Here is the article. I read it yesterday as well. If you don't have the surgery then what exactly is the criteria for legally declaring yourself to be of the opposite sex you were born with?

I thought it was very interesting.

Neither Man Nor Woman is a good place to start to begin understanding the role of gender identification has in society and in psyche. We may not have to understand or embrace what others choose to do, but I personally find the attempt to understand what others choose to do helps me understand my own choices better. Gender roles are intensely powerful forces in society, and understanding what (if anything) is "real" about them and what is artificial goes a long way towards understanding why people act like they do.

I believe in California it does require the surgery to legally change your gender. You can find the forms here. An affidavit from a doctor of sex change is required.

The transgendered people I've known all were simply living as their preferred gender but none had plans for gender reassignment surgery (some because it was just too expensive others because they weren't interested).

Also they weren't all "gay." I haven't known any female-to-male transgendered but the men were split between being sexually/romantically interested in men or women.

Transgendered folks that I have met have pretty much all been "straight" in their chosen gender.

Yeah, from what I understand, transgendered is not enough to change legal gender identity. You need to be transsexual ... or a Transylvanian from the Planet Transsexual at the very least. ;)


scaeagles, I say I have work to do because I clearly don't grok Trans fully, and although it doesn't keep me awake at night - I resent their inclusion in the LGBT family of which I am a crusading member.

If I resent them ... it's my problem, not theirs. I'd like to work on it.

I give you a lot of props for this statement. Kudos to you for knowing the difference - not many people do.

I guess I don't have much to say about what Chastity Bono is doing. I say, good luck, Chaz. Hope it is a smooth transition.
:)

Do they need to find an organ donor or do they make something out of her bits? I know they do with the latter (basically turning the penis inside out), but what do they do for what she is doing?

I believe that there are chemicals which enlarge the cl!toris. He'll never be well endowed, but it'll be there.

I could also be wrong, I'm not the best informed on such topics.

I disagree.

Well, you don't HAVE to understand. But I think it's important to try.

It helps me to try to understand people and their motivations, their needs, their wishes. It helps me to consider others in my daily interactions, and to consider the larger picture of how the human world moves.

So it doesn't matter whether I'm trying to understand gay people or trans-identified people or republicans or illegal immigrants or bullies or animal trainers. Seeking to understand them, hard as it may be sometimes, helps me be a better person - not just to them, but to everyone.