A male with the physical condition of transsexualism
—
- has usually been assigned the sex of "female" at
birth
- has a very strong personal persistent discomfort of
'being in' the 'wrong body'
- seeks to correct the mistake made at his
birth
- has an unchanging core male gender
- never 'changes gender'
- strongly feels his body did not develop the way "it
was supposed to"
- requires medical treatment to correct his physical
appearance and resolve his physical discomfort
- seeks correction of his legal-sex to
male in recognition of his true sex (core gender
identity)
- is fundamentally and irrevocably male
- is not represented by terms such as an 'FTM',
'transman' or 'transgender'.
Affirmation Treatment —
Men who are affected by the physical condition
transsexualism have a physical appearance that is
opposite to their core gender. Medical treatment can
amend a man's physical appearance to achieve harmony with
his core brain-sex (male). Once his physical
appearance matches his core gender, his intense discomfort
with his physical appearance is largely reduced or
disappears after treatment.
The only successful treatment that has ever been found
for males affected by transsexualism is to affirm their
sex.
Sex affirmation treatment (also called sex
reassignment) is not an overnight fix for
transsexualism. Treatment is a long, expensive process, and
often includes hormones and some surgery. The final result
is something of a compromise for many men, as lower
surgeries are relatively non-functional at this point in
time. However, nearly all men find that, sex affirmation
treatment offers them a vastly improved and fulfilling
life.
"Transsexuals, who I believe are intersexed,
have the body and genitals of one sex and the brain of
the other making reconciliation of their sexual and
gender identities problematic. They solve their problems
of reconciling, their disparate sexual identity and
gender identity, by saying, in essence, "Don't change my
mind; change my body.""
— Prof. Milton Diamond, 2000
Opinions vary on the incidence of transsexual people
throughout the world. Current Australian estimates (2000)
put the figure at approx. one in every 11,000. Various world
literature give an incidence of one transsexual per 50,000.
Netherlands (Gooren et al. 1992) and Singapore (Tsoi, 1988)
studies cite approx. 1 in every 2,900. Wallbank (2004) cites
between 5,000-10,000 men and women with transsexualism
through Australia. It's difficult to ascertain the incidence
of transsexualism mostly because men and women living with
the condition identify as ordinary men or women. They live
ordinary lives of men and women they know themselves to
be.
Transsexualism cannot be overcome by contrary
socialisation nor psychological or psychiatric treatments
(Green, 1999). It is a natural variation in human physical
development.
Current legal situation for males with ts in
Australia —
After treatment, Australian men of transsexual history
can have their legal-sex on their birth certificate
corrected to male. As such they have all the same
rights and responsibilities as other Australian men,
including the right to marry as other Australian men.
In 2002, in the Family Federal Court, a man of
transsexual background "Kevin" was granted the right to
marry "Jennifer", his female partner, based on recent
understanding of the underlying biological cause to the
condition. This landmark case signifies greater community
understanding and acceptance of Australian men and women who
have experienced the natural variation in physical formation
called transsexualism.
Further Reading
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resources
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