I can't imagine why anyone would put themselves through the terrible mental and physical anguish of a transsexual lifestyle without truly being born into that mindset.

No amount of 'prayer' or psychological 'help' would truly change someone who is born a transsexual.
If they decide to deny themselves their true identity and live a life of lies, for whatever reason, then they could never be truly happy.

A transexual is one who has had genitalia and other physical attributes modified so they can more readily be the sex they feel they belong to. As I remember there were no transexuals in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." They were transvestites who are people who dress and adopt the mannerisms of the opposite sex. Transvestites are often homosexual but may not be.

"It’s easy to point out that DNA tells the true story of male or female. "

Except that 1 in 300 men don't have XY chromosomes, and some women do.

"A 46,XY mother who developed as a normal woman underwent spontaneous puberty, reached menarche, menstruated regularly, experienced two unassisted pregnancies, and gave birth to a 46,XY daughter with complete gonadal dysgenesis." -- J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Jan;93(1):182-9.

So according to the author, this mother and daughter are both "really" male. And many men who have fathered children are "really" female.

And what of the 1 in 450 men and rather fewer women who are XXY?

For that matter, bone marrow transplant recipients bodies gradually become genetically identical to that of the donor. It doesn't change their sex. So an XX woman can end up with ovaries and other endometrial tissue which is XY. See "Bone marrow-derived cells from male donors can compose endometrial glands in female transplant recipients" by Ikoma et al in Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Dec;201(6):608.e1-8

This myth that "real" or "true" sex is determined by chromosomes would be laughable if it wasn't used as an excuse to persecute people.

As for regrets... instead of the tens of thousands of cases of regret that are claimed, it's always the same handful of names that get recycled - usually touting books. As the treatment is only 98% effective, there should be dozens at least, just in Australia. Bit according to the author, there must be many thousands.

So where are they?

I'm deeply sorry that the author, a fetishistic transvestite, was wrongly diagnosed. This should have been caught, it's fairly obvious that he's not transsexual and never has been.

I'd dearly love to provide a comprehensive answer to a couple of the above post. Unfortunately I don't have the time, but could perhaps offer a couple of quick comments.

To Ray Moran: Alan Finch made a mistake. I've never him, but certainly heard a lot about his case. It's been well scrutinised by all who were involved in the case and certain changes made to reflect this, but the salt shakers were detrimental in the outcome.

And on so called christian groups in general. The salt shakers aren't the only ones who have refused to let a transsexual into or remain "in the fold." I've known of several cases where the transitioning TS person (both male to female and female to male) have been harassed, abused and in one case, spat upon by Christians who believe themselves to be "pure of heart, mind and soul." I know for a fact that Jesus never taught harassment and abuse!

Also, some posters are getting gender and sex confused. A TS person changes their outward gender. As I pointed out in my second post, any TS person will readily accept that they cannot change their sex. What they do is change their gender to align themselves more closely to the gender their brain is telling them they should be.

Even Walt gets it wrong as he readily swaps between suicide figures for "Transgendered" and Transsexual" people. I really think that posters who don't know the difference between a Transsexual and someone who is Transgendered should not be tempted to comment on this issue at all. Oh and by the way, a "Trans" person is one who is "transitioning" from one gender to another. In the case of Transsexuals, once the transition is complete (and that completion doesn't necessarily involve surgery) that person is no longer considered a "trans" anything! On the other hand, "Transgendered" people are in constant flux, changing from one gender to another using clothing, makeup or simply imagination. This is often done in private clubs or secretly at home. "Transgendered" and Transsexual" people are two separate conditions.

In short, the sexual orientation spectrum is a huge arc going from occasional feelings of wanting to be the opposite gender all the way through to those who undergo sex reassignment surgery.

Suseonline: Quite right! To be born a Transsexual is a terrible thing and I have known barely a few who have never regretted being born that way. Most have told me they wish they could have been born mentally orientated to their birth sex. Transsexuals are NOT created by nurturing or desire. It's been proven that the brain of a true TS has not developed the way it should. In other words, the brain's sex orientation is not the same as that of the body. I had one person once tell me "they wouldn't wish the condition on their worst enemy." True Transsexualism is a very rare condition.

Zoe Brain: You're on the money. This is a terribly complicated issue that few people have any understanding of at all. There's rarely a fabulous outcome for the affected person. As I said in a previous post, they may get mental relief from changing their outward gender, but loneliness and discrimination haunts them to the grave. Life's often better for them, but rarely are they able to take life for granted as does general society.

Correction: I meant to say that I've never met Alan Finch. Please pardon the missing word and any other typos. I am in a dreadful rush at present.