Page 6 of 12

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:30 am
by connor_Archive
Cranius wrote:
connor wrote:While I agree with the above argument and am firmly in the NOT CRAP position, my girlfriend, a Manhattan surgeon, offers this perspective (paraphrased):

"We (meaning U.S. surgeons) don't really do them anymore, since about the mid 90s. The reason is because a lot of medical literature came out that more often than not, a person's desire to change sexes was really just a mask for deeper problems. People often become convinced that all their problems lie in their gender, but this often isn't the case. People who had the operation were found to still have unresolved issues that they thought would be 'cured' by the procedure. They become so psychologically focused on this, then they get 'fixed' but still have the same depression issues.

"As a surgeon, if you're trying to fix something and make someone happier, yet the surgery doesn't do what its supposed to do, then as surgeon, I'm obligated not to do it...because it's surgery. There are risks involved in all surgeries, and this kind, it's really, really hard to reverse."


Connor, I'm curious as to why surgeons in the US are in agreement not carry out gender reassignment treatments anymore. Here in the UK there is 98% success rate for this surgery, with only 1% of patients regretting having this surgery. At current, it is the only known effective treatment for transsexualism. If you compare this to the 70's, when patients were treated with group and aversion therapies, there was a suicide rate 30%. So, I think could be safe in saying that it is life-saving surgery, as people do kill and mutilate themselves form this disorder. It is also regarded here as an inborn disability and treated equally to other correctable disabilities.

Who knows? I'm just repeating what she said. And from what I can tell, she's very good at what she does, so I trust her. Also, she's no prude about such things.

Connor

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:56 am
by Cranius_Archive
UK Patient's Charter outline for the diagnosis and treatment of transexualism, produced for the Parliamentary Forum on Transsexualism.

2.1 Following the general move away from a mechanistic base of thought by the scientific community at large, new views of medicine, health and disease have arisen (1.). In the UK, these have been accompanied by a government policy which identifies patient care as the main expected outcome of medical research and development (2.). An important response of the medical profession to these changes has been its growing recognition that the application of quantitative, empirically-based methodologies to the social phenomenon of health does not necessarily produce results which can usefully inform the practice of medicine in its lived social and cultural contexts (3.). Instead, there has been an increasing emphasis on the quality of life for patients as the measure of the effectiveness of healthcare (4.).


Apparently, there are only 10,000 trangendered people in the UK and the main argument for their treatment is that it is cheaper to perform the corrective surgery than provide a life-time of psychological care. It is a rare procedure.

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 11:23 am
by rachael_Archive
Cranius wrote:Connor, I'm curious as to why surgeons in the US are in agreement not to carry out gender reassignment treatments anymore. Here in the UK there is a 98% success rate for this surgery, with only 1% of patients regretting having the surgery. At current, it is the only known effective treatment for transsexualism. If you compare this to the 70's, when patients were treated with group and aversion therapies, there was a suicide rate 30%. So, I think would be safe in saying that it is a life-saving surgery, as people do kill and mutilate themselves form this disorder. It is also regarded here as an inborn disability and treated equally to other correctable disabilities.


Cranius, thank you for weighing in on this....

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 5:21 pm
by terikeiser_Archive
unarmedman wrote:
steve wrote:The happily transgendered people out there would tell you you're full of shit. And they're not speculating.



Ok then! Find me all your happily transgendered friends, and have them join electrical! They can all PM me and tell me how much their life is better and more fulfilling for being a different sex! And they can tell me how completely healthy they are!

And then I'll be full of shit!

End-o Story!


And then you were SO full of shit
(unless you meant Steve specifically)

NOT CRAP
The little homo is coming out of lurking for this one.

I have 2 good friends who are very happy Female to Male. And I have an ex-girlfriend who is on her way to being him.
All happy and healthy.

but my question is...does that make her my ex-boyfriend?
conundrum

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:10 pm
by unarmedman_Archive
terikeiser wrote:
unarmedman wrote:
steve wrote:The happily transgendered people out there would tell you you're full of shit. And they're not speculating.




Ok then! Find me all your happily transgendered friends, and have them join electrical! They can all PM me and tell me how much their life is better and more fulfilling for being a different sex! And they can tell me how completely healthy they are!

And then I'll be full of shit!

End-o Story!


And then you were SO full of shit
(unless you meant Steve specifically)



That was directed @ steve, but hey, go ahead and pick it up - that's fine by me.

So, see? I guess I'm full of shit!

Good for them. And you will have an ex-boyfriend. So then, I guess you'll be full of shit too, then!

I keed, I keed.

Have a happy evening, gender-contents (and malcontents) of electrical!

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:35 pm
by only here_Archive
unarmedman wrote:Have a happy evening, gender-contents (and malcontents) of electrical!

especially cranius' recently neutered kitty!

unarmed man , who's that guy in your avatar?

[edit: cat not dog!]

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:43 pm
by unarmedman_Archive
only here wrote:especially cranius' recently neutered bitch!

unarmed man , who's that guy in your avatar?



Now cranius will have a gender-confused cat! Maybe it can get up on here and post how its doing in a few weeks.

And I have no idea who that is in my avatar....it was just a picture I found on a friend's page on myspace. It's one of those pictures that makes me laugh more, the longer I look at it. YMMV. Or is it, YLMV?


edit: IT IS A CAT!!!

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 2:14 am
by cowtown14_Archive
Not crap.

And I take two issues with two previous comments in particular:
1)
let's leave mental health aside for now.
the sex change operation is a cosmetic surgery.


I can't think of anything less "cosmetic" than sexual identity. This at least is psychological and, in fact, spiritual if you believe in that sort of thing in any sense you understand it.

2)
I think that unnecessary surgery is always crap.


"Unnecessary." I don't think you know what this word means.

And also,
3) When somebody else does something I would never imagine doing myself, I first assume that life dealt them a hand I can't imagine holding.

B.

[/b]

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 5:26 am
by Linus Van Pelt_Archive
Okay, here's what I'll say, and I'll try to be more concise:

The fact that some people want/need a sex change is a function of the society we live in, and I think it's sad that this society makes some people want/need a sex change. However, given that some people want/need a sex change, I think it's good that they can get one.

How is that?

Act: Sex Change

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 8:49 am
by Tom_Archive
cowtown14 wrote:2)
I think that unnecessary surgery is always crap.


"Unnecessary." I don't think you know what this word means.


No. I understand this word just fine. Thanks though.

As I've said,
If one's gender issues prevents them from getting on in the world and if surgery is the only way that they can overcome these issues, then yes- it is necessary.