...understanding.


A few friends and I were sitting outside in the courtyard, and one of my neighbors (a guy) asked,
I replied, "Oh, they don't cut it off...do you know what they do?"
The other neighbors knew what was coming, so I could see them suppressing smiles...
"They don't cut it off...they turn it inside ou--
"...t. No realy, they open the scrotum...
"...and remove the balls and hoses, creating the vaginal cavity...
...then they open the penis up...
(Another neighbor chimes in) "Yeah, they filet that thing open, stitch it all up, and stuff it inside!"

The first neighbir was like 
Me: "Yeah, there's videos on YouTube if you're interested in seeing it happen."


Anyway...I count him as understanding a little more of the process...

That's just too funny Beth I guess you taught him something he won't forget anytime soon. Perhaps he shouldn't ask questions he does not want the answers too. 

Not sure why such a wide portion of the population is interested in our unmentionables.

Even really open-minded sensible people can't resist asking me about genital surgery. I mean an MtF transition involves so many elements, that seems to be the one everyone focuses on.

Baffled.

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 29, 2013, 12:44:16 PM
Not sure why such a wide portion of the population is interested in our unmentionables.

Even really open-minded sensible people can't resist asking me about genital surgery. I mean an MtF transition involves so many elements, that seems to be the one everyone focuses on.

Baffled.

Most people are certain of their gender, so 95% of our transition isn't even in their reality...otoh, genitals are a HUGE part  (pun intended) of their life.

A common thing I hear is, "Why in the hell would any man want his pecker cut off?!" That's very true, no man would want "it" cut, folded, spindled, or otherwise mutilated...but what they don't understand is that we are not men!

Once they understand that, SRS makes a lot more sense.

I actually have watched a video of the surgery on youtube.

Once apon a time I would have been squirming about and covering my privates lol.

I was actually pretty surprised by how calm I was watching it. I found myself wanting to transition right there and then and get the surgery myself. I think that was definitely a moment that really confirmed my dysphoria to me.

I understand the fascination and don't get upset when people ask about it. I mean it is a big step and no genitals aren't the only thing but it is human nature to be curious. I mean if someone has cancer you ask are you going on chemo? So really it is like any other medical condition and this is the cure. I hope. Most people tell me not to do it as if this were some passing phase.

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 29, 2013, 12:44:16 PM
Not sure why such a wide portion of the population is interested in our unmentionables.

Even really open-minded sensible people can't resist asking me about genital surgery. I mean an MtF transition involves so many elements, that seems to be the one everyone focuses on.

Baffled.

As far as I can tell, most people don't even know about HRT or its effects.  They think we literally go in for a "sex change operation", and a) walk out a pretty girl, or b) walk out a "man in a dress."  Trans people have never really gotten significant enough media attention to show people otherwise - most stories are about little kids who want to grow up the opposite their birth sex. ::sadface::

OT: I wish I was there.  That sounded absolutely hilarious.

Quote from: Horizon on July 29, 2013, 02:48:53 PM
As far as I can tell, most people don't even know about HRT or its effects.  They think we literally go in for a "sex change operation", and a) walk out a pretty girl, or b) walk out a "man in a dress."  Trans people have never really gotten significant enough media attention to show people otherwise - most stories are about little kids who want to grow up the opposite their birth sex. ::sadface::

OT: I wish I was there.  That sounded absolutely hilarious.

Before I educated myself, I really didn't know much about transgenders. I didn't know the extent of the surgeries like FFS and SRS. I just thought of ->-bleeped-<-s.

Unfortunately there are many people out there who know so very little.

Quote from: Dreams2014 on July 29, 2013, 12:56:08 PM
I actually have watched a video of the surgery on youtube.

Once apon a time I would have been squirming about and covering my privates lol.

I was actually pretty surprised by how calm I was watching it. I found myself wanting to transition right there and then and get the surgery myself. I think that was definitely a moment that really confirmed my dysphoria to me.

I saw one too a few years ago. It was the first time I learned that a neo-vagina preserved part of the penis as an artificial clitoris.

I didn't remotely think I might be trans (though I've always wanted a female body), but when I heard this, I found myself thinking I wanted a neovagina, right then and there, even as I was watching someone getting her doodang sliced up.

Quote from: Beth Andrea on July 29, 2013, 12:52:34 PM
A common thing I hear is, "Why in the hell would any man want his pecker cut off?!" That's very true, no man would want "it" cut, folded, spindled, or otherwise mutilated...but what they don't understand is that we are not men!

Well even I, and I definitely am not a man, am given pause by the pain and complications involved.

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 29, 2013, 12:44:16 PM
Not sure why such a wide portion of the population is interested in our unmentionables.

I guess a large number of people still think in terms of "How you drain = what's in your brain".

I bet your neighbour's facial expressions when you explained the process would have been Kodak moments and then some, Beth.

QuoteWell even I, and I definitely am not a man, am given pause by the pain and complications involved.

Yes, it is reasonable to consider this...but this is true for all surgeries, not just SRS. Men don't freak if you tell them you're getting the appendix out, or cancer excised.

But The Man Part and The Boys...that touches all men, deeply and intimately.[ /irony]

Quote from: Beth Andrea on July 29, 2013, 03:08:43 PM
Yes, it is reasonable to consider this...but this is true for all surgeries, not just SRS. Men don't freak if you tell them you're getting the appendix out, or cancer excised.

But The Man Part and The Boys...that touches all men, deeply and intimately.[ /irony]

It's just like if a group of guys see another guy get kicked in the nuts, they all groan and cover their own. It's a very precious thing isn't it?

I must admit, having male genitalia makes me feel very vulnerable.

Quote from: Sephirah on July 29, 2013, 03:05:26 PM
I guess a large number of people still think in terms of "How you drain = what's in your brain".

I bet your neighbour's facial expressions when you explained the process would have been Kodak moments and then some, Beth.

A video would've been really good! I could send it in to America's Funniest Videos! LOL

Quote from: Dreams2014 on July 29, 2013, 12:56:08 PM
I actually have watched a video of the surgery on youtube.

Once apon a time I would have been squirming about and covering my privates lol.

I was actually pretty surprised by how calm I was watching it. I found myself wanting to transition right there and then and get the surgery myself. I think that was definitely a moment that really confirmed my dysphoria to me.

So very much this. I've always been someone who watched surgeries before having them myself, but the sheer fascination I felt while watching the video, and the immediate desire to also get that done, went a long way in making me feel that I was on to something...

Also loved the comment I saw underneath one of the surgery videos:
"Okay. That's enough internet for this month."

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 29, 2013, 12:44:16 PM
Not sure why such a wide portion of the population is interested in our unmentionables.

Even really open-minded sensible people can't resist asking me about genital surgery. I mean an MtF transition involves so many elements, that seems to be the one everyone focuses on.

Baffled.

Oddly, no one ever asked me about surgery.  Their main interest is whether or not I would date men or women.  It feels like everyone I ever told about my transition asked me that question.

I laughed like crazy reading this... thanks for the morning entertainment, Beth.

(And I also want to mention, I found myself as well being strangely mesmerized by the surgery video on Youtube, and actually did also think "wow, that's something that I actually really wish I could have done to me.)

Quote from: Theo on July 29, 2013, 03:15:48 PM
So very much this. I've always been someone who watched surgeries before having them myself, but the sheer fascination I felt while watching the video, and the immediate desire to also get that done, went a long way in making me feel that I was on to something...

Also loved the comment I saw underneath one of the surgery videos:
"Okay. That's enough internet for this month."

lol yeah that comment had me really laughing. We must have watched the same video.

As I started reading I was thinking "You didn't.", then began smiling, then broke into full laughter.  Wish I was there.

That was hilarious!

I agree though that it's still a little disturbing to visualize it. For many years I had trouble falling asleep because the image of slicing it down the middle would pop into my head and my eyes would snap wide open. Then I'd squeeze my thighs together and roll over thinking, "shut up, shut up, just go to sleep."

So yeah. It can still be pretty nerve wracking, even to those of us think about it a lot.

I would have liked to have seen that conversation.  Hey, set up a video camera to watch the reactions and show them a video of the surgery on a cell phone or computer, interjecting comments as they are relevant.  

The first time I saw a video of the operation, I was kinda weirded out until they started putting things back together.  By the end, I was thinking "That's Cool".  So, I watched it again.