Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Sweden depathologises ->-bleeped-<-, but not transsexual, people.
Stephen Whittle
http://whittlings.blogspot.com/2010/03/sweden-depathologises-->-bleeped-<--but.html (http://whittlings.blogspot.com/2010/03/sweden-depathologises--%3E-bleeped-%3C--but.html)
The Swedish Board of Psychiatrists recently announced their decision to remove transvestism from its diagnostic codes:
Clearly Sweden does not wish to 'control' the behaviour of trans people, unless it is motivated in some special way. You can wear what you would like, so long as your motive is purely to cross dress. Sexual titillation will not make it wrong in fact, it is evidence of the innocence of your behaviour. You are harmless, even sane, unless you have the wrong motive; a desire to live your life as a member of your opposite natal sex group, whilst wearing the once forbidden clothes.
If I was to discuss his in terms used in the criminal law, cross dressing might be described as being the actus reus (the criminal act), and except in very limited circumstances, (such as getting parking tickets), if cross dressing was a crime you would be convicted of the offence of cross dressing if you also had a mens rea (a guilty mind), i.e. you cross dressed knowingly whilst knowing it would cause offenSE.
okay...........................confusion has set in :-\
Actually, as bad as it may be here in the States, I'm glad I'm here and not there.
Dawn
That article is seriously flawed and confusing.
The National Board of Health and Welfare decided to adjust the Swedish ICD-10 version to exclude Dual-role Transvestism and Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood as disorders.
Transsexualism is kept in the diagnostic manual for the public health care to be able to diagnose and provide treatment for transsexual patients. Thanks to this the Swedish state provides hair removal, SRS, BA, etc. free of charge for me. The system isn't perfect but much better than in the U.S.
I swear these folks will medicalize anything (psychologists and psychiatrists). Someone who's different doesn't imply pathology. ::)
Seems that they went only half way.
Gennee