Comments on: Australian trans men win court appeal over surgery

By: Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:25:14 +0000

I understand what you mean PP, but I can see a lot of women objecting violently to sharing their "private" spaces with someone who has not physically transitioned to female. It's bad enough that a lot of women, including ostensibly liberated and educated women (Bindell, Greer) who would deny trans people their full dignity

This is very true. I always tend to speak on principle, but life doesn't always work like that. I still think that these problems only occur because our society isn't equipped to deal with them. That's the sort of thing people should try to address, not trivialities like who gets changed where. Not exactly the most pragmatic of ideas, but I've never been that great with pragmatism. Somebody else can handle those bits!

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By: John

John — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:39:18 +0000

Also, some transpeople cannot have surgery (or in some cases even start hormone therapy) because prior health conditions would make it extremely risky for them (not to mention make finding a reputable surgeon or doctor willing to perform the surgery/treatment nigh on impossible).

I suppose delaying the removal of the uterus and ovaries could also be a cheep (and more effective) alternative to freezing ovaries/eggs if a transman wanted biological children in the future?

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By: Mihangel apYrs

Mihangel apYrs — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:12:34 +0000

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By: Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:48:35 +0000

Another thing to keep in mind is that not all trans people even WANT to have surgery. It's not like a magical switch that instantly transforms your body into what it should be – it's an imperfect and dangerous procedure with varying results.

Gender is not something to be earned (despite what a lot of legislation would have us believe), it's something you're born with. And some trans people do come to accept the bodies they were born into – it's not exactly the right body, but it's their body, something like that.

Some of these people only seek to undergo hormone replacement therapy (having the wrong hormones is not good for your well-being, so this step is a no-brainer) and perhaps minor facial surgery (adjustments to bone structure, that sort of thing) to help them "pass" as the right gender, so that other people will treat them and see them as any other person of that gender.

However, what people don't see is none of their business. Having surgical work done on your genitals is major, and there's no guarantee you'll like the finished result. If people can come to terms with their bodies, there's no reason to go through with this step, and it absolutely should not be expected of them. As I said, gender is not something that needs to be earned.

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By: Lorna McArdle

Lorna McArdle — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:05:29 +0000

Thanks Jenny, gives me a better understanding of where they are coming from.

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By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:55:04 +0000

In many places sex reassignment surgery is prohibitively expensive and not covered by any medical insurance policy or government. We're talking thousands of dollars. Most trans people just can't afford that, but they do what they can, they transition in every other way but the surgery that they can't afford.

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By: Lorna McArdle

Lorna McArdle — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:45:38 +0000

Perhaps I can be educated here. If you don't commit fully to treatment including surgery, surly you haven't the right yet to call yourself the gender of choice? If you have committed to have gender reasignment then surely you must want to change gender. And eveything that entails. Even for those who are unable to have gender realignment through medical issues.

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