There is a high suicide rate about TS people. Read about it, generally if you are not emotionally and mentally stable to begin with, the psych's tell you to deal and fix with those problems first. The other problem is that there ARE psych's that subscribe to bad TS schools of thought (basically the idea that ts people are only men who want to be women because they are in love with the idea of themselves being women(sex focus,) or something really stupid like that, rather than a social comfort level.) Let's see if I recall some of it.TdotOdot2k wrote:Gone into detail many times but somethings been wrong since day one. I feel trapped in the wrong frame, so to speak. I have the name of a "brain-trainer" (Doctor/Examiner)in Halifax that I'm going to pursue once this seizure-stuff gets cleared up, or at the very least identified. Seems good, recommended to me by a person who went through the entire procedure herself.The Neko wrote:In order to get a medical sex-change operation, you usually have to pass a psychological exam which demonstrates that yes, you really do need the surgery to keep on the right side from suicide, and that the person really is a transsexual, and not just something else. Usually, transsexual people know from a very, very early age that something isn't quite right.
Unfortunately, now there's websites where people have tips to trick the examiners, so people can get the surgery even if they may not be a true case. I think those are the ones that end up having the greatest problem because it was, in actuality, a spur of the moment decision.
I have a friend who is a trans-gender, so I've been going to them for advice on how to properly pursue this, and have my brain read, and examined, so I know it's definitely for me.
That's primarily what I meant before the age 30 thing. I'd like to pursue this, and see where I end up, be it as a female, or as a male who better understands herself.
....I didn't know about the evil websites to trick examiners though. That's...kinda creepy. I don't even WANT to know the issues that could stem from a cheat who decided "whoops! i fucked up!"
a) Do you want to jump the fence because you feel attracted to the same sex? This isn't trans, this is called being homosexual. Going under the knife for just this reason is bad idea (since homosexuals, presumably would not be attracted to you then if you changed.)
b) Do you want to jump the fence because you want to wear the clothes of the opposite sex? Cross dresser. If you doing because you are sexually attracted to yourself (and possibly others), then it's called transvestitism. While some transgender people may do this, they have to be careful not to be labeled "as only a". CD/TV people are usually comfortable being the way they are (otherwise) and would seriously be harmed by going under the knife.
c) Do you want to jump the fence because you are socially harmed by being the way you are? Are you unable to "act" like others around you of the same sex? Do people call you names about the way you act? Do people frequently call you the wrong sex unintentionally? (regardless of the way you dress) Does it feel 'wrong' to go into the bathroom designated by your sex, and feel embarassed to use the toilet or having to touch your bits to go? These are some of the points usually raised. You could be transgendered.
d) Does the concept of transforming into the other sex, interest you, a lot? Do you have [sexual] fantasies about it? Hmm, strangely enough this is NOT considered transgenderism, rather there is another word for it, but it means "unhappy with the way you look to no ends", such people are also into body modification and mutilation if they can't afford plastic surgery. Sometimes they are also heavily into cosplay to scary levels and may have trouble determining when it's acceptable and when they should stop.
e) From a young age did you always want to do things you saw other [people of the opposite sex] doing that were exclusive to them? Part of the reason a trans movement exists at all is because there are 'girl only' and 'boy only' occupations and hobbies that are very hostile to intrusion by the other sex (see the bathroom argument again.) Young people who strongly identify as girls tend to want to wear clothes other girls wear and want to pee sitting down. The opposite is also true, young people who strongly identify as boys want to wear boys clothes and pee standing up. They have a hard time 'acting' like other boys/girls their age because they don't identify with them.
It's a giant iceburg, you don't treat the superficial reasons for it, you have to treat the psychological reasons as well.
Compare people who go for regular plastic surgery to people who have surgery to change sexual attributes about themselves.
<i> Does plastic surgery make patients feel better? Studies have shown that people report increased satisfaction with the body part they had surgery on, but results are mixed on whether plastic surgery boosts their self-esteem, quality of life, self-confidence and interpersonal relationships in the long term.</i>
http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep05/surgery.html
Anyway, probably the largest goldmine about trans stuff can be found here:
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/
and being in canada, avoid psychologists who subscribe to Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard's (blanshard operates canada's only medical facility that does sex changes) schools of thought, because they try to present trans people as simply gay men who are still 'men'. (go back to point A above.)
and I mean that Dotty. http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/ray-blanchard.html , this is why "cheating" exists.
Also I think there are no less than 5 people who identify as trans who have webcomics on CG(of which at least one was #1 on the guide for a long time.) Likewise there are at least two prominent webcomics by trans people not on CG.
Oh and I've spent significant amounts of time reseaching trans/intersex/gay topics since 1999.
Trans people are still regular people, and treating them as what they identify as is the right thing to do. Which is why I said "I'm not certain if I should take you serious" because if Dotty really wants to be treated as a girl, I have no problem with it, but is that what Dotty really wants? Do you want to be officially renamed?
