Walt, I don't even know why you'd bother to write a book on this subject and bring it to Australia. I get the impression, hopefully wrongly, that the objective is to point out to these people that they'll never truly be the sex they wish to be and a quick DNA test will reveal the "lie."

In the past, I've counselled transsexual people and have done follow up studies on several of them. I'll agree that the attempted suicide and self harm rate is very high, but it's often in the pre-transition stage. With the odd exception most post-op transsexuals I've known have gone on to become very successful people, blending into society and disappearing within it.

The depression I've witnessed amongst transsexuals has usually been caused by discrimination on various levels, workplace humiliation or outright violence and lack of job opportunities if the person doesn't "pass" well. Family rejection is also a huge factor in self harming or suicide attempts.

The last factor is relationships. Few people can accept the transsexual gender once the person's history is revealed. Many transsexuals live life alone and that's a burden some cannot tolerate, but I doubt much of the self harm and suicide is caused by "regret."

If regret is a factor, then the person has not been counselled properly. In Australia, the transsexual goes through a vigorous counselling and transition program with an outcome not expected in under two years. Deep emotional problems float to the surface during this time and only the genuine TS person makes it to the final stage. In Victoria, the program is only done in Melbourne which involves much travel for country residents and a good deal of expense. The process is not one entered lightly. Not in Australia at least, which make me doubt the relevance of your book in this country.

There is something lacking, and that is a better control group to compare their suicide rate with the suicide rate of those who have had gender reassignment. The suicide rate of those who have had gender reassignment is compared with the general population rate. A better control group would be those who felt that their physical body was incompatible with their feeling of sexual identity but did not have gender reassignment. It might not be possible to get the statistics on such a group, but that group would be a better control.

I notice on your web site Walt that you have an article on the Australian Alan Finch........

"Alan Finch at 19 was a transsexual. At 21 he underwent sex change surgery and became Helen Finch. By the age of 30, Alan returned to his birth gender. He was misdiagnosed with gender identity disorder."

He didn't undergo "sex change surgery" Walt. Any transsexual will tell you that to change "sex" is impossible. What he had was gender reassignment surgery.

And..........

"Alan now understands what he needed was simple psychotherapy, not sex change surgery."

Walt, the last sentence is a total fabrication. What really happen in Finch's case is that a mob of vile evangelical idiots called "The Salt Shakers" got in his ear when he fell into their clutches and was brainwashed into believing that by changing genders, God had somehow disowned him and the only path back to God was to revert to being a "male." And the Salt Shakers aren't the only church to disown transsexuals unless they revert to their former gender. It seems there's very little of Christ's teachings left in todays so called Christian churches. This also causes a lot of angst for TS people when they're told God hates them and they're rejected by faith communities.

Oh, did I mention that he also sued for a large, but undisclosed sum of money? Bet the evangelists made a packet out of him!

I am unqualified to comment on any of this EXCEPT to say that, knowing the people at Salt Shakers, they would NOT have told anyone God hates them. They are committed Christians and know full well that God loves everyone equally, regardless of there behavior.

I know it is very fashionable to label criticism of someones behavior as "hate speech" but it does not reflect the truth. It is possible to love someone without accepting or condoning behavior that may be detrimental to their well being.

Aime, are you perhaps using your own form of "hate speech" and distorting the truth about Salt Shakers because they do not agree with you opinion?

I think this article is an important step in getting past stereotypes and understanding the experience of those who are uncertain in their sexual identity. The points Walt Heyer has made deserve serious consideration and I would like to hear more about Walt's personal experiences as a trans-sexual.

I am interested in hearing what this man says about the transsexual journey for he has lived it from the inside out. Of course no one person speaks for everyone in their demographic, but I believe his voice to be authentic and it is likely he has spoken to many others in the same situation. I don't think we can be so quick to say the same variables are not at play here, especially when we don't keep stats on the suicide rate amongst this group here. I had no idea so many transsexuals were suicidal and find this deeply disturbing, especially in view of the way they are portrayed in entertainment such as Priscilla, Queen of the desert and at the Mardi Gras etc. Everything seems hunky dory when it is clearly not. Also I do not understand why DNA testing cannot be used to determine gender. Why do you think that is? Who gains from what is clearly a political decision rather than a scientific one? This article raises many questions. If we really can't change gender, I'm wondering why we are even trying. Especially when it leads to the disturbingly high suicide rate mentioned - though admittedly we don't know all the factors involved in that - and perhaps never will. Still it is clear there is much unhappiness in this group of people and my heart really goes out to them. Someone or something is failing them somewhere. This begs the question of what to do? That's why I think listening to this guy is important. Obviously he's thought about these issues a lot and has interfaced with many people in this demographic. Enough said, time to listen!