The removal of facial hair is an important step in de-masculating a transgender woman's appearance. The cost of hair removal is probative to many transgender women, as there is a high rate of unemployment/poverty amongst the trans community. For Kaiser, a corporation whose net 2013 net income was $2.7billion, the costs of hair removal is negligible.

Kaiser currently considers facial hair removal merely as an aesthetic procedure. KP does not recognize facial hair removal to be a fundamental step in transitioning from male to female. This simple procedure can benefit the psychological and over-all health of transgender women - reducing the stress, anxiety, and depression that comes from having a body that doesn't match the mind and spirit.

Kaiser is rejecting the pleas of its trans-female patients, arguing that trans-women can just shave. However, most reasonable people know that there is no such thing as a truly smooth shave that removes all signs of facial hair. Especially for those who have darker, denser facial hair, shaving is just not enough. And there are individuals whose facial hair regrows faster than others; many trans-women have to shave once in the morning and again in the late afternoon/early-evening. For many people, daily or twice-daily shaving can cause irritation to the skin, causing redness and soreness. Waxing is not an option for facial hair removal; unlike with body hair, it is not recommended to wax away facial hair as it causes extreme irritation to the face.

Kaiser does offer coverage for hormone treatment, which can reduce the appearance of hair – although the extent of which varies from person to person. However hormone treatment is not a decision that all transgender women choose. For some people, removing facial hair is more important than developing breasts, in terms of presenting as female. Hormone therapy helps many people live truer to their gender identity. But unfortunately, there is always going to be a certain percentage of people that will have either negative physiological and/or psychological responses to hormones and should not be taking them for health reasons. And there will also be a certain percentage of transgender women who will choose for whatever personal reasons to not take hormones. Kaiser should not be pressuring people into treatments which can have side-effects, when simpler actions can be taken. As well, hormone therapy is not immediate. For those who participate in hormone therapy, there still will be a intermediate period of time in which they may want facial hair to be removed. And there will be some people who are on hormones, who find that over time, that facial hair is not drastically reduced enough.

Kaiser Permanate has been trying to present itself as a progressive corporation that is openly friendly to the transgender community. In Oakland, Kaiser established a “Multi-Specialty Transitions Clinic”. However client requests for the simplest and most basic step to transitioning is repeatedly denied. It is not vain to want to appear as one's own gender. It is not just an aesthetic decision to remove facial hair. We do not live in a blind society; transgender women want feel comfortable in their appearance, and present themselves as women.



Signing this petition will help raise public awareness of the lack of proper coverage for transgender services at Kaiser Permante, and will hopefully pressure KP into providing a much requested service. Transgender women should not paying the full cost out of pocket for this service.