Whilst I agree with Marsha in most of what she has been saying, I have to disagree in some parts.

Fortunately the world (or the UK in particular) has started to grow up and with the advent of the GRA, has made it somewhat easier to transition.  Sadly this has was not always the case and back in 1975 when I transitioned, no job protection was offered and employers could do as they wished - despite all the forward planning that you had made.  In my own case, I had been employed by this company from the day I left school at 16 (in 1961) until the day I resigned.  They had even sponsored me through university where I managed to obtain two good degrees.  It was after I left uni to return to work that everything started to come to a head and I was planning to make the change.  I was undergoing electrolysis and I had finally been accepted by a Gender Identity clinic in Manchester for treatment and they had started my hormone therapy.  At that time I was thinking about 3 years to finish the electrolysis before making the change - but events then happened which were completely out of my control.

After a year of returning from uni, I was required to join the company's pension scheme and as part of that, I was required to have a medical with the works doctor.  By that time, I had started to get breast development and the doctor remarked on this - so I told him the truth, thinking that he would be obliged to keep this secret.  Two days later, I was summonsed to the Director of Research's office and told that in no way would the company countenace this and was given the option of either handing in my resignation or being fired on the spot.

To complcate matters, one of my colleagues there said that if I needed a reference, he would provide me with one - and I didn't realise that the back stabbing B********d when asked to provide a reference to the hundreds of jobs I applied for, his initial line of the reference began "When I knew this person, she was a man working ........"  As a result of this, I had to sell my house as I could no longer afford the mortgage.

However, every cloud has a silver lining, as they say and it proved to be true in my own situation as when I left the company, I decided to make the transition and for me that was my first moment of complete liberation.

(sorry for the essay I'm a secretary so I type like 80-90wpm )

I actually signed up for this site after reading this post and I feel I need to add my opinion here.  This entire post and the responses are actually quite upsetting for me so I will try to be as diplomatic in my response as I canI will first apologize to the OP and others here that my birth and the birth of my partner might make them 'look bad'.

First off there are two 'types' of prostitution.  There's the 'middle class' prostitutes that are doing it as a easy source of income and are the types you'll see a lot on documentaries talking about how great it is and how it should be legalized and how nice all the guys are they serve.  These ones might be working in a massage parlour or making those hideous (sorry they're usually not that attractive) non-exploitive porn movies, or they're into some kind of kinky fetish they can fufill by making porn movies or prostituting themselves.  You might see one of these people walking around their university shooting off about how great and hip thier prostitute lifestyle is and how they're crushing the patrairchy doing it or some other such nonsense.  

The other type is the ones that are doing it because they have no other choice and usually are forced into it through pimping, addiction, discrimination, having grown up in that lifestyle (or country), or are underage.  Legalization beyond making it easier for the Johns isn't going to help them much at all and it's not enjoyable and the men aren't nice and it isn't a game.

Now for myself I came out at 14 as a gay/bi male and was quickly thrown out of my home by my fundementalist parents.  I have an intersex condition which makes my appearance very boyish rather then manly (think Justin Bieber delayed puberty slowly going infertile with no hormones to speak of lol) so I ended up eventually being involved in the 'sex trade' and using drugs.  My appearance and size made it very easy for me to be preyed on.  I got involved in the sex trade as I was on the streets with no friends in a new city, with no family and no supports.  I became involved in drugs because I believed I was the worse sinner in the world, the scum of the earth and every time I turned a trick with some pig I needed to get high.  It wasn't very much fun and games for me, in fact it was a living a hell.  It was a hell not of my making and there are many people like me especially in certain countries that have no other choice.

If you'd like to stop these things from happening get out on the streets and help these prostitutes (trans/male/female/underage, it shouldn't really matter) get an education, learn to respect themselves and get out of the business.  Work for LGBT rights in countries where prostitution may be the only choice for those who are trans, etc...

Now we move on to the LGBT and the T leaving scenario.  I have nothing but respect for the LGB people that stood behind the trans people at stonewall, many of whom were prostitutes and street people and are the only reason you people can walk around outside dressed right now without being arrested, beaten or worse.  Sure discrimination still happens but before the gay rights movement a guy wearing a dress in the USA was an arrestable offense.  Many of these courageous activists (Stonewall, HIV activists, radical LGBT groups, even hetero allies yes they have to come out too as supporting us) also didn't wait to come out until middle age like most trans women.  That was actually kind of the whole point of stonewall, to hide or to come out and fight.  I also have nothing but respect for the LGBT community as well as the gay 12 step groups in the city I grew up in for taking me in and replacing my family.  They helped me get off the street and get back into school and have a normal life.  LGBT groups continue to do this, in my city right now they're collecting $330 for a yearly bus pass for a girl who came out and was thrown out of her home by her parents.  She now needs to take the bus to school as her school is cool with it and she doesn't want to start in a new school.  PFLAG continues to set up queer youth dances and answer phone lines, LGBT groups continue to fight against prejudice and discrimination in countries where being LGBT is a death sentence, I could go on but you get the point, they hardly do nothing for trans people. 

Someone here said the LGB only want us to boost thier numbers, that's laughable considering transsexuals minus LGB transsexuals are probably around 1% or so of the entirety of the LGBT movement.  I've personally only heard the "take the T out" from mtf trans people, usually ones who are in stealth or who's goal is to go stealth so I'm thinking it's probably around .25% and that's probably generous.  I've never heard it from genderqueers or andronites (andronians, andgrogenites ??) or any of the others in the transgendered umbrella, just mtf transsexuals.  Even though I'm intersexed I'm quite happy to identify as trans also as I was raised as a boy.  I'm sure there are others with the opinion that the T should be taken out that aren't mtfs but I'm sure it's a pretty small group as you don't hear them constantly going on about it all over the internet.  It's the opposite we need the LGBs to boost our numbers so really if you want to leave the LGBT movement, do it, you won't be hurting anyone, you don't get to take the T with you though.  

Now this is probably a local thing only applicable to where I live but the LGB groups I go to are mostly nice older people, cute little married gay couples, middle aged lesbian feminists and other nice and kind types.  The trans groups I go to are full of polyamourous orgy BDSM deviants, I've stopped going to any trans groups in my city alltogether as they feel the need to constantly hit on me and talk about their deviancy at every oppurtunity.  I have gotten more support and love from the 'normal' gays and lesbians in my city during my transition.  So sexual perversion happens in any group heteros included.  Mostly from trans groups because of the life I've lead and the way I look all I experiences is either creepy pervs hitting on me or jealousy and hate, no support whatsoever.  Like I said this is probably just local, the LGBs here can get married which probably has something to do with it.  The local BDSM club in my city is run by a ftm transman so ya if anyone is making us look bad here it's ourselves.

Almost done my essay here.  As for judging people by thier looks and voice and whatever other criteria as to if they should get HRT or SRS is just stupid.  Sorry.  I do fine having AIS so the hormones are quite effective on me but my partner is trans and has a large build.  She was born this way.  She was also born with GID.  She does a great voice but can't change her body frame, she also doesn't have the money for endless surgeries.  She shouldn't need endless surgeries either to be pretty, neither should any woman (or man, pec implants, trans or otherwise.  

Defining women in a certain way as a requirement of treatment for GID such as -- "this is a woman's voice", "this is what a woman looks like", "this is how a woman acts", is nothing but male chauvinism, mysoginy and hetero prejudice as well as homophobia.  Yes, a manly lesbian is also a woman and a feminine gay guy is still a guy.  Usually when I'm hearing this stuff too it's coming from a person that just spent the last 20 years of their lives as straight macho men, so it's funny me being who I am while they were in the marines or whatever I was in Admin Assistant school hanging with my girlfriends styling each other's hair, with my half male/half female body structure lol.  If you took your feminimity test and put it up to me, sorry, but most of you would be losing.  

The rates of regret for after SRS are extremely low about 1%-1.5% and between those who go the official way and those who don't are statistically insiginfigant so this isn't really a valid argument.  Now the rates of suicide for those who are refused HRT and SRS are pretty damn high, so I'd rather save lives and maybe have someone make me 'look bad' then not.  If you look at some of the people that are on TV or in the news saying they regretted SRS you'll usually find they've gotten involved in some ex-gay camp thing or fundie christian group.  I've also met a large number of mtf people who seem to have payed off a gender therapist thousands upon thousands of dollars to get the letters and in fact seem to me to be absolutely nuts after about five minutes of conversation.

I think it's important for us as LGBT people to be inclusionary rather then exclusionary, to me it's about saving lives not creating a club of 'true' transsexuals, that seems to be based on how much money you can spend on surgeries and voice lessons and therapists, etc...  

Being LGB is also not about who you have sex with, this was determined way back in the 80s when fundie groups started saying it's ok to be gay as long as you don't have sex.  IMHO...I think the polys, BDSMs and fetishists are the ones making us all look bad in the LGBT movement and they should get out as I don't consider those to be orientations, they're just sexual kinks, that's just my opinion sorry if it offends.  Having the experiences in my life those types of people not only sicken me but frighten me and I don't want to be frightened when I attend a support group.

If you read all this good for you, I hope it gives you something to think about, no being LGBTI is certainly not all fun and games and for those of us who because of what we look like or how we were born who had not choice but to 'come out' it's definitely not a game.

With love to my sisters,

Anna

Hi Anna. I read it all!

Re:- " I have gotten more support and love from the 'normal' gays and lesbians in my city during my transition. " (And straight females in my case. They have been lovely.)

And:- "I think it's important for us as LGBT people to be inclusionary rather then exclusionary, to me it's about saving lives not creating a club of 'true' transsexuals, that seems to be based on how much money you can spend on surgeries and voice lessons and therapists, etc...  "

Hear, hear. I agree totally with these statements. I go out in my home town all the time and having been full-time in it for 2.5 years and I can count on one hand the number of incidents I've had. Most of them from members of the Trans community too, unfortunately! Most other people are fine once you explain yourself and what you are going through...

Mel. xx