I was thinking that I really don't know how most of Smogon feels about issues that are important to me.
If you didn't know, I am a transsexual- an MtF, to be exact (male to female). This means I am the classic "woman trapped in a man's body" (although I would probably slap you if you brought up that cliche; and my body isn't all that manly, either), who will go through hormonal therapy among many other (expensive) treatments to change their body, ultimately culminating in sex reassignment surgery. While transsexuals have been covered more in recent media sources including a Newsweek article, the CBS special about transgendered children, Transamerica, etc., there still exist many preconceived notions that are simply not true; such as that transsexuals are perverts (I can get kinky, but I don't quite understand that one), that they get sexual pleasure from dressing in women's clothes (that would be a crossdresser) and an incredible amount of other things. There are also people who still consider it a mental illness and, sadly, being transsexual is indeed still classified as a disorder (Gender Identity Disorder, to be exact).
There is no credence to it being a disorder.
Every single transsexual I have ever known has reported that they have known that they did not belong as a member of their sex (there is a difference between sex and gender- sex is physical, gender is mental) since they were very young. This is no different from myself- I have known since I was 3 years old and dressing myself in skirts (hopefully that didn't get a laugh out of you) that I was not really male, and that I definitely did not want to be one.
There is a certain depressing quality to not feeling right in your body, and it is one that causes those in my position a great deal of pain. In fact, the suicide rate among untreated transsexuals is around 70%, I believe. In short, it isn't a nice thing to have to deal with; and nothing can help more than knowing you have people by your side. For instance, I have a wonderful group of friends that supports me, I have an amazing girlfriend that has commited herself to me, and my parents (while shaky about it) have said that they, at the very least, accept it and will help me with it. I'm getting a new therapist that will help me even more (he's an FtM; female to male), and the help, support, and understanding of the people around me is such a boost to my happiness. And this is something I want to help with- getting more support, and helping people understand that what I and people like me go through is not unnatural, and it certainly is something that needs to be dealt with and given help.
So. What do you think?
EDIT: from now on, I'm going to ask that if you want to post, you either have some knowledge of transsexuality and/or you read the Wikipedia article on it, because I'm tired of people telling me things that simply aren't true.
If you didn't know, I am a transsexual- an MtF, to be exact (male to female). This means I am the classic "woman trapped in a man's body" (although I would probably slap you if you brought up that cliche; and my body isn't all that manly, either), who will go through hormonal therapy among many other (expensive) treatments to change their body, ultimately culminating in sex reassignment surgery. While transsexuals have been covered more in recent media sources including a Newsweek article, the CBS special about transgendered children, Transamerica, etc., there still exist many preconceived notions that are simply not true; such as that transsexuals are perverts (I can get kinky, but I don't quite understand that one), that they get sexual pleasure from dressing in women's clothes (that would be a crossdresser) and an incredible amount of other things. There are also people who still consider it a mental illness and, sadly, being transsexual is indeed still classified as a disorder (Gender Identity Disorder, to be exact).
There is no credence to it being a disorder.
Every single transsexual I have ever known has reported that they have known that they did not belong as a member of their sex (there is a difference between sex and gender- sex is physical, gender is mental) since they were very young. This is no different from myself- I have known since I was 3 years old and dressing myself in skirts (hopefully that didn't get a laugh out of you) that I was not really male, and that I definitely did not want to be one.
There is a certain depressing quality to not feeling right in your body, and it is one that causes those in my position a great deal of pain. In fact, the suicide rate among untreated transsexuals is around 70%, I believe. In short, it isn't a nice thing to have to deal with; and nothing can help more than knowing you have people by your side. For instance, I have a wonderful group of friends that supports me, I have an amazing girlfriend that has commited herself to me, and my parents (while shaky about it) have said that they, at the very least, accept it and will help me with it. I'm getting a new therapist that will help me even more (he's an FtM; female to male), and the help, support, and understanding of the people around me is such a boost to my happiness. And this is something I want to help with- getting more support, and helping people understand that what I and people like me go through is not unnatural, and it certainly is something that needs to be dealt with and given help.
So. What do you think?
EDIT: from now on, I'm going to ask that if you want to post, you either have some knowledge of transsexuality and/or you read the Wikipedia article on it, because I'm tired of people telling me things that simply aren't true.