over the holidays we were wondering how exactly they surgically “modify” people making the big switch. i can visualize (i think) how you go male to female . . they sorta “make” a hole there. are there females who change into males also? can surgeons fashion some sort of penis . . grow erectile tissue in a lab . . and . . you know what im saying
Male-to-female surgery (which has been going on since the late 1920s) involves inverting the penile tissue and is pretty straight-forward.
Female-to-male surgery is a lot more complicated, expensive and is still undergoing experimentation. One process involves using thigh tissue to create a penis, with a plastic tube inside; others involve intestinal tissue. Some female-to-male TS’s prefer to forgo surgery and simply live as men without it—not a happy solution, as they are socially considered lesbians rather than men (no matter if they are straight or gay).
There are about 35,000 transsexuals in the U.S. alone, and although the causes of the condition have pretty much been proven (exposure to hormones at about the 7th week of gestation) the American Psychiatric Assoc. still lists it as a “mental illness,” much as they did homosexuality till recently.
—Eve (who gets around)
Just to clarify what Eve said (I have some friends who’ve been through this):
It’s not transsexualism per se which is classified as a mental illness, but gender dysphoria, which can be roughly defined as being “a woman trapped in a man’s body” or vice versa. The therapy for it is gender reassignment.
There are a lot of resources on the Web about this subject, bda.
years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dr.Biber of Trinidad Colorado who pioneerd sex change surgery. I got to see photos and videos of male to female surgeries.
basically, a hole is cut into the taint area and packed with gauze. teh skin of the penis is cut along the bottom up to the glans. THe spongy tissue in the center is removed. the remaining skin and glans is left connected.
The skin of the shaft is turned into the labia and the head (or part of it) is turned into a clitorous. I can’t remember what sking he used to line the vagina. THe vaginal opening is kept open first with gauze and then there is this pump deal that is inserted to keep the opening open.
I am sorry that this is so vague. I have tried to forget the images of sliced up penises. Apparently, some men show up at hospitals where they castrate themselves. Some of them later opt for this surgery and do not have the advantage of the extra tissue to create labia. But let me tell you something. I saw about 100 photos of the end product and they look pretty darn real.
Oh, and the good Doctor told me that he created a fake penis on a woman by using a section of rib. I do not know what it looks like or what skin was used for covering, nor do I really want to.
Mr. Zambezi—
Thanks for the additional info, but one minor point: while Dr. Biber does much good work, he did not “pioneer” sex-change surgery.
The first documented (male-to-female) surgery was done in the late 1920s on a Danish artist named Lili Elbe, and by the time Harry Benjamin opened a clinic in the late 1950s, hundreds of operations had been performed worldwide.
I was surpsied to see in Christine Jorgensen’s obit about ten years ago that the NY Times called her “the world’s first transsexual.” Actually, she was the first transsexual with a press agent . . .
thanks eve and cat for general info . . wow zambezi . . sounds like you saw too much. a “member” out of a rib . . jeez . . i mean if you dont have a “member” . . can you be legally a man . . and whats the legal def of a man or a woman?
An interesting twist on the book of Genesis, isn’t it?
Ha! Cabbage. Very good point. LOL…and funny.
As for this “Thanks for the additional info, but one minor point: while Dr. Biber does much good work, he did not “pioneer” sex-change surgery.”
I can’t tell you who did the first one because I never looked into it, but I will share this.
Dr.Biber was, and really still is, a country doctor. Not only does he do sex change surgery but he sets bone, does knee replacements and anything else that is needed. He is your old all-around doctor.
He told me that he developed his version of the sex change surgery when a friend of his who wanted to be a woman asked him if he could help. It is one of those rare cases where something started off being a lark and ended up as a profession. He told be that he developed the procedure.
My take on this is that he developed his procedure independantly of the European doctors. So he may not have been the first to do such a surgery, he did invent his form of it.
After all, the early Euro americans weren’t the first people to travel to new lands, but they were indeed pioneers.
On a different note, Biber is a really great guy.
Oh, I agree with you—I have nuthin’ but the best of thoughts for the good doc.
I just wanted, as an historian, to throw in some background which people might find interesting.
Fascinating book, if you should ever come across it, is “Male into Female” (1932), the bio of Lili Elbe, as compiled by her brother-in-law. Wonderful, tragic story (she died of blood poisoning), well-written, too. Also check out Jan Morris’ terrific memoirs, “Conundrum.”
I have a friend (I know, I know, but it’s true) who is doing a M>F gender reassignment. She’s been undergoing hormone therapy for quite some time, and hopes to have the surgery in a year. Interestingly, when she completes the process and is a woman, she’s planning on (or hoping for) a lesbian relationship. She’s been a straight man all her life, has no desire to have sex with men. She just feels that she was born to be a woman.
StG
Y’see, St.Germain, who are ARE and who you’re ATTRACTED to are two different things, entirely. Your friend is no less a woman because she is a lesbian.
I’ve been told that the percentage of homosexuality in post-operative transsexuals is about the same as in the general population. Maybe a little higher, as they’ve had to really do a lot of introspection and are less likely to be closeted.