Thankfully, this doctor seemed empathetic and receptive to hearing about what being transgender and non-binary meant to me.

It was one of those slide-down-the-wall moments.

This fundamental ignorance zapped much of my hope about the process I was embarking upon and who it was safe to share my story with.

The costs of our trust deficit

I asked my first prescribing doctor to start me on micro-dosing, but because he hadn’t heard of it, I ended up on a full dose.

Max is the founder of No Milk In My T, a brand that raises funds for gender-affirming surgeries. Source: Supplied / Sarah Malone

I was scared to hold up the process, and I didn’t want to wait. So I went with what the doctor said, despite what I initially wanted.

Except for going in for top surgery — the commonly used term for procedures to remove breast tissue — I’m fortunate not to have had to spend time in a hospital.

From what I’ve seen, this is a genuine and avoidable barrier to health care for many trans people.

Over 40 had been misgendered, 26 per cent had been asked inappropriate questions related to being trans when seeking care for unrelated issues, and 24 per cent had been ‘deadnamed’, i.e. referred to using their legal, rather than chosen, name.

What safer care looks like

It’s someone who won’t make assumptions based on their experience with another non-binary person — because everyone’s journey is different.