Changing sex/tattoos.

[Ernie]

Originally Posted by Gayle

I can't begin to understand the hell that a person who believes that they are the wrong sex can be going through.

This is the reason I say that it is a mental health issue rather than a surgical one.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Ernie

This is the reason I say that it is a mental health issue rather than a surgical one.

For gender realignment surgery to take place, two years of counselling takes place, and the person has to spend a year before the operations living in their chosen gender role.

[SPUGGIE J]

Originally Posted by garinda

For gender realignment surgery to take place, two years of counselling takes place, and the person has to spend a year before the operations living in their chosen gender role.

So who pays for the counselling?

[garinda]

Originally Posted by SPUGGIE J

So who pays for the counselling?

The NHS, as per usual.

[wayneyboy1942]

I just think that it's wrong to spend money on this type of stuff when people can't get life saving drugs! The NHS is'nt bottomless, and tattoos being removed should be well down the list of priorities!

[pendy]

Although I know three people who have had gender reassignment surgery, I still don't really understand it. How can you know, if you are one gender, how it feels to be the other? So how can you know you would be happier male or female as the case may be? What is not generally known is that post surgery, the NHS has to fund constant hormone therapy in order to avoid a degree of regression - just removing/adding bits doesn't do it, bodies still produce some of the same male/female hormones. Add to this the cost of the tattoo removal and it is truly adding insult to injury.

[wkd_one]

IT should have had to pay to have IT's totoos removed and IT should definatly been told to sod off when IT asked to have the sex change simply because IT had chosen the way of been a man when it settled down and decided to have children . IT should have thought about the sex change before having children as i know for sure i wouldnt appreciate my father switching sex

no matter what is taken away IT will always be a man especialy in the eyes of the law which means IT has to use the mens toilets and will go to a male prison if convicted of a crime

sex swaps should not be done on the NHS for free infact no surgery just to please peoples vanity should be done on the HNS like women who arnt happy with their tiny boobs can get bigger boobs if they say its causing them depression not having big boobs. ( excluding victims of crime or accidents, reconstructive surgery etc )

ime pretty sure there are a lot of childrens wards out there that would gladly welcome a new incubator or two so that more babys can live

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by Gayle

I can't begin to understand the hell that a person who believes that they are the wrong sex can be going through,

I have heard people try to explain the torment of living in what to them seems like an alien body. I can only come close to trying to imagine it if I think how I would feel if I woke up one morning with the body of a big hairy navvy and was told I'd have to spend the rest of my life like that! I know it would feel wrong and not feel like me and would probably drive me insane.

Originally Posted by pendy

Although I know three people who have had gender reassignment surgery, I still don't really understand it. How can you know, if you are one gender, how it feels to be the other? So how can you know you would be happier male or female as the case may be?

Yes, that's a good point. If you have never experienced life as the other gender - how do you know?

Having said all that, I do have sympathy for those who have struggled through childhood feeling that they have been wrongly assigned at birth, especially if there have been doubts which required a decision leading to earlier surgery. However in this particular case the guy has lived apparentkly quite happily as a man and managed to father 9 flippin children so he can't have exactly had much of a problem relating to his gender whilst he was doing that! Then expecting the tattoo removal as an additional freebie just adds insult to injury.

There are times when I feel that the line between cosmetic surgery for vanity and plastic surgery for medical reasons meet in a shady grey area - the point about boobs and depression being one. Depression is a very real medical condition and perhaps having surgery is the lesser of two evils if it prevents years pf misery, counselling and/or drugs. Equally valid can be breast reduction where the weight is causing physical discomfort and it isn't all about being fat or going on a diet. I know a very slim young woman who has naturally huge bosoms, but there has to be a point where the NHS says "No" because life savings drugs etc should take priority.

[pendy]

All of the three transexuals that I know personally have lived apparently happily as men and two have fathered children. One in particular, when I told a mutual friend that he was going to become she, friend said "What, that randy b*****d!". Apparently for all three the male bodies worked perfectly well.

Yes, Willow, I too would hate to wake up as a big hairy navvy, but that is largely because all my life experiences have been female ones (they would never let me have a train set) so I wouldn't know how to cope with suddenly being a man.

[lindsay ormerod]

I have to go with the majority on this one and say that the tattoo removal should be funded by the person involved;and having seen a news article on the person I really don't think the removal of tattoos will make that much of a difference,she/he/it looked like a burly dustman in a drag act costume.For patients to be playing the "poscode lottery" to get cancer treating drugs and the NHS to be funding farcical ops like this sends out all the wrong messages;someone should get their butt kicked for authorising the op but no doubt if it was refused the infringing of human rights issue would raise it's ugly head once more!

[pendy]

I entirely agree with you Lindsay, having seen his/her/its photograph, it would take more than tattoo removal to make her look "ladylike"!!