A man "stuck in a
woman's body'' wants the Territory Government to
pay to complete his sex change. Sam Davies, 34,
was born a female and raised by his parents as a
girl.
But he has since had a
"gender re-assignment'' and is now a
male.
Mr Davies yesterday asked
to be referred to as a male.
He had his breasts removed
six years ago and also has had hormone therapy,
which has given him a thick beard and a hairy
chest.
But Mr Davies, who lives
at the Darwin suburb of Karama, wants to
complete his "transformation'' and have a penis
surgically constructed over his female
genitalia.
The operation would cost
$60,000.
"I want this to be seen as
a medical condition, and treated accordingly,''
he said.
"The government should pay
for these kinds of operations because a lot of
people in this situation are suffering _ they
feel helpless.
"The suicide rate is
incredibly high.''
Mr Davies said he found it
impossible to function normally in society
because of his "transgender'' status.
He said he knew something
was wrong when other children teased him at
primary school.
"I used to wear work
shorts and a black singlet under my school dress
and I just wasn't interested in anything the
girls did.
"I was always a bloke as
far as I know.''
Mr Davies has written a
500-page autobiography, Stripped Bare,
which he hopes to publish before the end of the
year.
"It will detail all the
things a man stuck in a woman's body has to go
through and the lack of services available to
people like us,'' he said.
The NT Government said
last night sex change operations were not
available in the Territory.
