DR Z PHD Interviews Shannon Simone.
In this deeply personal interview, Dr. Z speaks with Shannon Simon, a 45-year-old trans woman who began her transition journey at age 41 after decades of struggling with gender dysphoria. Shannon has worked at a suicide prevention hotline since 2013, giving her unique insights into mental health, crisis intervention, and the specific challenges facing transgender individuals.
This conversation goes far beyond typical transition narratives to explore the intersection of multiple identities and life experiences. Shannon discusses how she maintained her 16-year marriage to her wife Magdalena throughout her transition, the evolution of her sexuality from seemingly straight to pansexual, and how coming out to her adult children (ages 19 and 20) became surprisingly affirming.
Shannon offers rare transparency about what four years of medical transition actually entails—emphasizing that her current presentation required not just hormones, but also facial feminization surgery, 2.5 years of electrolysis, and extensive emotional work. She directly addresses early-stage trans women who may feel discouraged, validating their experiences while providing realistic hope about what's possible.
Key topics include: experiencing the shocking loss of male privilege and sudden street harassment, the healing power of working in suicide prevention while struggling personally, how paganism and earth-based spirituality helped her connect to her body during dysphoria, transitioning to a vegan lifestyle for health and ethical reasons, using meditation and somatic practices to process gender dysphoria, and the life-changing emotional shifts that came with estrogen therapy.
Shannon describes her pre-transition emotional state as "emotionally constipated" and explains how HRT transformed her from feeling like "a pebble tossed by waves" to "a solid rock on the beach"—grounded and stable for the first time. She shares vulnerable insights about navigating public spaces as a visibly trans woman, the mental energy required to simply leave the house during early transition, and how these experiences fundamentally changed her understanding of privilege and oppression.
This interview offers hope, practical wisdom, and radical honesty for anyone navigating gender transition later in life, maintaining relationships through transition, or seeking to understand the lived reality of transgender experience beyond stereotypes.
