What Are Your Opinions About Transexualism?

[King's Rook's Pawn]

I know someone who recently has broken the news that he wants to have a sex change. This is extremely shocking to me because I've known this person all my life and never once as there been any hint that he's felt this way. He doesn't look or act like a woman at all and never has. But now he says he likes women but is a lesbian and is going to start the "process" soon. My whole sense of reality feels jarred. I fear he's going to botch himself up and live to regret, and he's already had huge problems in his life. Recently, I learned that he went through a night when he considered suicide.

I've always thought that this whole transsexual business is effectually catering to someone's delusion, like telling a schizophrenic that the voices he hears are real. I think that there is not mystical "gender" that exists only in the mind; whether someone is a man or a woman is dependent entirely one their chromosomes, regardless of what they may feel. He says he doesn't like his body, but looking at him, I can see he's not going to look normal as a woman.

I already expressed my disapproval for this, while at the same time assuring him that I wouldn't stop being his friend over it. I don't know what else to do. I do not want to call him "she" or by a female name because I would feel like I'd be lying, catering to a false therapeutic and societal pretense. Yet the modern culture smears anyone who won't play these delusional games as a bigot, etc (see Oprah's "pregnant man" for example). What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to react once he has breasts and women's clothes and wants me to call him "Cindy" or something???

[Vincent Vega]

No different than the people who feel the need to lob off their thumbs or cut themselves on their wrists. It's indicative of mental problems. Instead of hiring a surgeon to happily rearrange the basement, we ought to rather seek counselling for this poor fellow. It's really a shame.

Edited December 25, 2009 by USAirwaysIHS

[King's Rook's Pawn]

I should specify that the individual in question is a relative.

Edited December 25, 2009 by King's Rook's Pawn

[Hassan]

Has he been approved? I think they do a fair deal of psychological evaluations and if he's had a lot of issues in the past would probably not be eligible.

[Mark of the Cross]

There is a case for medical alterations where there is evidence that the person may have greater characteristics of the opposite sex to their sexual organs or where both sexual organs are present to some degree. However from your description alteration would be inappropriate and would possibly result in more pain for the person if after alteration they realise that that was not what they really needed. If this is the case I would be inclined to agree with USAirwaysIHS & Hassan. Transgender alterations would require the consultation with as many as practical professional people to make sure that it is really appropriate and is not a mental illness issue.

[CatherineM]

I dealt with two intersex clients, and one transexual. They were all very broken. Probably the saddest clients I ever worked with. I think we should have the same compassion for transexuals as we do those with SSA. Those born with indeterminate gender have really been given a heavy cross.

[Antigonos]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='25 December 2009 - 11:45 AM' timestamp='1261730747' post='2025848']
I dealt with two intersex clients, and one transexual. They were all very broken. Probably the saddest clients I ever worked with. I think we should have the same compassion for transexuals as we do those with SSA. Those born with indeterminate gender have really been given a heavy cross.
[/quote]

Intersex and transsexual are not the same thing. Intersex is really an extremely difficult situation since it is often misdiagnosed, the external genitalia being ambiguous, and because assigning sexual identity needs to be done in infanthood, before the child has any particular sense of gender.

Transsexualism, IMO [and FWIW, I am a health professional in the OB/GYN field], is a mental illness, and should NOT be treated with surgery. The media largely ignores the high number of persons who, after undergoing sex change surgery, attempt or succeed at suicide, since it did not solve what they had perceived as their problem. Rather, one reads of those few who changed their sex and were happy with the results. We recoil, rightfully, at the phenomenon of castration, or radical sexual mutilation, yet if the person is called "transsexual" suddenly it becomes "all right" to do incredibly drastic operations on a human being. The fact that it is a mental rather than physical problem is shown by the fact that the individuals who seek sex change almost never have abnormal DNA [such as XXY], but if they have male genitalia, their DNA is standard XY, but they [i]think[/i] something is wrong with their gender.

[Winchester]

[quote name='Hassan' date='25 December 2009 - 02:26 AM' timestamp='1261726019' post='2025819']
Has he been approved? I think they do a fair deal of psychological evaluations and if he's had a lot of issues in the past would probably not be eligible.
[/quote]
I know one transsexual who was on anti-psychotic medications but approved. The doctors who perform this surgery are akin to mad scientists from comic books.

[Nihil Obstat]

I agree with your reaction to this. It's just a delusion that 'doctors' are pandering to. Just very wrong on a variety of levels.

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Antigonos' date='25 December 2009 - 05:45 AM' timestamp='1261741543' post='2025872']
Intersex and transsexual are not the same thing. Intersex is really an extremely difficult situation since it is often misdiagnosed, the external genitalia being ambiguous, and because assigning sexual identity needs to be done in infanthood, before the child has any particular sense of gender.

Transsexualism, IMO [and FWIW, I am a health professional in the OB/GYN field], is a mental illness, and should NOT be treated with surgery. The media largely ignores the high number of persons who, after undergoing sex change surgery, attempt or succeed at suicide, since it did not solve what they had perceived as their problem. Rather, one reads of those few who changed their sex and were happy with the results. We recoil, rightfully, at the phenomenon of castration, or radical sexual mutilation, yet if the person is called "transsexual" suddenly it becomes "all right" to do incredibly drastic operations on a human being. The fact that it is a mental rather than physical problem is shown by the fact that the individuals who seek sex change almost never have abnormal DNA [such as XXY], but if they have male genitalia, their DNA is standard XY, but they [i]think[/i] something is wrong with their gender.
[/quote]
I was aware, having to do a crash course in it with my first intersex client, but thanks for the detailed explanation. It's something that most people don't understand well, and that's the most concise description I've ever seen.

[Winchester]

Yes. Antigonos is the smartest sentient Snowball(r) ever.

[Antigonos]

[quote name='Winchester' date='25 December 2009 - 10:21 PM' timestamp='1261768874' post='2025960']
Yes. Antigonos is the smartest sentient Snowball® ever.
[/quote]


Aw shucks, gee willikers or whatever.

Is this a joke I should be getting? [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/annoyed.gif[/img] Since when do snowballs need patenting?

[add]

[b]Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower [/b]

[b]A woman who has a bizarre fetish for inanimate objects has married the Eiffel Tower. [/b]
LINK: [url="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2074301/Woman-with-objects-fetish-marries-Eiffel-Tower.html"]married to eiffel tower transgender i now pronounce you thing and woman[/url]

(the Eiffel tower said "I do") she said: we are going to Paris on our honeymoon!

[Mark of the Cross]

[quote name='Winchester' date='26 December 2009 - 06:21 AM' timestamp='1261768874' post='2025960']
Yes. Antigonos is the smartest sentient Snowball® ever.
[/quote]

I'm not sure if it's a Cavy or a Rabbit. Either way they're not very smart, Gym. [img]http://www.websmileys.com/sm/animal/062.gif[/img]

[quote name='apparently' date='26 December 2009 - 10:26 AM' timestamp='1261783585' post='2026039']
[b]Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower [/b]

[b]A woman who has a bizarre fetish for inanimate objects has married the Eiffel Tower. [/b]
LINK: [url="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2074301/Woman-with-objects-fetish-marries-Eiffel-Tower.html"]married to eiffel tower transgender i now pronounce you thing and woman[/url]

(the Eiffel tower said "I do") she said: we are going to Paris on our honeymoon!
[/quote]

Edited December 26, 2009 by Mark of the Cross

[tinytherese]

[quote name='Antigonos' date='25 December 2009 - 06:45 AM' timestamp='1261741543' post='2025872']
Intersex and transsexual are not the same thing. Intersex is really an extremely difficult situation since it is often misdiagnosed, the external genitalia being ambiguous, and because assigning sexual identity needs to be done in infanthood, before the child has any particular sense of gender.

Transsexualism, IMO [and FWIW, I am a health professional in the OB/GYN field], is a mental illness, and should NOT be treated with surgery. The media largely ignores the high number of persons who, after undergoing sex change surgery, attempt or succeed at suicide, since it did not solve what they had perceived as their problem. Rather, one reads of those few who changed their sex and were happy with the results. We recoil, rightfully, at the phenomenon of castration, or radical sexual mutilation, yet if the person is called "transsexual" suddenly it becomes "all right" to do incredibly drastic operations on a human being. The fact that it is a mental rather than physical problem is shown by the fact that the individuals who seek sex change almost never have abnormal DNA [such as XXY], but if they have male genitalia, their DNA is standard XY, but they [i]think[/i] something is wrong with their gender.
[/quote]

It seems as if people cater to these bizarre wishes claiming, "We just want them to be happy."