: The end of puberty :
I woke up today and looked at myself in the mirror, and I realized that my physical transformation is coming to an end. Simply put, the changes in my physical appearance that have occurred so rapidly in the past two years - culminating with my cosmetic surgery - are pretty much over. As hormones and aging continue their dual effect on my body, I'll see changes much more gradually over time.
What TG people who transition go through is often described as a second puberty, assuming they went through the first one as their birth sex (i.e. they did not transition before natural puberty). I remember when I was going through puberty as a young male, I was convinced that my body was going to develop as a female. I thought that sooner or later, my penis would fall off or go away and I would blossom into a young woman. As the years passed and it didn't happen, I learned to accept being in a male body and made the most of it. It was many years later before I learned that there was a way to make that childhood dream come true, but had I known then what I know now, perhaps my life would have turned out much differently.
Perhaps that is why we are seeing TG people in this country transition younger and younger, because of the availability of information on the Internet and the gradual understanding fostered by movies such as Transamerica, Soldier's Girl and Boys Don't Cry. I remember seeing a documentary on transsexuals getting SRS in Thailand, and a Thai surgeon said that the average age of his patients who come from the U.S. is 50, but the average age of his Thai patients is only 26. There are a number of reasons for this, but probably the most pervasive is the difference in our cultures. Transgendered people are much more visible and accepted in southeast Asia than they are here. If a child who grows up in Thailand has TG thoughts, he or she is much more likely to explore it and get the necessary information to make a decision at an earlier age.
Maybe in a borderline case that might not be a good thing. Making such a life-altering decision requires the clarity and stability that some people only find in maturity. But that is what psychologists and therapists are for - to help those who may be confused to understand themselves more fully. But in this country, it is so much harder to be informed, and once diagnosed with GID, to undertake the journey. There is a lack of understanding about the TG condition in this country that we are slowly starting to address. And that is why I'm trying to do my small part in this blog, and by participating in a TG panel at Rice University next week for psychology students as part of their Human Sexuality elective. I will post that experience here in a few days. Check back soon!
What TG people who transition go through is often described as a second puberty, assuming they went through the first one as their birth sex (i.e. they did not transition before natural puberty). I remember when I was going through puberty as a young male, I was convinced that my body was going to develop as a female. I thought that sooner or later, my penis would fall off or go away and I would blossom into a young woman. As the years passed and it didn't happen, I learned to accept being in a male body and made the most of it. It was many years later before I learned that there was a way to make that childhood dream come true, but had I known then what I know now, perhaps my life would have turned out much differently.
Perhaps that is why we are seeing TG people in this country transition younger and younger, because of the availability of information on the Internet and the gradual understanding fostered by movies such as Transamerica, Soldier's Girl and Boys Don't Cry. I remember seeing a documentary on transsexuals getting SRS in Thailand, and a Thai surgeon said that the average age of his patients who come from the U.S. is 50, but the average age of his Thai patients is only 26. There are a number of reasons for this, but probably the most pervasive is the difference in our cultures. Transgendered people are much more visible and accepted in southeast Asia than they are here. If a child who grows up in Thailand has TG thoughts, he or she is much more likely to explore it and get the necessary information to make a decision at an earlier age.
Maybe in a borderline case that might not be a good thing. Making such a life-altering decision requires the clarity and stability that some people only find in maturity. But that is what psychologists and therapists are for - to help those who may be confused to understand themselves more fully. But in this country, it is so much harder to be informed, and once diagnosed with GID, to undertake the journey. There is a lack of understanding about the TG condition in this country that we are slowly starting to address. And that is why I'm trying to do my small part in this blog, and by participating in a TG panel at Rice University next week for psychology students as part of their Human Sexuality elective. I will post that experience here in a few days. Check back soon!
