Genital surgery and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan
Posted by Zagria

http://zagria.blogspot.com/2008/05/genital-surgery-and-ontario-health.html

Various sources last week reported the announcement by the Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) will recommence paying for genital surgery for transsexuals, as it used to do before it was stopped by the Conservative Government under Mike Harris in 1998.

This is being repeated uncritically as if it is a good thing. However it is a smoke and mirrors diversion that actually is no use at all to all but a very few transsexuals. As before 1998, the operation will be paid for only if the transsexual is approved by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, previously known as The Clarke Institute). That is the same institute that has given us such dubious professionals as Ray Blanchard, Kurt Freund and Kenneth Zucker. If you are a fan of these men's work, then the announcement is good news. That is, if you see yourself in their 2-box system as either a self-hating homosexual or a paraphilic autogynephile, it is good news. If you are a transsexual who cannot pretend to be either of these two ivory-tower fantasy constructions, then you are not covered by Smitherman's announcement.