Transgenderism

D friend that I talked about in my previous post is 28 she only declared that she felt female five years ago. Who knows what turmoil she felt growing up.
I agree that it's a mine field but I don't really think anything should be done until the person comes of age.
If a boy wants to wear a dress and play with dolls so be it but it shouldn't go any further till later.

I have never had much time for Rod Liddle's opinions and, having read the linked article, that is unlikely to change, though I accept that Brighton & Hove Council asking parents of a four year old what gender their child self-defines as seems a bit over-the-top.

On that point, I agree with Luckygirl that young children should not be given hormonal treatment until they have had several years to be sure that they are in "the wrong body". Added to that, boys should not be frowned upon for preferring to engage in activities that traditionalists see as "feminine". The same applies to girls but I think it is far more socially acceptable for a girl to be called "a tomboy" than it is for a boy to be called "a cissy". If gender roles are so rigidly applied (and they still are - as seen with boys and girls toys, clothes, etc.) some children will increasingly feel that they cannot be a boy/girl if they identify more with what are supposedly more masculine or feminine behaviours and activities.

NanKate It's very sad that your cousin has lost so much and that you are the only person to keep in touch. I can understand a family being initially unhappy and confused when hearing such news but I can't understand a continuing total lack of empathy.

I agree that it is very unlikely someone would embark on such radical, risky and painful surgery - and risk terrible disruption to their working, social and family lives - unless they were absolutely desperate.

I am not sure about this. when I was growing up I was a tomboy and hated girlie stuff, would much prefer climbing trees to playing with dolls. I always wore trousers and had my hair cut short. This phase disappeared with puberty and I started to love clothes, make up etc. I also now have a doll collection! If I had known aged 7 or so that I could choose to be a boy I probably would have done, it just wasn't an option then, and very glad I am about that now! I am sure that there are a few individuals with lasting psychological issues, but I am probably with Germaine Greer on this one, a castrated male isn't a woman. I suppose that is why we now have a separate category - male/ female/ transgender.

My cousin is transgender and has been forced to give up everything, her family, children and grandchildren because of her unshakeable need to become a woman. I am, to my knowledge, one of her only family who is still in touch.

The actual operation and procedures afterwards are horrendous. No one would ever agree to doing it I less they felt it was a compulsion.

The reason Brighton is so pro LGBT is that is where one of the major clinics that carry out the procedure.

D went to school with a boy who she never got on with at the time. This person has now had the psychological assessments as a pre cursor to surgery to become female. She dresses as a female but has not yet had the courage to do so at work. D say's she is so much happier in herself and a much better person now that she has made the decision and her and D are now firm friends and she is able to openly talk to D about it as well as the trivial stuff such as clothes and makeup.
I've said she because although she is pre surgery it's how she thinks of herself and wants others to think of her.

schools! Not s chooks!

Unbelievable about that council doing that in s chooks! So funny that it is Brighton! How did Brighton become such a hub for the LGBT community. Why not Bournemouth? Or Bognor?

Well it has a certain slick humour. He writes well.

I have a friend who has just transitioned and had THE surgery. It makes me shudder to think about it. It will be followed by a lifetime of having to shove things up her "vagina" every day to keep it patent. To those of us who cannot begin to imagine the strength of feeling that would drive someone to such drastic measures it all tends to feel grotesque. Especially as the risks of the surgery are not inconsiderable - this person bled very heavily and needed blood transfusions and there is a risk of messing up the urinary tract. But there does seem to be some general acceptance in medical circles that this is an acceptable way to proceed. Of the few that I know, the men started out as very masculine in their size and bone structure - tall men with large feet who finish up with a hint of the pantomime dame about them - sorry that is not meant to be non-PC or dismissive, but that is the final effect.

Clearly we all need to accept individuals as they are and as who they want to be, but it is important that this is not foisted on young children who are sometimes confused abut their sexuality for a period in their lives. If they have a a need to identify as the opposite gender, then time enough in young adulthood. I have found some of the news from the USA, where in some states children are given hormone treatment to establish the gender of their choice, a bit disturbing. Perhaps I am just old-fashioned and behind the times.