SRS or GRS?

[Hypatia]

Phalloplasty.

Right--so I'm trying to settle on a term that covers both *plasties.

Posted on: April 01, 2008, 09:21:14 PMThat Wikipedia article I linked to has this to say about the nomenclature:

While some feel that the term "sex reassignment surgery" would more accurately be called "genital reassignment surgery" or "genital reconstruction surgery", it is important to note that the surgeries related to transgender transition go beyond the genitalia, and that the medical procedures go beyond surgery.

I'm beginning to despair of finding a consensus on this...

[NicholeW.]

I'm beginning to despair of finding a consensus on this...

You've been connected to 'the community' for how long, luv? 

And when was the last time you discovered a 'consensus' amongst us for anything but that it's time to eat?  >

N~

And even THAT is problematic on most occasions!! 

[Purple Pimp]

Hmmm... some may see this as controversial, but what the heck

Personally I prefer cosmetic surgery (CS).  I believe that the word sex is too broad a term to use as it can be associated with a persons gender, the difference between male and female, and/or the act of (having sex), and in some parts of society the word sex is seen as something bad, never talked about at the dinner table.  Gender on the other hand is too narrow a term as it simply means either being of the male or female type.

Further to this I don't believe that you can change either you gender or your sex when dealing in this situation.  Cosmetic surgery on the other hand, is used to alter, improve, enhance "physical" body parts.  So for me I had cosmetic surgery to alter certain body parts so that they were congruent with, and reflected my true gender.

I think the use of the terms GRS, SRS, or any other "Reassignment" surgeries contributes to the confusion and none acceptance by those who are not transsexual.  many feel that gender or sex can't be reassigned as a person is born male or female.

Steph

I agree with many of your points, but I think that calling it cosmetic surgery is just as problematic.  Not only does it reinforce the view that it shouldn't be covered by insurance (which could potentially change under a universal health care system), but the vast majority of people feel that "sex" is a fundamental, biological thing that is not socially constructed ("gender" notwithstanding).  "Cosmetic" implies a superficial change, and I'm afraid does a good deal to hurt transsexuals' ability to be perceived as the sex they feel that they really are (it's bad enough that private insurance companies call SRS/GRS "cosmetic," imagine the nightmare if it were legally classified as such.  If it's only cosmetic, where is the justification in altering the sex marker on our legal documents?).

Just food for thought,
Lia

[Alyssa M.]

Female chauvinist! What about the dudes?

"Top" or "bottom"? Both fall under "NunnaMyBidness." See my original post. I'll let the the gentlemen speak for themselves. Actually, the "which surgury?" question was a complaint of a trans guy I know, part of a general complaint about the overemphasis on women in discussions of transsexual and transgender issues -- either "reverse" sexism or just regular old-fashioned sexism, depending on how you look at it (and who's doing the looking).

[lady amarant]

Vaginoplasty. That's what it is.

Ding! I think we have a winner.

~Simone

[Hypatia]

Vaginoplasty. That's what it is.

Ding! I think we have a winner.

~Simone

That's what it is for one-half of the population. Again, I'm looking for the term that includes everyone.

[Purple Pimp]

Maybe there isn't a term that works for both MTFs and FTMs.  The problem in the first place is that not everyone agrees with what is actually happening in a "sex change" procedure.  Is the sex being changed (what is sex in the first place, legal, hormonal, genital, chromosomal, etc.)?  IMHO, the gender certainly isn't being changed, since gender is mainly social.  Maybe the gender is being "realigned," if you are a believer in the idea that the gender of a transsexual is the gender they always were to begin with (just with the wrong equipment).  Finally, the surgery is much more than genital, since in lots of jurisdictions "the operation" entails a great many legal changes of status and rights.

Since no name really fits, it might just need inventing a new term that takes into account all these crazy contradictions without being verbose.  Maybe we can invent some really dada-esque term.  I think I'll call my operation "the penguin drop."

Lia

[Blanche]

I've heard GCS in some parts of Switzerland.  Gender Confirmation surgery.  I don't quite care how you call it.  I just want to have it done.

[TreeFlower]

Please don't call it cosmetic surgery.  Insurance companies don't cover cosmetic surgery.

BTW: One year after my surgery my insurance company started covering it.   

[Lisbeth]

GRS: Genital Reconstruction Surgery.

[Hypatia]

I had always been in the habit of saying SRS, but lately it's seemed like everyone and her sister are saying GRS. Especially outside the United States. I wrote to Dr. Brassard's office in Montréal and they wrote back calling it GRS, which got me thinking about this. My friends over in the UK are consistently calling it GRS. Meanwhile Dr. Bowers's office in Colorado wrote back to me calling it alternately SRS and GRS both.

I was just wondering if GRS were taking over from SRS or what. But so far here SRS is outpolling GRS by almost 2 to 1. So I'm really not sure.

Lia-- Social and legal implications aside, it's simply about the genitals/sex organs. Why complicate it with speculations about all the varied and controversial meanings of "sex," is my view. Just name what happens to the body, which should be uncontroversial.

[lady amarant]

Okay, so if we need a term that covers both FtM and MtF, does not mention sex or gender, has nothing to do with plastic surgery, rolls off the tongue nicely and ... I don't know, promotes world peace at the same time, I'm going to go with Gender Confirmation Surgery. Nice and benign, says what it means, and though a bit cumbersome, it kinda works.

[TreeFlower]

I like Gender Confirmation Surgery, GCS.

We need a new poll with all the options, SRS, GRS, GCS, etc.

[Sandy]

Jeez!  So much traffic about such a simple thing!

We all know all the terms, GRS, SRS, top surgery, bottom surgery, ad nausem... when any of us talks about it, we all know what they're talking about.  Trying to standardize on a single term seems pointless.  Especially since most of the doctors use different terms also.

But it is fun to talk about it.

-Sandy

[Kate]

Trying to standardize on a single term seems pointless.  Especially since most of the doctors use different terms also.

Sure, I don't think a consensus is possible since most of these phrases imply what the surgery means to us... which is often different for everyone.

~Kate~

[Natasha]

sex affirmation surgery.  why?  & the term applies to mtf's and ftm's.  how about that?

This term is preferable to the terms Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS) or Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS). SAS is the most precise medically.


It highlights the fact that the surgeon only makes corrections to anatomical structures. This procedure is emphatically not a reassignment of gender (for that is immutable), nor is it a reassignment of sex (for that occurred during the process of preliminary HRT).


This surgery brings congruence between gender and anatomical genitalia, so the title  Sex Affirmation Surgery is not only medically precise, it describes for others what the surgeon has done. He has not changed sex or gender, he has merely fixed a physical structure.

[Just Mandy]

Does anyone else HATE the word transsexual or is it just me?

I guess I relate it to what the media has painted us as and it's never been
very flattering and actually could not be further from the truth from
what I've seen.

Amanda

[Kate]

Does anyone else HATE the word transsexual or is it just me?

I avoid using it as much as possible. I don't hate the term itself, I just don't want to be thought of as "a transsexual." A thing. A word. I want people to see and deal with ME, the person standing in front of them, and not some bundle of misconceptions and assumptions they have about what "a transsexual" is.

~Kate~

[Natasha]

Does anyone else HATE the word transsexual or is it just me?

it isnt just you.  read my signature

you must be wondering why the transsexual label is inflammatory, yes?

because....

In any case, transsexualism is a badly defined term. To use transsexual as a noun is dehumanising, leaches people with with this syndrome of their personality, and makes it easy for the bigoted to think of them as being "other", "weird", and "perverted". People with this syndrome have a particular medical condition, it is not the basis and ground of their identity, and we should not see them as "laboratory specimens" or "circus freaks".


The adjectival use is hardly better. People all too easily construe "transsexual man" or "transsexual woman" as "false man" or "impostor woman". Many are confused because of this term as to the proper term to call a person with this condition. They wonder whether they should address them as "man" or "woman". This is the source of such vile constructions as "she-male and "he-she".

After a childhood spent in the wrong social gender, and being in much confusion consequently, a person with this condition is most in need of consonance in their psychophysical identity. The driving need in one's life becomes the achievement of congruence between neurological gender and anatomical reality. At the same time, there is a desire to leave all sexual ambiguities behind, to have wholeness in the gestalt of body, soul, and mind.


It is diabolically cruel to affix the label of "transsexual" onto a person for the rest of their life. They do not engage themselves in a life-long journey between the sexes; it is only a temporary stage on the way to total personal congruency. This usage of transsexual clearly suggests and implies that the person involved is never a true man or woman, but rather a pariah and on a perpetual pilgrimage between the sexes.


Whenever the term "transsexual man" or "transsexual woman" is used, the strong implication is that they are not truly men or women. It matters not if the person involved is at peace because they have finally reached congruence or if their personal appearance is well within the bounds of their sex.


This term robs the person with this syndrome of full completion, it steals the peace of congruence, and it smirkily informs one that no matter how much one tries, you shall never be allowed to end the perpetual wandering of transsexuality. The continual accusations never give you rest, and you shall never be finally safe at home, in concord and harmony.


This is ironic, because we live in an age where we can correct the physical anomalies completely. This is cruel because the time of transition is only a year or two at most, but as long as one is a "transsexual", many shall never allow you to reach the far shore.


You must stay anchored out in the harbour, and only hear the laughter and joy of others ashore in the city. You must wear a placard about your neck proclaiming your status, ring a bell loudly, and shout, "Leper, Leper! Unclean, unclean"! as you make your way amongst the crowd.


The term transsexual comes from two Latin roots. "Trans" is a prefix that means through, across, beyond, or to change. "Sexual" is a verb that comes from the Latin sexualis, which means anything associated with sex or the sexes. We can see where the original derivation of the word came from. It referred to someone who was in the process of moving between the two sexes.


It is unfair to burden people permanently with labels that are no longer appropriate or applicable once changes are made, obstacles are overcome, surgery is finished, and they have taken their place in society in their proper gender. If you must give a classification, let me suggest two: "man" and "woman". Full stop.

the term "trans" should die in a fire.

[Just Mandy]

Yea, that's true for me too.

Since I brought up the media and I'm off topic anyway ... Candis Cayne who play's Carmelita on
Dirty Sexy Money is the first TS that I'm aware of on a prime time show and she
is so good... but I love that show. She advances the public perception of us by miles
in my opinion.

Amanda

Posted on: April 02, 2008, 03:50:19 PM

"I'm a woman that was born with Harry Benjamin Syndrome; I'm not trans-anything"

I never read those quotes at the bottom.... LOL... just joking

That is a great way of saying it Natasha.