Not all transgender people plan to or want to have gender reassignment surgery.

[gollygee]

Not all have any kind of surgery, or take hormones. Maybe they can't afford it, or maybe there's a medical reason they can't, or maybe they are unsure about it, or maybe they don't want to. There is no requirement that anyone do anything like that in order to actually be transgender. They just have to recognize that their identified gender is different from the gender that was assigned to them at birth. That's it. Even if they never take hormones, never have any surgery, no matter how much they do or don't appear to others as their identified gender, they are transgender and should be honored as who they are. There is so much discrimination against them that their lives are difficult and we, as kind and compassionate people, should try to ease this rather than exacerbate it.

From what I've read, I'm not sure if everyone understands this. If you do, then move on, I'm not talking to you.

[Tree-Hugger]

1. I do understand

and I am giving this a kick before I move along.

[Starry Messenger]

2. k&r

[Warren Stupidity]

3. thank you.

[Maedhros]

4. Important post!

Maybe we should just let people be who they want to be?

[Shandris]

8. I'm sorry Maedhros, that's just not possible. There's no sense of superiority...

..., power, and control involved when we just let people be who they want to be!

((Agree 100%, obviously! ))

[Marrah_G]

5. My son in law is just doing hormones and top surgery

[Shandris]

6. I was beginning to wonder if that distinction had been missed by some...

...people. I have a sneaky suspicion that getting real rights for these people is going to be an uphill battle, but maybe I'm wrong. There does seem to be a lot more recognition than even a year or two ago, so that's encouraging.

[Zorra]

7. Maybe there should be a new classification for transsexual persons, that

would identify them as totally distinct from transgender persons.

What Transsexuality Is:
Definition, Cause, and History

INTRODUCTION:

Transsexuality, also termed 'Gender Dysphoria' is now reaching the point of being reasonably well understood, though many myths and general foolishness about the subject still abound. This document concerns the classic definition of transsexuality, as defined by Benjamin, Money, Green, and so forth. Intersexuality and transgenderism will not be addressed other than obliquely.

SUMMARY DEFINITION:

Gender Dysphoria, literally a misery with regard to gender, is the condition of being in a state of conflict between gender and physical sex.

A transsexual is a person in which the sex-related structures of the brain that define gender identity are exactly opposite the physical sex organs of the body. Put even more simply, a transsexual is a mind that is literally, physically, trapped in a body of the opposite sex.
IN A NUTSHELL: Transsexuality means having the wrong body for the gender one really is.

Transsexuality differs greatly from the commonly - and erroneously - associated terms "Crossdressing" or "Transvestitism", as well as "Transgenderism".

http://www.transsexual.org/What.html

The Problematic Definition of 'Transgender'

The word 'transsexual' is a composite word constructed from latin root terms, a basic standard of science and medicine, used for the purpose of permitting precise and exact definition.
'trans', which means essentially 'to move across', and 'sex' which defines reproductive physical construction, are brought together to form the complete word "transsexual".
The parts clearly and exactly define the meaning of the term, which is to cross from one physical sex to another.
snip----
It has been suggested that the value of the word "transgender" may lie in the fact that it is meaningless, so that it forms a comfortably vague label to unite various kinds of people who exist outside cultural gender definitions but who have little in common otherwise. To this end it is commonly used, and this unification may have benefit in terms of seeking political power to liberalize society, or to redress social injustice.

The current accepted definition of "transgender" is as an all-inclusive term for all persons whose expression of gender is outside the current cultural expectations or norms.

http://www.transsexual.org/data0.html

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. The "transsexual vs transgender" thing sounds really questionable?

It sounds a lot like the "Harry Benjamin Syndrome" types, honestly.

[Warpy]

9. Anyone who understands how drastic the surgery is and how much it costs

should understand why some people don't go quite that far when they transition.

However, my tolerance stops at leering straight males who snicker about being lesbians in male bodies. Uh, no guys, you are definitely not, so stop saying it and offending every thinking person around you.

[Jim Lane]

10. How often is money a barrier?

I know that some transfolk have the surgery and that some, as noted by the OP, don't want it. One thing I'm unclear on is how many would like to have it but can't because of the cost. I don't know how often insurance coverage is available.

Do you have any thoughts on the prevalence of the financial issue?

[Warpy]

11. It can vary by state

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamacare-states-and-insurers-make-gender-reassignment-surgery-more-accessible-2015-06-02

A less sunny article is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2661470/

You could have looked this stuff up yourself, you know.

[Jim Lane]

12. Thanks for the links!

The hopeful sign I note is that the article you describe as "less sunny" is six years old. The 2015 article suggests that there's been significant progress.

"You could have looked this stuff up yourself, you know." True, but my experience is that someone who's knowledgeable about a topic can quickly give an answer that would take me a long time to find. As an attorney, I sometimes post here with legal analysis that a nonlawyer could find but only with effort. This information exchange is one benefit of a discussion board.

[Maru Kitteh]

16. Google is so freakin' quick. You could have easily looked "this stuff" up for yourself

It requires little.

But you knew that.

You have been the beneficiary of patience and kindness.

[Jim Lane]

19. I have indeed been the beneficiary of patience and kindness.

As I pointed out, I've also been the practitioner of patience and kindness.

The right hand washes the left, the left hand washes the right, and both become clean. DU is a place where that happens. We help each other. On our good days, the site is more than just Clinton supporters and Sanders supporters snarling at each other.

[Ms. Toad]

13. Until very recently there was little hope of insurance coverage for surgery.

Even hormones are costly and unlikely to be covered unless there is some other medical reason for prescribing them. A friend of mine received testosterone blockers because she has high blood pressure and the blockers also lower blood pressure. That is the exception, rather than the rule. The less sunny article Warpy pointed to is more the norm.

Beyond SRS, if you are a woman, but went through puberty in a male body, acquiring a traditionally feminine appearance is likely to require facial feminization surgery - which is solely cosmetic and even less likely to be covered.

Although it is becoming less common, it used to be routine to require at least a year of counseling and presenting with your new gender prior to hormone therapy, another layer of costs.

And - that process often meant you lost your job (and access to health care) when you suddenly turned up with a new name and gender presentation.

Finally, Insurance companies have auto-checking mechanisms which deny prostate examinations and bloodwork for women, or pap tests for men. Even getting routine health care is a daunting task, so many trans* individuals go without routine health care rather than face the inevitable gauntlet they must run.

[Juicy_Bellows]

14. Moving on and kicking!

Cheers!

[LostOne4Ever]

17. K&R and related:

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/06/transgender-gatekeeping/

[uppityperson]

18. k&r with thanks.

[gollygee]

20. Kick

[Behind the Aegis]

21. kick