[Twosugars]

Originally Posted by Jack_

2) Isn't the logical conclusion of this though, that any transexual (I'll use this term because I know it's the one you prefer) who wishes to live their life as the gender they feel comfortable as MUST have irreversible and intrusive corrective surgery in order to do so? There are many transexuals who have no desire to modify their body and start messing around with their biological and physiological makeup, and I'm sure you've (quite righty, IMO) said before that as a society we shouldn't be almost coercing and forcing people down this path. It is my opinion that if a trans person wishes to have sex reassignment surgery to alleviate their discomfort then all power to them and they should of course be entitled to. But equally, if they don't wish to spend years transforming their own body in what can be a very psychologically damaging process, that's fine too. Unfortunately, our framing of gender in terms of genitalia inevitably makes surgery a prerequisite for any transexual person to be taken seriously, and that is really problematic for me.

I'm asking because my knowledge of the topic is rather superficial: isn't one major issue for trans people the fact that their body doesn't match their psychological gender? Wouldn't they all aim at rectifying that? I've always thought sex reassignment procedures were desired by them, not imposed by society.
And why you say it is psychologically damaging? I'd have thought it would be liberating.
[Disclaimer: I knew one f2m person and he couldn't wait for his surgeries and now lives as a happily married man. So it may colour my view of things a bit.]