An authentic journey through identity, public healthcare, and rights: Riccardo's story, told in Sebastiano Pinna's podcast "Voices on the Road" illuminates the path of gender affirmation in Sardinia and Italy.
A podcast that gives voice to identities
“Voices on the Road” is the podcast created by Sebastiano Pinna as a thesis project, with the aim of clarifying the path of gender affirmation in Italy. It's not just an informative story, but a human and empathetic journey that focuses on emotions, relationships, and moments of transformation.
The doctor is also there to accompany the listener. Margherita Angioni, psychologist and researcher at the University of Cagliari, involved in the QeerIS project and consultant for the ARC anti-discrimination center in Cagliari. The dialogue with Richard, a 29-year-old trans man who has been on hormone therapy for six years, constructs an intense and authentic narrative.
Self-discovery: "I must become a man"
Riccardo recounts a journey that began long before formal awareness. Since childhood, he perceived himself as male, but didn't know there was a concrete possibility of transition. The turning point came almost by chance, when he watched an online video of a boy starting testosterone. It was there that he discovered the existence of gender transition.
The scene is powerful: he wakes his mother at three in the morning and tells her, "I have to become a man." Her response is equally significant: "What do we have to do to get started?" Immediate family support, which is not a given for many trans people, represents the first real step on the journey to self-empowerment.
The medical pathway and the obstacles of the system
The podcast simply clarifies an often-unknown aspect: the gender affirmation process in Italy involves medical, psychological, and legal steps. Riccardo begins with the psychological process, which is necessary to obtain a gender dysphoria diagnosis and access hormone therapy.
In 2019 he was able to start testosterone thanks to an endocrinological visit out of region. At the time, in Sardinia, information was fragmented and access to public services limited. Hormone therapy, Riccardo explains, is not a minor detail: it also profoundly affects mood and requires careful medical monitoring.
Over time, she switched from injections to transdermal gel, finding greater stability. Her story highlights the importance of competent and attentive professionals.
Affirmative Surgery and the Court: The Role of Public Health
Another crucial point is the legal aspect. To access affirmative surgery in Italy, it is necessary toauthorization from a judge. Once given the green light, Riccardo underwent a mastectomy, a procedure he describes as “the one that gave me my life back.”
The most significant turning point, however, comes with the Dr. Daga of the San Gavino hospital. Thanks to his commitment and the collaboration of the head physician, in 2024 one of the first public programs in Sardinia to include affirmative surgery in the healthcare system was launched.
Riccardo recounts an extraordinary experience of hospitality: a man admitted to the gynecology ward, in a s