Do you believe there should be minimum age requirements for transitioning?
What are your feelings with regards to the concept of researching the psychology behind an individual’s desire to transition? Would you prefer a greater, or lesser, amount of such research be conducted?
What might you consider your views to be as to the benefits of requiring individuals undergo psychiatric evaluations prior to transitioning? Is this discriminatory or rather a measure in prudent caution?
Do you believe any further such psychiatric evaluations should be undertaken post-operation?
What might be your greatest hopes and fears upon achieving a successful transition?
Do you believe such transitioning surgeries should be privately or publicly funded? Do you believe the same as to regards de-transitioning surgeries?
Do you have any thoughts with regards to the following article?
What is your view of the following statement:
A 2011 study found that after sex reassignment surgery, more than 300 Swedish transsexuals faced a higher risk for mortality, suicide ideation, and psychiatric issues compared to the rest of the population. The researchers concluded, “Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group.”
Do you have a comment with regards to the differences between dysphoria and transsexualism?
Further, what might be the proper reaction to the following:
The review of more than 100 international medical studies of post-operative transsexuals by the University of Birmingham’s aggressive research intelligence facility (Arif) found no robust scientific evidence that gender reassignment surgery is clinically effective.
Research from the US and Holland suggests that up to a fifth of patients regret changing sex. A 1998 review by the Research and Development Directorate of the NHS Executive found attempted suicide rates of up to 18% noted in some medical studies of gender reassignment.
To what extent should the above be potentially discredited due to the use of 20-year old review given the likely differing views and societal pressures as compared to modern sentiments? To what extent should it be accepted given the previously quoted 2011 Swedish study?
To what degree might you concur with the following statements as a means of potentially further addressing the above?
Transgender psychiatrists, who assess whether patients should change sex, agree that more scientific research is needed. But Kevan Wylie, chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ working party on gender identity disorders, said that all of his patients’ lives have drastically improved following gender reassignment surgery.
Dr Wylie added that it was difficult to conduct research on the outcome of gender reassignment, or to compare its effects with alternative treatments, because transsexualism was such a “rare experience”. Urological surgeon James Bellringer, who has performed more than 200 sex changes over the past four years, claimed that trying to carry out research that involves studying a control group of transsexual patients who were denied hormones and surgery would be unethical.
Mr Bellringer, who works at the main NHS gender identity clinic at Charing Cross hospital in west London, said: “I don’t think that any research that denied transsexual patients treatment would get past an ethics committee. There’s no other treatment that works. You either have an operation or suffer a miserable life. A fifth of those who don’t get treatment commit suicide.”
Do you have any reservations with regards to the above statements?
Do you have any comments with regards to the following article?
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/16/transition-caused-more-problems-than-it-solved
Specifically, to what extent might one consider it possible that some gender dysphoria might have a connection to a failure to feel safe in the role of one’s previous gender?
How, in general, do those in the trans community view those who have chosen to de-transition?