Why is it only transsexuals can get sex changes?

Question

I'd never say I "am" a woman. I'm not a transsexual. However, I WANT to be a woman... shouldn't I be able to live as a woman & ultimately have sexual reassignment surgery if I want?

I'm a man who spends some of the time as woman (I plan to live as a woman full time when I've saved up enough & made some other changes in life). I'm pretty as a girl, dress well, do an awesome job with makeup. My female voice is pretty good too--not perfect, but I'm working on it.

So why do I get opposition from so many people--not just conservative straight people, but also from gay men and women, even transsexuals?

I'm not trying to 'mock' transsexuals by saying this! I don't labor under any misapprehension that I am a ts... I wasn't born a woman, but am happy being as close to a woman as I can.
My plan's to live as a woman within 5 years' time. I want to work and be accepted as a woman... with surgery too: breast implants, etc. But I will have trouble completing 'everything'--it's not fair.

Answer 1

people can not just choose to one day wake up and go get the surgerys because it is permanent and life altering. there is a process we go through so that we can one day get the surgery to become complete. that process includes hormone regiments, counseling, and a real life experience to name a few things.

for those that say a transsexual is a person that yas had surgery and not until then your wrong. people are born transsexual its not the process. its who we are from the beginning. and not all transsexuals decide to get the surgery. there are 3 different levels per say. pre-op transsexuals, post-op transsexuals, and non-op transsexuals.

from what your have said to me you sould like a pre-op transsexual. relax it dont mean anything bad.

Answer 2

Leah is 100% correct. When I was five years old, I said for the first time, that I was a girl and not a boy. I said it often to my parents and to Psychiatrists who would just not believe me until I was twelve. When I tried to commit suicide, a Psychiatrist finally diagnosed me with having a very profound gender dysphoria which is caused by having transsexualism. Just before I turned thirteen, I was put on GnRh inhibitors and anti androgens these stop the effects of testosterone and stop puberty. Then when I was sixteen according to the standards of care (soc) the inhibitors were stopped, and I started taking estrogen. I then started to experience female puberty the way I should have when I was four years younger. And yes once a child who has been diagnosed with transsexualism, and has followed the standard of care should be allowed to transition. In the United States the minimum age that Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) can be done is eighteen. Although in some countries, the legal age is sixteen to have SRS.

Answer 3

I do appreciate your point but take a step back and consider this first:

Medical "diagnoses" are tools by which physicians classify processes with common features in order to predict the progress of such processes (i.e. prognosis) and thereby evaluate and justify a treatment. This is obviously easier with well definied physical processes (such as treating infections with antibiotics) than it is for the psychiatrist since the human mind is complex and far from fully understood.

Hence, "psychiatric" diagnostic labels (and yes, transsexualism is classified by the major psychiatric consensus of ICD-10 and DSM-IV, rightly or wrongly) represent a broad approximation of what is probably in actual fact a heterogenous group of subtly varying conditions with common enough features to be grouped together. Hence, "transsexualism" is better thought of as a syndrome (in diagnostic parlence, a collection of commonly associated symptoms and signs) rather than a discrete categorical diagnosis of singular pathogenesis.

What am I on about? Well, basically, the medical community now recognise that many differing motivations lead people to want to seek gender reassignment procedures. What they want to avoid is allowing people to make irreversible chanes they will regret so it is still easier for the "classical" textbook transsexual to get SRS than anyone else.

However, your desire to live a woman's social role in such a complete sense makes you a "transsexual" too, albeit your perception of that differs slightly to that of the cliched overgeneralisation of being a "man trapped in a woman's body".

There are subtypes of transsexualism well recognised by gender specialists now. The important point is be honest with yourself about WHY you want to make that change, because if you get it wrong it IS ireeversible and you will regret it. Moreover, demonstrate to a recognised gender specialist that your expectations of the outcome of such procedures ARE realistic and there is no reason they would refuse you surgery.

Therapists use labels to abbreviate descriptions, but they are really interested in the outcome being appropriate for the individual and will listen to your own idiosyncrasies. So be honest with them, follow your heart and you will get what you need at the end of the day.

I think if you read a bit more about the diagnosis of transsexualism, you will realise the content of what you say you feel means you are a transsexual. The variation from the textbook stereotype is what makes you individual. We are all individual, there is nothing wrong with embracing your idiosyncrasies. Do not give up on your dreams without going through the proper channels and counselling first.

Good luck sister.

:)

Answer 4

The reason is becuase of the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, which wants only people who are transsexuals to have the surgery. It makes sense, because they have extreme pain in having a mismatched body, which would be the same pain if the wrong person had the procedure.

If you really feel that it would be right for you, you could lie to a therapist in order to get the letters you need for the surgery. You can also go to Thailand and get the surgery done there, because the majority of surgeons there don't care about letters, are cheaper, and are really good.

Answer 5

If you identify as a female and want to live as a female, then you are by definition a transsexual. Sexual reassignment surgery is something that many transsexuals choose, but it does not define gender. Unfortunately, some people "assume that transgender persons want to alter their bodies surgically to align with their preferred gender. In addition, the terms reduce one’s identity to the status of their genitalia"

So feel free to identify yourself as the sex that you feel and don't let others tell you what to do. Best of luck.

Answer 6

If you want to live as a woman and be accepted as a woman, than I think you are a TS. Maybe you could help us by explaining what you think transsexuals are, because I don't understand the distinction you are drawing between yourself and transsexuals.

If having the operation would make you happier, then why should you not have it, regardless of the label you choose to (not) adopt?

Answer 7

A transsexual is a person who has or is in the process of undergoing gender reassignment. The process includes therapy, hormone treatment, practice acting as a member of the other sex, as well as the actual surgeries required to complete the switch. It sounds like you've started, so you can consider yourself as one already if you want.

Answer 8

It is something serious. I am not a transsexual or anything. I am looking at this question of yours and I think as other people think of you. WHY? If you aren't any of the categories that you mentioned above...then why would you want to alter your body. I think you should get counseling and see if maybe there is a deep seated problem. I am not saying you are crazy. But there has to be a legitimate reason why you want to be a woman.

Answer 9

sorry for your dilemas but this is a very cruel world we live in and nothing in it is fair. i have epilepsy and i can't even get experimental hyperbaric chamber treatments which could help and my father has an ulcer in the worst place and the only cure is bark from this tree and yet to pick it is illegal so he is left without a cure. i hope that one day you can be happy as a woman with being made fun of or without the government holding you back.
Good Luck!!

Answer 10

i mean its a hard hard process.. and takes a lot of time. I can only remind you to see the light at the end of all of your work that you put into saving up money for everything. People suck and i'm sorry people give you such a hard time. But i wish you the best of luck in the process of everything. Best of luck to you and keep ur chin up,
-cheers