A young trans man has launched a crowdfunder in the hopes of affording his expensive top surgery.
Finley Blower, 19, of Conisbrough, first realised “something didn’t feel right” when he was given the role of Mary in his church’s nativity at the age of three.
Mr Blower said: “I was just in absolute tears about it, and I couldn’t wrap my head around why I was Mary and not Joseph.”
Throughout school, Mr Blower had labelled himself as “lesbian” due to his attraction to women and typically masculine short hair.
This never felt right to him, and it was on New Year’s Eve in 2019 that Mr Blower told his girlfriend of four years that he was trans.
He came out to his parents the following year in October, when his provisional licence came through the post naming him as ‘Mr Finley Blower.’
Mr Blower said: “I remember the evening I told my parents. My dad called up the stairs: ‘Finley, do you want a cup of tea?’ I think I cried from how happy I was hearing my dad say my new name.”
The Go Fund Me page was set up to help raise the £4,500 deposit for Mr Blower’s surgery, which will cost him double the amount.
The teenager started his transition on testosterone in 2021, deciding to go private after facing years on the NHS waiting list.
According to the Sheffield Gender Identity Clinic, the longest waiting time as of October 2022 is 55 months.
Left “exhausted” having to work long hours alongside his studies to fund his transition, Mr Blower was confident it would pay off.
He said: “It feels like I’m finally living as my true self. It’s allowed me to become so much more confident and not feel like I’m living a lie.”
Despite this, Mr Blower’s ribs are left in “agony” every night from the binder he currently uses to flatten his chest, and previous time spent taping it down has left him with painful blisters and rashes.
He said: “I want to be able to do normal things like take a shower and not want to cry every time I see my chest.
“This surgery means everything to me. I just want my body to match how it should look in my head.”
To donate to Finley Blower’s Go Fund Me page, follow:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/wdwspz-help-finley-get-top-surgery?qid=802e2899dfb127bd708c6a94507a57eb
