"Transsexualism
is the unshakeable feeling you belong to the
other sex.
You have a body,
intellectually you recognise that, but you
don’t feel it’s yours. You feel
it’s a mistake; your feeling is to belong
to the other sex, and in that way you cannot be
corrected.
No-one can convince you
it should be otherwise. There’s no way out
for transsexuals then to adapt the body to the
mind."
—
Prof. Louis Gooren, 2000
The only successful treatment that has
ever been found for men affected by
transsexualism is to affirm the sex they know
themselves to be.
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.
Men who are affected by the physical
condition transsexualism have a physical
appearance that is the 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.
.
"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.
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 Australians (men
and women) who have experienced the natural
variation in physical formation called
transsexualism.
