Transsexualism
Name(s):
Change of sex
Change of gender
Trans-sexualism
Nature
Transsexualism is the desire for a change of sex, usually commencing in puberty. Transsexuals may take on the role of the opposite sex, may practise transvestism, or may seek a physical change through surgery, though this cannot be complete and is usually very painful. Trans-sexuals may try to persuade doctors to effect the change by way of repair for mutilation or castration. Hormones may be used by men to induce breasts. Male transsexuals may be homo- or heterosexual; female transsexuals are usually lesbians. In rare cases there is a physical basis for change, such as hermaphroditism.
Incidence
While the full extent of transsexualism is not known, some indication is provided by the number of operations performed. The number of applications for operations does not provide an accurate indication because some transvestites may seek transsexual operations for the purposes of their livelihood, in a night-club or in the practice of prostitution for male prostitutes who have become too old to attract paedophiles. It is estimated that there is from one transsexual in 30,000 to one in 100,000 persons. It is generally agreed that those born women are far fewer, one in three or four, than those born men.
Claim
Transsexualism is a mental disorder, a psychosis involving the logical organization of delusions based on false premises. It is a disorder of gender identity and is not erotic in nature.
Counter-claim
Transsexuals are not homosexual, lesbians nor transvestites. They reject the gender assigned to them, of which they have the complete morphology and even the genetic structure. They have a strong feeling and deeply rooted belief that they belong to the opposite sex. Psychologically, they find their situation incongruous and feel only alienation vis-a-vis their body and revulsion for their genital organs. They desire to live as a member of the opposite sex and they seek to change their sexual appearance through hormones and surgery and subsequently have their civil status amended.
Aggravated by
Strategy(ies)
Value(s)
Reference(s)
Type
(F) Fuzzy exceptional problems