Transsexual
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
A transsexual is a person who feels inside that he or she is a different sex from what his or her body looks like outside. Transsexuals may do things to make their body match how they feel inside.
A person born with a male sexed body who feels like a woman inside is a Male to Female (acronym: MTF, M2F, MF) transsexual. She should be addressed and talked about as a woman. When discussing MTF people you should use she and her. This article will talk about MTF people this way.
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[edit] Transsexuals and Transgender
Other people may also feel this way but transsexuals are people who take medicine and sometimes have surgery to make their body outside match what they feel like inside. So transsexuals (people who take medicine and have surgery) are a part of a bigger group called transgender. Anyone whose gender identity does not match his or her body may call themselves transgender. Transsexuals are those transgender people who change their body to make their body match their inner gender identity.
[edit] Medical Treatment
Transsexual people may have special operations (sometimes called "Sex Reassignment Surgery" or a "Sex Change") to make their body match the gender they are inside. Transsexual people also usually take hormones to change their body as well.
When transsexual people take these treatments (and sometimes before) they start living and dressing as their new sex. The whole process of living in a new gender role, taking medicines, and having surgery is called transition.
In the past no transsexual person would ever be given medicines or surgery until they had lived as the other sex for a while. This was usually for one or two years. It was sometimes called a Real Life Experience (RLE) or Real Life Test (RLT.) The reason for this was to make sure that the person really knew what life would be like after transition. However, may transsexual people hated the RLE. This was partly because they felt that doctors did not respect them enough to make their own decisions. It was also because some transsexual people were placed in terrible danger by the RLE. If a transsexual women had a deep voice, facial hair, and was two meters tall, it would be very dangerous for her to go into a women's restroom even if she wore a dress and make-up!
So today, some doctors will treat people before they have a RLE.
[edit] MTF Treatments
MTF transsexuals take female hormones: estrogen and sometimes progesterone. They also take medicines to make their body stop making or responding to testosterone. These are called 'anti-androgens.' (Androgen means male sex hormone.) Often this is spironolactone.
Hormonal treatments for MTF transsexuals (transsexual women) does not work as well as it does for FTM transsexuals. It causes breasts to grow, but it will not reverse many of the effects of testosterone. It does not make beards go away. It does not make voices higher. So transsexual women have to do many other things to make their bodies more female.
They have treatment to remove their facial hair. This is usually through electrolysis. This is a treatment where electricity is applied to the hair that kills the hair so it does not grow back. This is a painful treatment that can cause scars if done wrong. Transsexual women have to have many electrolysis treatments over months to years.
Sometimes transsexual women with deep voices may have surgery to raise them. However these surgeries are dangerous and do not work very well. So many transsexual women try to make their voice sound higher and more female without surgery. Sometimes they go to 'voice coaches' to get help with this.
Many transsexual women also get surgery on their genitals. The most common surgery is a 'vaginoplasty.' Usually this is done by making a vagina from the skin of the penis which is turned inside out. This surgery is often very effective. Some transsexual women have had examinations by gynecologist (doctors who specialize in women's medicine) who did not figure out they were transsexual!
Some transsexual women also have Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS) to make their face more female-looking. They may also have surgery to make their breasts larger if the hormones are not enough.
[edit] FTM Treatments
FTM transsexuals also take hormones. Testosterone works much better for FTM transsexuals than estrogen does for MTF transsexuals. Testosterone will make a transsexual man's voice deeper. It will make a beard grow (and can cause baldness!) Testosterone also cause menstruation to stop.
Some transsexual men may be able to be seen by people as completely male after a year or two of testosterone. This is especially true if he has small breasts.
Transsexual men also get surgery. The most common surgery is a mastectomy (removal of breasts.) After a mastectomy, most transsexual men are completely accepted as men in society, because they look exactly like non-transsexual men except for their genitals.
However, many transsexual men also want genital surgery. Some just get a total hysterectomy which is removal of the uterus and ovary. Some may also get surgery on their outside genitals.
The two most common surgeries are a phalloplasty and a metaidioplasty. A phalloplasty takes skin and tissue from somewhere else on the transsexual man's body and makes it into a penis. A metaidioplasty takes the clitoris (which grows bigger with testosterone) and puts it where the penis usually is. The urethra where urine comes out can be made longer and run through the new penis. This allows a transsexual man to urinate through his penis.
The advantage of the phalloplasty is that it looks more like a normal penis. But it does not work as well to have and enjoy sex. A metaidioplasty has more sexual function, but it looks very small. This is because the clitoris, even with testosterone for years usually only gets about 5-6 cm long.
Often these surgeries also have scrotoplasty which makes a scrotum from the labia. They may also have a removal or closure of the vagina.
[edit] How to get treatment
Many transsexual people have trouble finding a doctor who will treat them. This is even the case in western countries. Some doctors do not understand that being transsexual is a real medical problem that should be treated like any other illness.
However, doctors who treat transsexual people understand that it is an important condition. If people are treated with medicine and surgery they are much happier. They also have much lower risk of depression and suicide. In transsexual people who are not treated, 20% may attempt suicide. After treatment, less than 2% of transsexual women and less than 1% of transsexual men attempt suicide. 1 2
Doctors who treat transsexual people may belong to [HBIGDA]. HBIGDA stands for Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. This is an association for professionals who treat transsexual people. Gender Dysphoria is the medical name for transsexualism. It is also called GID or Gender Identity Disorder. Harry Benjamin was the doctor who first started treating many transsexual people. Dr Benjamin also wrote about treatments for transsexual people and made other doctors aware of the condition.
One problem people also have in getting treatment is paying for treatments. Even in countries with national health insurance, most transsexual people must pay for their care. However, this is changing. Many governments are realizing that treating transsexual people is as important as treating people with other conditions like diabetes. Some private insurance companies are also starting to pay for treatments.
[edit] External links
- Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
- HBIGDA
- Tom Waddell Clinic Transgender Protocol - MTF and FTM treatment information for doctors from a Clinic in San Francisco, California, USA that treats many transsexual people.
- Endocrine treatment of transsexual people: a review of treatment regimens, outcomes, and adverse effects - Review Article for doctors on treatment of transsexual people. This is a great article along with the Tom Waddell protocols to give to a doctor new to treating transsexual patients.
- Trangender Workplace Diversity Blog - Information for company managers about transsexual people in the workplace