The show I saw tonight on TLC regarding SEX change

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Paul
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I can't begin to tell you how moved, educated and proud I am of the
individuals on the show I saw on TLC tonight. I watched the show on "SEX
CHANGE," and was touched by each one of these stories. I can't begin to
imagine the pain you suffered during these transformations. However, I
commend you and respect you for your decisions. I do believe as a result
you are happy and more secure with yourselves and your outlook on life.
I wish all of you great success in your future. However, me wishing you
great success in your future is not neccessary because you acheived
success whe you transformed yourself into the real you. So many of us
face tough decisions in life. To say decisions implies you had a choice.
There is no choice when attempting to find the real you. I am a gay man
and I know through my own life experiences the sacrifices I have made in
order to be accepted. The outcome is being accepted by myself. All of
you have achieved this with respect. I was hoping to corresponde!

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(This posting was entered by Paul, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Densie
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>I can't begin to tell you how moved, educated and proud I am of the
>individuals on the show I saw on TLC tonight. I watched the show on
>"SEX CHANGE," and was touched by each one of these stories.

Documentaries are made to sell documentaries. They will always tell the
most controversial stories they can find. Makes them interesting to
watch, but sometimes misleading.

>I can't begin to imagine the pain you suffered during these
>transformations.

Actually, the transformation is the easy part. The hard part is a few
years later, when you wonder what the hell you could possibly have been
thinking. For some reason, though, the documentaries always stop short
of that point.

>There is no choice when attempting to find the real you.

Big mistake there. He->she who goes through a transformation, surgery,
etc. with the impression that one HAS to do this will be in for a rude
shock later on. That lie to one's self is meant to justify the decision
to go ahead with what one wants to do in spite of social stigma.

"If this is something that I have to do, then I don't have to feel
guilty about doing it, right?"

"If I don't do this, I'll probably end up killing myself because I can't
live as a man."

Bullshit. It is a choice. Do it or don't do it as you wish, but don't
think for a minute that you have to. You're only kidding yourself.

Anyone who is having thoughts about doing this should see a good
therapist... not one whose specialty is steering people through
transformation. Better yet, make some friends outside of "the
community" and find something else to get excited about.

-densie

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[External Poster]

This posting is from: annie
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> Documentaries are made to sell documentaries. They will always tell the
> most controversial stories they can find. Makes them interesting to
> watch, but sometimes misleading.

Of all the documentaries I've seen, I can remember only one that comes
close to being accurate. Most all of them are slanted toward an end that
the producers want.

(I won't even go into that drek that is presented on Springer and the
like.)

The producers just don't "get it", so a very inaccurate story is
presented.

> Anyone who is having thoughts about doing this should see a good
> therapist... not one whose specialty is steering people through
> transformation. Better yet, make some friends outside of "the
> community" and find something else to get excited about.

I've seen many in our community get so set on transitioning that they
fail to see the real world out there. They get so wrapped up in the
community that they have few friends outside of it. They get this
impression that if only they would go thru transition and SRS, all
of their problems will disappear.

This is probably not going to be a popular statement here, but one
role of a therapist is to, in effect, screen out those for whom
transition and surgery are not indicated.

But the way it seems to work is that word gets out as to which
therapists will tell people what they want to hear, and are liberal
about those "letters", which are highly coveted, just as word gets out
as to which physicians are liberal about writing prescriptions for
"mones" and such.

Oh well, so it goes. (and so do I ...)

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(This posting was entered by annie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Densie
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> impression that if only they would go thru transition and SRS, all of
> their problems will disappear.

You are absolutely right. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it does work
out for the best, but life is what you make of it. Whether or not your
problems will disappear depends on how you deal with them. Maybe it
would be best to deal with the problems first and then think about what
you want to do with your life.

I agree about the therapists too. If you go through a "support group"
to find a therapist, you will get a rubber stamper, not one who will
help you sort things out.

-densie

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(This posting was entered by Densie, an external user of MyDLV.)