Transsexualism Case Essay Example for Free

Transsexualism Case Essay Introduction Transsexualism deals with the basic features for the identification of human gender. This aspect has not received much understanding. Popular media has not shown the clear image of transsexualism and stories about the possibility for the occurrence of changes in sex has been explained in a very sensational way. These stories have led people towards the misconception about transsexualism and they do not know what the term ‘transsexualism’ really means. The term ‘transsexualism’ refers to the condition of a person in which a person’s psychological sex is quite different from the physiological sex of that person. Such people think that their soul has been put in the wrong gender body (Butler, 2001). This paper provides information about transsexualism, reality and myths about transsexualism, possible causes of transsexualism, treatment of transsexualism, social, legal and economic implications of transsexualism. What Does Transsexualism Mean? It is very important to understand few terms before the detailed explanation of transsexualism. People usually consider the terms gender and sex as the same concept but in fact they are quite different from each other. The term ‘sex’ provides information about the type of genital organs of a person. Thus this term is specific with the anatomical sex of a person. The term ‘gender’ explains how a person determines himself/herself in terms of female, male or others. The two terms are considered as one by a large number of people because majority of the people think about their gender that is in accordance with their anatomical sex. Anatomical sex has been explained to a greater extent as compared to gender. Some people get confused when they are asked to explain their gender as they do not consider them as a clear male or a clear female. There are two further terms that arise from the term ‘gender’. ‘Gender identity’ shows how a person experience and percept internally about his or her gender. ‘Gender role’ determines how a person spends his or her life in society and how he or she socializes that is dependent on the gender identity of that person (Campbell, 2001). Reality of Transsexualism Transsexualism is a condition in which a person does not like his or her genital sex and feels highly uncomfortable with it. Such feelings are long lasting. Such persons want their genital sex to be opposite of their actual genital sex. They feel that they would live a better and comfortable life with the genital sex opposite to their actual one. They want this change to be on permanent basis. A large number of people consider transsexualism as a psychiatric problem but it has been found that in reality a female body may have a male brain or vice versa. A psychiatrist consultant is assigned to make sure that the person who claims to be a transsexual and wants to change his or her genital sex is indeed a real transsexual. It is also determined that whether the person wishing to change his or her genital sex is mentally stable to cope up with the new gender in the society. Transgenderists is another term that is used by people who feel that their genital sex is not according to their gender and they wish to live their life the way that is opposite to their genital sex. Such people do not go through the process of genital surgery. Myths about Transsexualism Transsexualism is often misunderstood with some conditions that have some common points among them. Transvertism: People in this condition do not wish to change their genital sex though they often get dressed as the opposite sex. Homosexuals and Bisexuals: Such people do not wish to have the sex opposite to their actual genital sex. They attract same sex people. Hermaphrodites: Hermaphroditism is a condition which is very rare. In this condition, the person does not wish to change his or her genital sex neither he nor she considers himself or herself as a person with a gender that is opposite to his or her actual genital sex. Such people have genital sex organs that are not completely developed either in males or females. There is no mismatch of their body with their mind. They just have a body that is strongly intersexed (Elliot, 2001). Possible Causes of Transsexualism Unusual combinations in chromosomes lead to transsexualism though the possibility is 1 in 400. The chromosomes of transsexuals are not standard karyotype like standard karyotype of male (XY) and standard karyotype of female (XX). This is due to some confusion in the hormones when the development of fetus was taking place. Chemicals are another cause for the occurrence of transsexualism. Transsexualism may occur when a woman takes oral contraceptives without knowing that she has already conceived. Some drugs are also responsible for transsexualism when the drugs were given to pregnant women. The most common drug in this regard is diethylstilboestrol. Hormonal disturbance due to oral contraceptives or drugs lead to the birth of transsexual babies. There are some chemical pollutants responsible for the occurrence of transsexualism. Such chemical pollutants are man-made. Some of them are dibenzodioxins and polychlorobiphenyls that are found to bring disruption in androgen and / or estrogen receptors. Transsexualism may also occur without any biochemical reason. Sometimes, transsexualism occurs due to the anemic expectant mother. Sometimes, sufficient amount of nourishment is not received by the fetus, or sometimes sufficient quantity of material hormones become the cause of transsexualism when these hormones result in the disruption of the development of fetus by crossing the placenta in a large quantity. The gender and brain sex of the fetus can not be changed once pregnancy has passed the relevant stage. The brain can never be changed even when some changes may happen in the body due to the alteration in hormones. For this reason, the transsexuals undergo surgery to change their genital sex to match their gender as the brain had been developed (Heyes, 2000). Treatment of Transsexualism Sex reassignment therapy is the only effective treatment of transsexuals. No psychological treatment has been found effective enough for transsexual people. The mental health of transsexual people determines the extent to which the sex reassignment therapy is required. Transsexuals that are suffering from severe anxiety, depression, addictions of different types and possessing suicidal behavior often get much relieved from their problems when they go through the sex reassignment therapy. Gender identity disorder is the way to diagnose transsexualism among people who are ready to be treated psychologically. Transsexual people must have to go through psychological treatment before the sex reassignment therapy. Once they get the label of gender identity disorder, the rest of the way towards the sex reassignment therapy becomes easier for them. There may be some people who have been found with gender identity disorder but they do not wish to change their genital sex. Transsexuals usually do not prefer to undergo psychological treatment as they consider their desire of the sex reassignment therapy as their physical need (Hird, 2000). Social, Legal and Economic Implications of Transsexualism Transsexual people usually face harassment and assault when people around them come to know about their history. Transsexuals prefer to quit their previous job and leave their social circles after the sex reassignment therapy and they start living their life from the scratch. By doing so, they think that no body would ever come to know about their past. Sometimes, the family members and very close friends leave transsexuals after the sex reassignment therapy. The problems of transsexuals become worse when they have to face the legal issues. Such problems vary from country to country. In Britain, transsexuals are not allowed to make any amendment or change in their birth certificate. Where as, in the United States, some state jurisdiction allow transsexuals to make necessary amendments and changes in their birth certificates. They can even replace their original birth certificates with new ones. Other state jurisdictions help transsexuals by sealing their previous records so that their privacy can be maintained. Transsexual people had to face economic crisis after the sex reassignment therapy. They had to quit their previous job as the employers were not at all cooperative with transsexual employees. Now, the situation of economic issues for transsexuals varies from country to country. In the United States, anti-discrimination laws have been passed in California for protecting transsexual employees. The employers are forced to treat their transsexual employees equally. They cannot be terminated (Butler, 2001). Conclusion Transsexualism is a medical reality and it should not be treated psychologically. Transsexuals should be allowed to decide whether they want to go through psychiatric treatment. They should be treated as normal humans socially, legally and economically. References Butler, Judith. (2001). Doing Justice to Someone: Sex Reassignment and Allegories of Transsexuality. GLQ 7, no. 4: 621-36. Campbell, Carolyn. (2001). Transversing across the Genders. Transgender Tapestry 94: 63-68. Elliot, Patricia. (2001). A Psychoanalytic Reading of Transsexual Embodiment. Studies in Gender and Sexuality 2, no. 4: 295-325. Heyes, Cressida. (2000). Reading Transgender, Rethinking Womens Studies. NWSA Journal 12, no. 2: 170-80. Hird, Myra. (2000). Genders Nature: Intersexuality, Transsexualism and the Sex/Gender Binary. Feminist Theory: An International Interdisciplinary journal 1, no. 3.