Transgender police officer says becoming a woman 'wasn't even a thought'

[traci_k]

Transgender police officer says becoming a woman 'wasn't even a thought'

http://news.yahoo.com/transgender-police-officer-says-becoming-woman-wasnt-even-091427373.html;_ylt=A0LEVvQOXoFVC1wA2lMnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEzZjZpNzAxBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDRkZVSUMwXzEEc2VjA3Nj

Reuters via Yahoo News
By Magdalena Mis

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Stephenie Robinson, a British transgender police officer born Stephen, never felt like she was trapped in a wrong body and never dreamed of living life as a woman.

Robinson's transition from man to woman began 35 years ago with one doctor's diagnosis that the reason behind her unmanageable sex drive, suicide attempts, violent outbursts and occasional cross-dressing was simply because Robinson should have been female.
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A very unusual and intriguing story about a trans-woman who didn't even know she was trans and began transitioning in the 1980. Happily for her the diagnosis and treatment were correct and her life now, as she says, exceeds anything that she can remember.

[suzifrommd]

Weird story. I thought I'd heard it all with my ear to Susan's Place, but this one's new.

What makes me uncomfortable is the part about the doctor's diagnosis. It perpetuates the destructive myth that we are incapable of identifying our own gender and need a doctor's word to validate our gender experience. There's a lot more to the story than we're being told, because the symptoms she presented would not make me think "transgender". However if she's living as a woman without dysphoria then she's certainly one of us, so the doctor ended up on the money, I guess.

[traci_k]

What I found fascinating was the diagnosis was made in 1980, when knowledge about trans-folk was getting out of the trans-dark ages. How the doctors came to that diagnosis is rather beyond me, however as she has no dysphoria and extremely happy, the docs appear to have gotten this one right.

[rachel89]

This really interesting. It shows that not all trans people have the narrative of knowing since age 4, which is really common and is usually the narrative portrayed in the media. I think the doctor in this case seemed really perceptive with understanding the hormonal imbalance aspect of being a transsexual. In some ways this narrative fits me.
Crazy sex drive. Check. Sometimes I feel the need to relieve sexual urges 5-6 times a day. 
Suicide attempts. I've occasionally thought about checking out, but only have one half-hearted attempt involving driving a car on the wrong side of a rural at night. This was after I sort of knew about my trans status, but before I started seeing a therapist.
Violent outbursts. Check.
Occasional cross-dressing. Check. I started doing it a little bit in college and started doing it a lot before I realized I am trans.
I wonder how many other people here have similar narratives, not necessarily with the therapist presenting the alternatives to HRT as aversion or brain surgery though.
She was really lucky to have a therapist who could help her put the pieces together.