I actually did read all three chapters in entirety about two months ago. I found it here:
http://www.mtftransition.com/t-girl.htmThere is a lot of stereotyping and generalizations in the article but I do actually agree with the overall points the author is making. If you read it in entirety from beginning to end and especially the introducion/disclaimer then you can read it in its proper context. I don't agree with everything the author is stating and sure it is a depressing article.
The impression I got from the author is that this piece is designed as a stern warning to those considering an MTF transition to think very clearly about the choices they make and the possible consequences. It also appears to be designed to weed out the true TSs from those who fantasize about being TS. The author states in the disclaimer that by titling the article "So you wanna be a t-girl" was designed to lure those fantasizing about being TS to the site. It appears to generally not even be designed for TSs but to steer those away from transition who really shouldn't be transitioning in the first place. The author does state repeatedly throughout the article that "women are born, they are not created" referring to MTF TSs being "a woman born in a man's body."
The reason I agree with a lot of these views in the article is due to what I have seen in the bar scene time and time again. As ->-bleeped-<- is starting to get more accepted in society, a lot of people are now seeing being TS as some type of trendy thing. You have "->-bleeped-<- ->-bleeped-<-s" trying to hook up with TS women (pre-ops of course). A lot of people calling themselves TS are really just glorified crossdressers who want big boobs yet prefer to use their pensies to penetrate men. In fact most of the self-identified TSs I run into at bars love their penises, use them regularly, do not want hormones because of their effects on libido, and have no intention of SRS. Note that I'm not referring to TS people overall but specifically the ones I run into at the typical GLBT bars in my city which are hopefully NOT overall representative of TS people.
There is a lot of confusion about ->-bleeped-<- often among trans people themselves. You have the drag queen performers, crossdressers, self-identified TSs who really just want to dress like girls and have boobs yet still have sex as men, and then those who actually meet the definition of TS by medical standards and transition completely to the best of their ability. There is nothing wrong with any of these different types of TG people and I think the diversity is great and it is part of what makes us human. I don't think there should be any hostile reactions between one type of TG person trying to make the other type somehow less legitimate which often happens. Unfortunately, due to this diversity there is a serious amount of misinformation out there. Thus, you have a lot of people calling themselves TS and transitioning at least to some level when it might not be wise. Simply getting boobs and throwing on a dress doesn't make one TS. This bar crowd I mentioned generally has not transitioned according to the Standards of Care, many of which have gotten the boobs in Mexico or taken direct silicone injections from the street, taken some hormones from the street, and find employment in sex work, pornography, and drag shows for a very prolonged period of time (10 years or more) with no intention of sensible and normal employment or any type of respectable lifestyle.
So when someone comes along who is questioning their own gender identity it can be rather dangerous for them to run into these types of bar girls who will likely give them terrible advice. I think the article does serve its purpose of trying to weed out the non-TS types of TG people (crossdressers, those with fantasies/fetishes, etc.) from a transition and those who really are women trapped in mens' bodies who should transition. Simply put, the article isn't really written for us so it doesn't apply to us and is meant to scare off those who shouldn't transition in the first place.
Before anyone gets upset with me, I'm not saying anyone is or is not a TS and am leaving that up to the medical definitions. But I've been around the bar crowd at GLBT venues long enough to know that there is a ton of nonsense out there and sometimes generalizations are necessary as long as you are smart enough to know there are exceptions to the rule. I will personally warn others to be extremely wary of taking any type of advice from self-identified TS people who meet most or all of the following conditions:
1. Have no intention of SRS, enjoy their male organs, use them regularly, and do not want a drop in male libido
2. Self-medicate/self-surgery: hormones from the streets, silicone injections from the streets, self-castration, boobs and other ops. from other countries where the standards of care is not required
3. Revolve their life around being TS: perform at drag bars in drag shows, make sex work and porn a lifestyle and profession over the long term (not just as a temporary measure to put food on the table), and treat TS as something trendy and to show off, identify more as a TS than just as a woman which is what an MTF TS acutally is
4. Go for years on end with no sense of a normal lifestyle, no lawful employment or profession or intention of getting a job, instead lives a life expecting sugar daddies to take care of them, trouble with the law repeatedly, does not and has no plans/intentions of living a financially independent lifestyle with own income, own apartment/house, own things bought and not just given to them
Sad to say I run into far more "TS" people who fall into these categories (met mostly at bars) than just normal women who live normal lives who simply have a man's body they are in the process (or already have) of changing to make them complete. These bar people would do well at reading that article because they probably need to be woken up as they do not meet the definition of TS by medical standards and are giving out horrible advice to those who really are TS and need help. Sadly a lot of people don't even understand what TS even means. Again, they think that the only difference between a drag queen and a TS is that the latter has a boob job. I constantly get upset at these bar "TS" who constantly try to drill me on things like clothes and makeup as if that is what being trans is all about. Luckily I don't see much of this nonsense here at Susan's but it does occasionally slip through here too. Enough said.
