Summary
I eventually got a full hormones letter out of her, but only after more than six months of "therapy" and after taking several psychological tests. I could not get a letter out of her for surgery. At one point she said, "It is now very clear to me that it is clinically inappropriate for 'the letter' to be hanging over any more of our interactions." She did not return an electronic mail requesting comment.
By the time I was sure I'd get my second letter, I was getting cocky. After all, I had to get cocky while I still could. So, when the supervisor asked what I had against the HBIGDA Standards of Care, I told her I didn't think it was her place, as a pro-choice lesbian, to tell me what I could and couldn't do with my body. She apparently didn't see the connection between being pro-choice and freedom to do with one's body as one pleases. I didn't think it was worth it to enlighten her.Might there be people who pursue SRS before they're ready? Of course. Might there be people who request SRS because of delusions? I can't say no. I can say that this is a rarity, and should be no less detectable by any surgeon than by a psychologist. Every SRS surgeon I've heard of asks why a candidate wants surgery. If the person says the government's out to get hir, I'm guessing the surgeon usually won't operate. If the person lies and claims to be truly transgendered, the psychologists I went to wouldn't pick up on the deception any more easily than the surgeon.See the full content of this document
Extract
The Psychotic Soc
Most everyone in the transgender community has heard of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, or at least of their Standards of Care. Post-ops have gone through them. Pre-ops are in the middle of them. Non-ops have encountered them. Genderqueers know them as a social expectation for their friends. Crossdressers have to listen to pre-ops complain about them.
Opinions vary. Some see them as a necessary evil. Some are glad they exist to protect those non-tranny fools who want an up-close-and-personal garden-shear experience. Some see them as fascist. There is certainly validity to all of those perspectives, but in case it's not clear by now, I'm one of those people who sees them as fascist.Now, wait. Don't stop reading. This isn't another philosophical essay us...See the full content of this document
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