Are you wanting to be a woman because you failed as a bloke? No. I didn't do that bad as a bloke. In my early adult years I was a leading rock climber and mountaineer, awarded a RHS Bronze medal for bravery during a mountain rescue and in those early years I fulfilled the biological sexual role of a male with spirited enthusiasm. I married, have had a successful marriage for over 35 years, raised two fine children. I studied whilst I worked and obtained a degree and then an MBA. In other competitive arena's I became a County level chess player and when I resumed playing football in my early 30's I was an automatic first team selection for a semi-pro side. In business I was successful, had to be as I was forced to retire before I was 40 due to ill health. Losing use of my legs I was told to walk, so did, Lands End to John O'groats, over 1,000 miles, and did so three times in three consecutive years to raise money for charity. No, I consider myself to have been quite successful as a bloke.
Now you are a woman will you start to fancy blokes? No.Transsexual people are just the same as people in the two mainstream genders, most are heterosexual, some are bisexual, some gay, some asexual. There is always the risk that first hormone therapy and then Gender Reassignment surgery will change sexual orientation but that is not likely. My sexual orientation as a man was to be attracted to women and as a woman I still will be. If that makes me a lesbian, fine, as I'm committed to a monogamous marriage with my wife of the last 35 years who's business is it anyway?
As your wife is living with a woman does that mean she is a lesbian? No. If she was a lesbian, i.e. a woman sexually attracted to other women, then she would not of married me, for 35 years of our marriage a man. . My wife is only sexually attracted to men, that has not changed even though I have changed. How that affects our intimate relationship is for us to manage and only for us to worry about.
Are you only wanting to be a woman because something horrible happened to you as a bloke? No. Only a handful of specialists in this country are approved to make the diagnosis of GD. They must be consultant psychiatrists with many years experience of Gender conditions. They have to rigorously apply a set of international standards of care guidelines. One section of those guidelines, dealing with diagnosis, specifies that the possibility of certain conditions MUST be eliminated before a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria can be made.
These conditions include Mental illness and certain non-specific disorders including "psychosis or fantasy related to escapism". Due to my reluctance to accept the diagnosis I have seen 3 such specialists supported by 2 consultant psychotherapists all of whom are unanimous that whilst certain events were significant in allowing the re-emergence of GD there is no element of escapism whatsoever.
Is Transsexualism a mental illness? No. Psychiatrists are seen as the best people to diagnose it as most of the effects are psychological and also it is vitally important that the symptoms presented are of Gender Dyshporia and not a mental illness causing similar symptoms. A part of the government statement on recognition of GD. states as follows: " It is a widely recognised medical condition. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that gender dysphoria is a medical condition that may need treatment and that treatment may be carried out by the National Health Service (NHS) as well as privately" Prenatal explains this
When you have GRS and your male genitals are removed will your voice go higher? If and when I have GRS none of my male genitalia are completely removed. whilst some bits are discarded the majority is recycled to form the female genitalia. It has no effect on the pitch of my voice which is dictated by hormonal effects during puberty causing a thickening of the larynx. Only voice training and possibly surgery to the vocal cords will alter the voice pitch.
How many years were you crossdressing for? None. Since moving into adulthood and assuming responsibility for my own life I had managed to supress Gender Dysphoria from my conscious mind until a series of events helped blow the lid off it. My "repressed adulthood" page explains this.
What choices apart from transitioning were there? None. After 18 months of the most terrible anguish the medical people I sought help from suggested that to stay as I was the choices were likely to be death by my own hand or a medium to long term residency in a mental hospital, certainly destroying me and my marriage. Transition, give way to my female nature, I could have a happy and otherwise normal life.
Does transitioning conflict with your Christian faith? Faith is generally very slow to accept new science and scientific beliefs. Very few in the Christian faith now oppose medical or surgical intervention to correct birth deformities including physical intersex conditions. I am sure what is now almost overwhelmng scientific evidence that Transsexualism is just another form of intersex condition will one day be universally accepted in the church as it is elsewhere. In the meantime I will continue firm in the knowledge that I am loved by Jesus and he would never want me to suffer as I and those around me have suffered. It was after all my faith in Jesus that kept me alive during those terrible months of anguish.
Where did the name come from? I have dedicated a whole page to just answering this question. please click Here to go to that page.
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