Tasha is going to be one of the good lawyers.  There has to be at least one right?

Three actually. There's one in Arkansas as soon as Tasha passes the bar. There's one in Nashville who was absolutely and astonishingly good and decent when I found him in the yellow pages, of all things. And I have a really dear friend in LA who is one as well, although opinion about her might be divided as she also has some rather firm stances on a lot of things.

Nichole

Oh I'm kidding, I know a lot of them, mine included.  Though no entertainment lawyers, I've never known a good one of those.

Disorder?  Pure chaos!

Do we need a medical diagnosis to have access to SRS?  Does a woman need a medical diagnosis to get breast implants or her tubes tied or anything else like that?  So no.

Do we need a medical diagnosis to get HRT?  Sure.  But it does not have to be a psychiatric diagnosis.  A physical diagnosis will do just fine.

In short, I think we can dispense with the classification of GID as a mental disorder.  Would we benefit from doing so?  I think so.  Gays got homosexuality out of the DSM before they started making serious strides in gaining liberty by first having homosexuality be perceived as a valid lifestyle.  I think we must do the same for gender identity if the whole T spectrum is to obtain meaningful liberty.  And clinging to the assertion that we just transition and then have our freedom as members of the new sex is clinging to a pipe dream in my opinion.  Getting legal recognition as the new gender for all purposes (e.g., marriage) is problematic.  And those who can't pass 100% will never be able to obtain the alleged freedom, anyway.  We just have to eliminate the taboo, which necessarily entails shedding the mental disorder stigma.

Quote from: glendagladwitch on July 16, 2008, 08:16:09 PM
And clinging to the assertion that we just transition and then have our freedom as members of the new sex is clinging to a pipe dream in my opinion.  Getting legal recognition as the new gender for all purposes (e.g., marriage) is problematic.

Pipe dream? Geez, I hope not.

I'll be legally female soon, at least according to my Birth Certificate, Driver's License and Social Security. I'll then be able to (re)marry as any other woman could. I don't see any limitations?

I don't much like having a "disorder," but ya know... I can't argue that the process, as insulting and messed up as it is, HAS allowed me an escape from all this.

~Kate~

Well here Ii am answering to a thread that I have no business answering because I am not that well informed as to the subject.  Maybe I should be but I am busy with me and I have needs that I have to be addressed.

I do not like the term Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Identity Disphoria.  Because both say the same thing.  The "normal" people think that we are strange or weird.  But how said that they were "normal".  Maybe we are the ones that are normal and all of them are strange and weird.

But the squeakiest wheel gets the oil.

It is all a CYA thing.

Love,
Janet

Quote from: Kate on July 16, 2008, 03:38:38 PM
Would doctors be able to legally (and ethically) prescribe hormones to TSs without a medical diagnosis justifying it?

It depends on whether the drugs are only available on prescription in the first place.  In Thailand, they're OTC (over the counter), which seems to work out fine as far as I can tell.  Of course, that would only benefit MTFs, since I doubt that there's a country on Earth that would allow testosterone to be sold OTC.

Lia

Gender identity "disorder" is a very controversial diagnosis amongst some mental health professionals and transsexual peeps and quite honestly it does me more harm than good.  I'm not "ill", I'm not "disordered", I'm not mentally incapacitated.  I'm simply a woman trying to lead a normal life away from all the bigotry and discrimination that exists solely because I was born with a penis.

Quote from: tekla on July 16, 2008, 11:48:41 AM
There is a rather large, on the ground movement in the community not to fight about who is writing the next DSM but to get it out in total.  Matter of fact, the banners at the TransMarch in SF this year were from that group.

They view TG in all its forms as a normal human condition and not a problem to be 'solved.'  Because its a normal (in that it occurs in a regular pattern throughout the population) there are many ways to accept and deal with it, where if its a medical issue the only way to deal with it is medical.

The medical portion is transition. If it isn't considered a medical condition, transition would be no different than any other "glamorous" plastic surgery. Hormones would not be given out because any hormone treatment requires a valid medical reason.

I'd rather be called sick and given hormones than called well and given nothing.

But the crux is that we do not need a Psychiatric diagnosis.  It can be a medical diagnosis of a physical malady.  So we get it out of the DSM and shed the mental patient stigma, while still getting treatment for "hypogonadism" or whatever diagnosis code your endo wants to use.  And if you want therapy, you can still get it.  The diagnosis code can be "stress," which is what they use now for people having stress about being gay.

I think the best reason for medical professionals to be involved is because then people who aren't transsexuals and are just kids driven by sexual fantasies won't be wrongly diagnosed. I've seen a number of transmen that were just women with penis envy. And I've heard about transwomen who really just are guys who want to express their femininity more.

((I am NOT saying ALL transpeople are like this. I am saying SOME people THINK they are trans but it turns out that they can't really make the commitment to a medical transition. They may be transgendered, but they can't handle being a transsexual for one reason or another. SOME people. And the medical community works together to make sure these people aren't wrongly given hormones/surgery when they aren't ready.))

Yes, these precautions irritate me. I have to wait longer because I'm 18 and still living with my parents. The doctors don't think I'm mature enough to make the decision because I don't live on my own (I don't live on my own because I'm in school and it's expensive... no job I could get right now would pay for both school and the costs of living). They don't think I'm ready because I haven't said, "Gimme hormones now." So yes, the medical community can slow things down in a negative way. But I just remember how many boneheads they're saving from making a life-changing decision that they don't need.

No, heteroSOC is the disorder, ->-bleeped-<- is the cure ...

Quote from: glendagladwitch on July 17, 2008, 10:35:08 AMBut the crux is that we do not need a Psychiatric diagnosis.  It can be a medical diagnosis of a physical malady.  So we get it out of the DSM and shed the mental patient stigma, while still getting treatment for "hypogonadism" or whatever diagnosis code your endo wants to use.  And if you want therapy, you can still get it.  The diagnosis code can be "stress," which is what they use now for people having stress about being gay.

Problem with that is that there are no visible physical symptoms of the disorder. They're all psychological symptoms.

My hormone levels are normal on all areas so endo can't diagnose me. And yet I'm still transgendered. I'd say being transgendered is very much a psychological condition. Not to say there aren't any other possible causes, but the symptoms are mostly psychological. I don't look a day manlier being transgendered. I am 100% female in my body.

Posted on: July 17, 2008, 08:37:11 AM

---

Quote from: androgynetg on July 17, 2008, 10:37:04 AMNo, heteroSOC is the disorder, ->-bleeped-<- is the cure ...

I'm not going to lie to myself. A condition in my brain is more fallible than a condition in my body. Meaning, if this were ANY other condition, we'd be changing my brain, NOT my body.

Your lack of male genetalia is a physical symptom.  You're not nuts.  <There is a pun in there somewhere, I'm sure.>

Quote from: glendagladwitch on July 17, 2008, 10:39:51 AMYour lack of male genetalia is a physical symptom.  Your not nuts.  <There is a pun in there somewhere, I'm sure.>

I don't know. I feel like you guys have got it kind of backwards. But maybe I'm just used to the traditional way of doing things... 

Ah, cute pun. 

Fibromyalga used to be just a set of symptoms.  It was hard to find anything physically wrong with the patent, so they had to setup the rules of the symptoms.  Years later it became a recognized illness.

Transsexualism and Transgendered are a set of symptoms now, maybe soon it will be a recognized.

Janet

Quote from: Valentina on December 15, 1999, 12:33:04 PM
Gender identity "disorder" is a very controversial diagnosis amongst some mental health professionals and transsexual peeps and quite honestly it does me more harm than good...

Does it?

It seems the only people who notice it are a few groups of Professional Haters, and TSs themselves. The fact that I supposedly have a "disorder" hasn't impacted my life in any negative way.

In the end, it's allowed my doctor and surgeon-to-be to provide me with the services I so desperately need. The people who matter - the doctors and surgeons - "get it," they know why it's listed that way, and recognize it as a necessary evil for now to justify what they offer us.

I just keep thinking that regardless of how insulting it all is, the fact remains that the existing system has allowed me to transition and just live my life normally. There's no "stigma" from that diagnosis in Daily Life, only within the Hate Groups. All I ever wanted to do was just transition and vanish back into the woodwork as an ordinary female, and this system... insulting as it may be... gave that miracle to me.

~Kate~

Quote from: Tasha Elizabeth on July 17, 2008, 11:33:07 AM
and yet, the cure for nose hair remains elusive......

This from an Ann Landers column!

QuoteThere is no cure and both aging women and men have the problem. You can pluck it or you can get one of those Braun Nose-hair shavers, or you can walk around with a moustache growing outcher nose. All up to the individual.

The nose-hair clipper seems like a sane way to do it, after all, it's not like you carry the darned thing around in your purse and pull it out at Sardi's or on the street. For goodness's sakes! Use it in the bathroom and be done it.

Sensible & Aging

Our genders themselves are NOT disordered, and labelling them so is contradictory to the indicated treatment (fixing our sex, not our genders).  In my opinion, what we need is a diagnosis that recognises that it's the mismatch between our gender identities (or body image) and our anatomical sex that causes the dysphoria.  On the one hand, a valid medical label is necessary for people who are trying to access treatment on medical insurance or social healthcare, on the other we don't want to be rubber stamped with an inappropriate disorder label for life.

We need something like 'gender identity vs anatomical sex mismatch disorder' but with a catchier title  
That way, we have something wrong with us -> seek treatment for a recognised condition -> have our feelings recognised -> get treated -> are CURED of the aforementioned condition!

I don't think this way of thinking would cause problems for any of us.

Medical: "Brain/Body Inter-sex Syndrome"