What makes a Transsexual?

[LG]

If a person is making the effort towards transitioning, I wholeheartedly,
and with open arms,welcome them as a Sister. However there are many
of us who have worked very hard to be the women we are, and I am
somewhat adverse to recognizing those that have not paid their dues.

I accept that. Although not everyone can afford those dues.

An intelligent reply as always though, peggy, thank you. And, like I said, you girls can answer these questions better than any of us.

We're still learning. We want to know more, but we will never fully, truly grasp it all.

[peggygee]

If a person is making the effort towards transitioning, I wholeheartedly,
and with open arms,welcome them as a Sister. However there are many
of us who have worked very hard to be the women we are, and I am
somewhat adverse to recognizing those that have not paid their dues.

I accept that. Although not everyone can afford those dues.

An intelligent reply as always though, peggy, thank you. And, like I said, you girls can answer these questions better than any of us.

We're still learning. We want to know more, but we will never fully, truly grasp it all.

I don't necessarily mean monetary dues. Additionally I neither ethically
condone or condemn a girl if she choses to escort in the furtherance of
her transition.

It is truly her decision and I would hope that she would think long and
hard on all of the ramifications, both in the short run and long run.
Decisions that you make today, can last a lifetime.

There are many ways to make money, just don't let the money make you.

A person that is truly committed to making their transition occur, can
make it happen, albeit not always at the rate that they desire.

In this 'thing of ours' few are chosen, and even fewer make it to their
goal.

And everyone isn't cut out for it.

[suckseed]

...

[NYTSJulie]

Great thread Vicki,

Well I think if someone is "true" a transsexual they have or will do things to alter their body. They will also go to ANY length to correct what they feel is wrong with their body.

This is why there are so many TS's working in the sex industry. Most are looking to get the money to afford a proper transition, not because they like sex lol.

I think with a "true" transsexual passing is VERY important to them. To be treated like a woman and live in accordance with the gender role of a female also.

Have to run (going to have my sister roll-in-pin my freshly pumped behind, lol) will write more later..........Kisses....Julie

[peggygee]

Why? Well first, a "shemale" can live as a woman with a penis for 10-20 years in some cases. However, I would say most "shemales" can afford to go post-op many times over. Allanah, Gia, Danielle, myself, Joanna Jet, Vo, Jennifer Paris, Vaniity, Holly Sweet... all these girls could have gone post op at any time because we have all had enough money to do so many times in our lives. If we truly were experiencing revulsion for the penis it would have been gone. Period.

And many in such a position call themselves non-op: but will this remain so? One TS I know who is in her 50s (and is a beautiful, voluptuous woman fwiw) tells me she is non-op and has no intention of SRS; given her age, I believe her. When an escort in her 20s or early 30s says the same thing, I wonder if it's only marketing, since they know what brings in the $$, but will change their minds when they're in their 40s or 50s. Regardless of this distinction, it does seem clear that such women (even if they would have preferred to have been born with a vagina) do not truly feel revulsion for their penis or they would have gone for SRS when they could afford it.

^ Yeah, what he said. ^

I am always intriqued by women or men who say, "If you have SRS, how
will you make your money".

Or the other one I hear "If I have SRS, then I will be just like any other
woman".

If these are major concerns, then SRS may not be the best decision for
you at this point in your life.

[Ecstatic]

We're still learning. We want to know more, but we will never fully, truly grasp it all.

So very true, LG. I strive to understand as well as possible, but there are those boundaries I can never cross not being transgendered let alone transsexual myself. I'm just very grateul to women like Peggy, Julie, Vicki, Jen, and others who take care to express their insights and experiences as fully as possible, even if it is akin to describing color to a blind man. The more varied their responses, the more we learn.

What's most important to me is that I have come to make many friends who are transgendered, some casual and a few fairly close. I just had a wonderful long phone call with one of my dearest TG friends tonight, who I hadn't spoken with in a while, and it was so great to catch up on all aspects of our lives. (Heck, the convo was going strong when my cell phone battery died, lol.)

[tonkatoy]

Holy Christ you type a lot Peggygee.....

[Hannibal Lecter]

Mental illness or not..

Transsexuallity is a phenomenon that entirely stems from the human brain.
It is either some kind of mental disorder (which seems to be very
unlikely scenario, according to the recent researches), or even
more likely could be caused by some physical conditions inside the individual's brain.

"Some researchers have discovered that a region of the hypothalamus,
located at the floor of the brain, is about 50 percent larger in men
than in women, and almost 60 percent larger in men than in male-to-female
transsexuals. If smallness of this brain structure is at all correlated
with the feeling of being a woman, the results raise tantalizing possibilities
that transsexuals may in a sense be more female than females..... "

According to this, we could have to deal with some kind of mismatch in anatomy of the
human being. Unfortunately, our medicine is still not at such advanced level
to be able to deal with that kind of problem, but I personally hope and expect
that some day, the human science should be developed enough to deal with that easily.
And that's not because I do not like transsexuals, or something ... The thing is actually
quite opposite: I do admire transsexuals, i like them, yes, I even truly love some
of them. And not because of their penises, not at all. It's rather simply because they are
something extra, something very special. Many of them are like unread books, unread bestsellers
if You like it so. At the same time i feel kind of sorry for them. Simply because I know that they
suffer a lot through their lives. They certainly do not deserve that kind of destiny.

[MrsKellyPierce]

What his/her gut feels and tells them. It is what guides you or will keep you going in the end. You just need to listen to your own voice inside you, and do something about it and talk about it. Don't fear it or be ashamed of it, embrace it.

There are all different types of what people are comfortable with and not comfortable with. Some transexuals are against plastic surgery, while others are all for it.

I think if we put sole status on the plastic surgery aspect it becomes more shallow than what it is truly about. You felt as your needed gender long before the first stitch or first pill or shot. Otherwise you wouldn't be going through the steps to feel comfortable in your own skin.

There really is no wrong or right answer in this, besides whatever you do if it's not hurting anyone be happy and do it a 110 %

In other words if you are happy inside with your extent of transition and feel as your needed gender, stick with it and don't let someone else belittle you, because they have a different view. The only view that matters is yours when it comes to YOU.

[yosi]

The Dr. Harry S. Benjamin's Gender Disorientation Scale is a continuim,
a scale. Individuals may not fit nearly and squarely into each definition.

The Benjamin scale is different but realated to the APA definitions.

Again, i tend to feel that you and the women you have mentioned would
more accurately fit into the Type Five designation. Type Five: True
Transsexual (moderate intensity)

If a shemale feels like a woman , looks like a woman , acts like a woman and moody like a woman - she is a woman.

it's not her cock that defines her.

scaling to different types , makes life easier for Dr. Benjamin but it doesn't mean that it is all true, it's not black and white , there are other colors