Quote from: Zenda on May 07, 2011, 05:46:00 PM
A while back research carried out in the UK re: RLE [two years, that was the requirement if one is having government funded surgery back then], found that around two thirds who start the 'experience' drop out, some only a few months into it...Only a third actually continue on with RLE...It's possible some of those who drop out were just "crossdressers" ie, having a feminine side but their core gender identity was not female-others may or may not have suffered from this congenital condition but just couldn't cope with the stress and social pressures involved...
Understandably the RLE can be a real stressful time for some, and if one should find they can't cope, this does not necessarily mean they are not "transsexual", but it is a good indicator that transitioning full time and having[what is for the most part irreversible] surgery may not be the best option for them...
Would a parachutist jump from a plane without first checking their parachute?
When it comes to the older transitioner and the RLE, I feel that one should check their parachute, then check it again and again for 3 months or 6 months or a year or two, when you find it's flawless-that is, it will safely bring you down to earth-jump and enjoy the ride...If you don't 'check' your parachute first[have some RLE under ones belt, but instead rush in and have 'life transforming' surgery], you could quite rapidly return to earth with a big thump and could "live" to regret it
These two points, with respect to you, indicate a mind set.
The comparison with that parachutist would be relevant to check that the surgeon is properly qualified. The parachutist has already made up their mind to jump.
It isn't surprising that many who try RLE, drop out. But to then assume they drop out, because they have changed their minds, or realised their resolve wasn't as great as they thought is inaccurate.
Transgender people have, according to the evidence I've looked at, existed since the earliest times. The indications seem to suggest that the tendency is often innate, or at the very least, of such casual consequences as to be effectively innate.
Yet it is only in the last 60 or so years, that remodeling the human body has been available.
It is only within the last 40 or so years, that there has been any general acceptance of anything other than hetrosexuality. (I recall the accepted wisdom being that homos are stuck in the anal stage of their development).
As a transgender person, I seek such intervention as will make my own life, more comfortable. Since the dawn of human time, like all transgender people, I have simply had to try to function, within the confines of my society, as best as I can.
Those that grew up in western European societies, for example, seem to have found it necessary to hide their reality, to the extent of over compensation. While those in many far Eastern societies, including, (apparently), N America, seem to have found a secure position for themselves, within the existing structure of their societies.
This demonstrates that, while transgender has always existed, those affected have needed to adapt themselves to their own local environments. That my European predecessors have hiden themselves to the extent of overcompensation, does not indicate that their were never transgender.
This would seem to be the attempted implication of the claim:
found that around two thirds who start the 'experience' drop out, some only a few months into it...As a tenager, I would have sought, as full a transision as I could get. I'm now in my 50s, I have a stable family life and a stable social life.
My changing priorities do not indicate that my feelings or resolve have altered, rather that my opportunities and the demands of my environment have changed.
I make no judgement upon those who have chosen to transision in later life. I offer my continuing support to those that have sacrificed so much, even everything, to pursue their goals.
