Hi..
Yes you still get interrogated randomly at Charing Cross. I got it twice and tore off a strip at the start despite having referrals from Dr Mau in Vienna and Dr Trevor Turner a consultant psychiatrist in East London.
And yes it's a bit of regime.. I take it in turns with my specialist.. some appointments are spent dealing with my trans issues, and some appointments are spent with me listening to his body image issues. But I guess he's got my best interests at heart.
I've been thrown off the program twice but taken back twice, so maybe I'm giving as good as I'm getting.. lol.
But moving on to the main question do we really need a 'transsexual finishing school'?
My take on this is that femininity is individual, it's something you've got to work out and discover for yourself. It's not really something anyone can spoonfeed you.
I went into formal domestic service .. as a housemaid.. the full Gosford Park type gig. Up at the crack of dawn, 15 minutes into uniform, have the kitchen spotless and coffee prepared by 7am and so on.
It taught me a lot, I learned how to clean, do chores, cook, wash, iron, scrub, also how to organize, sort, arrange, multi-task, how to put others first, prioritize my own needs, get control over emotions and so much more. Had to learn stuff about dressing, make up, etiquette, manners, because most weeks on at least two evenings I'd be serving dinner at the table for up to eight people.
What it didn't teach me was how to live out in the wider world, be independent, how to deal with life on a day to day basis. I was sort of cocooned in an environment of symbiosis and support, I rarely left the house, because I was always working..
But it taught me how to relate to the world and other people as a woman and got me over completely any sense of male privilege.
And while body issues keep me from progressing, the specialists at Charing Cross agree that at least psychologically and emotionally, I'm good for surgery.
