I'm confused.

Why all the rules on who can get SRS? Why is there a requirement for living in gender for a year? What if I just want SRS but keep it concealed? Why should I have to live as a woman for a year even if I have no intention of doing so even if I had SRS? There are men with breasts and male genitals and they don't need anything just to get implants!

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but didn't know where to post. But, is there not different degrees, desires, etc? I know most here feel they should have been born a woman. I also feel that way at times, but other times I don't. I also am not ready to deal with custody issues with the Ex or problems at work. However, why can't i just simply get a vagina? LOL, ok, it may sound strange to all of you that want to be a complete woman, but that's all I want. I can hardly live as a woman for a year when that isn't what I desire even if given the surgery. Makes no sense!

How is that any different than a woman just deciding to get bigger breasts? It's my body, so why can't I change what I have in my pants? And, my wife supports it besides! No, I haven't called anywhere or seen anyone. These questions are based only on what I saw on the internet regarding the guidlines. Are there ever any exceptions?

Also, even if it could be done, it wont be soon. As long as my equipment works it's staying put. But, that's becoming a problem much more often, and I'm not yet even 40. Once it doesn't work, what's the point in keeping it? Also, what's the problem with the medical community in thinking I should be a complete woman just because I want non-functional equipment changed to something I'd rather have anyway?

I'd probably go through the whole thing, and probably be happier, if it wasn't for what I would lose in the process. Other than a huge Adam's Apple I am lucky to have a small frame and slim body. Oh well.

Does any of that make any sense to anyone? I just can't understand why a male can have breasts without all these rules, but can't have a vagina.

I also apologize to anyone who can see I'm asking questions about things in the future that may never even become an issue. It's just bothering me that it looks like it just can't be done and makes no sense to me.

This can't just be a question of sterility, Sandra. Sterilisation is a quite ordinary medical procedure. I looked it up on the net and found that almost one in five of all british males of reproductive age has had it done. It doesn't affect the production of hormones or sperm, simply makes it impossible to impregnate a woman. Orchiectomy - castration - is another matter. I guess a referral from a psychiatrist would be necessary.
Still, most doctors are also unwilling to sterilise young males without children. For the obvious reason that they might regret it.

Now, how can any surgeon know that the patient will not regret the SRS ? Without some deeper knowledge of the patients psyche there's no way to know for sure. And the human mind is decidedly not a field in which surgeons have any expertise. So, they have to rely on someone else. That's how the medical system works in general.

Linda

With regard to progress in the area of the understanding, tolerance and acceptance of trans people in society at large, it is my feeling that we must be happy with any small victories we might achieve, and the Benjamin Standards of Care are certainly no exception here.

When the Satandards of Care were initially established, very little was actually known about the phenomenon of transgenderism, and these standards were established within the context of what was known at that time. The RLT requirements, and other aspects of the Benjamin Standards applied to patients for whom GRS was determined to be the sole treatment for GID, only in what were considered to be extreme cases.

At the time, GID was considered to be exclusively a psychiatric condition, and since the surgical procedure is irreversible, these standards were probably appropriate in that context. Currently, of course, much more is known about our condition and its causes, and there have been some slow, but positive changes in the Benjamin Standards.

For instance, the Benjamin Satandards are presently being re-examined in such a way as to encompass a wider spectrum of gender expression, and recently, Professor Stephen Whittle, O.B.E. was elected President of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, the first transgendered person to hold this office. Hopefully, under the direction of Professor Whittle, further examination of the Benjamin Standards of care will be undertaken which may result in the further recognition not only of the biochemical causes of GID, but also the ability of individuals to decide for themselves what form their gender expression will take.

I realize that most of us find the current process of transition within the established institutional framework to be cumbersome and invasive, but the fact is, there has been considerable improvement with regard to this over the past twenty years, and the progress, slow though it may be, is happening.

We would all like to wake up tomorrow to find that we live in a world where our gender difference is universally understood and accepted, but that is not likely. So for the time being, let's be grateful for each small victory, and do what we can as individuals to move toward the achievement of the next one.

As always, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.