to learn," he said. "They've been motivated to do things differentlyand see things differently."

"I had one client in particular, I remember she was having a conversation with me about a family member who was coping with someone who was coming out as gay, and she kind of looked at me and said, 'What do you think? Is it okay for people to be gay?' and I said, 'well ... let me tell you something."'

Thankful for support from loved ones

Woodland has begun speaking at schoolsand said he's often approached by others going through the same thing.

He said it's helped him realize how lucky he's beento receive support from family and loved ones.

Woodland'spartner, Heather Alexander, has been with him since the beginning.

The pair started dating shortly after Woodland started transitioningand Alexandersaid she'snever once changed how she felt about him.

"Before he had the top surgery, he put alot of pressure on himself to look a certain way just because of his dysphoria," she said.

"I try to just tell him, 'You're pushing for something bigger than yourself. It's not just about what you're facing on a daily basis. It's how you represent a community that may not be so comfortable and confident to speak out.'"

After a year in which he's experienced a huge physical and emotional transformation, Woodland says he has a few key takeaways.

"It's important to love yourself in every form," he said."Our bodies may not be the ideal of perfection,so I think it's important to have that self-acceptance."

"That's the biggest priority and the biggest thing I`ve learned in the last year."