[SJackson]

Note my post 32. Would you condone amputation on demand for those suffering from apotemnophilia? A much rarer disease, but one with a strong sexual component. If not, what is the difference? I don't see how it can be denied that reassignment surgery is a form of mutilation rather than reconstruction. And it's been noted that many suffering from apotemnophilia and BIID (body integrity identity disorder) date the onset to childhood. I did note your last post's examples referred to hormonal therapy, if you're referring to therapy short of reassignment, then it's irrelevant.

I wish Bruce the best too, but the emerging long term research does suggest that increased happiness is not a certainty, though statisticly the risks for things like suicide, mortality and psychiatric morbidity are higher than the general population. Personally I think reassignment, like amputation in my examples, is at best a questionable form of therapy .

Another potential downside is the fact that widespread acceptance will require gender identity disorder to be dropped as a psychiatric diagnosis, presumably ending research into other therapies.

[Yaelle]

We actually agree. Look at my convo here with Diogenes’ Lamp. Someone with Bruce’s dysfunction has no successful treatment. Gender reassignment, with or without genital surgery (which I think is barbaric), is only 50% successful, with “success” being the person’s inner contentment.

We need something better. And I agree that it should not be dropped from the DSM. How dare we say that any dysfunction regarding sex or gender is normal? Dysfunctions can affect ANY of the brain’s functions. That would be terribly wrong.