May 21, 2007

As a transgender woman living in the United States I often have a kind of view that is centered on here in the United States. That’s not a bad thing given that I live and make a living here in the United States. But from time to time I wonder, how do other trans-folk feel about themselves? Do they have the same view as to the source of our GID (gender identity disorder) as we do or is our view in the United States decidedly more “western”.

A 2006 study published by Sam Winter BSc, PGCE, MEd, PhD, Division of Learning, Development and Diversity, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, in the International Journal of Transgenderism: Volume: 9 Issue: 2, 2006 (see abstract at that journal here) helped to shed some interesting light on this topic for me, as I hope it does for you. The results may surprise you in how similar across the world those who are transgender really are.

The study was done in Thailand. Now for those of you in the transgender world, Thailand is seen, by many in the United States, as a sort of transgender mecca. Fully tolerant with surgery and life options that make integrating mostly easy. That’s the perception anyway.

In Dr. Winter’s study one hundred and ninety-five transgender females (i.e., male-to-female transgenders (or MtF TGs)), with an average age of about 25 years, completed a questionnaire examining, what they believed about the attitudes of parents and society towards them and what they thought may have caused them to have Gender Identity Disorder. First let’s look at the acceptance statistics.

Thai Mothers tallied at the top on accepting their child’s condition with 62.9% accepting or encouraging their children who showed transgender traits. Thai Fathers had an interestingly high number as well, at 40.7% accepting or encouraging.

On the causal front, 84% believed that biology played a role in their being transgender. Interestingly, friends and karma were also commonly endorsed as explanatory factors as well, with 50% for the latter and 48.4% for the former.

All in all, interesting reading on how similar we may all be after all. You can reach the full abstract at Th International Journal of Transgenderism at this link HERE.

In case you missed it Christine Daniels, of the L. A. Times, has put up a blog. From the blogs description:

Christine Daniels is a veteran sportswriter who has worked at the Los Angeles Times for 23 years — as Mike Penner. Christine shocked many readers on April 27, 2007, when she announced her decision to change gender. She will be blogging about her transition over the days to come.

Fun reading You can reach Ms. Daniels blog at by clicking to the L.A. Times from this link HERE. (p.s. bring a cup of mochajava with you!)

In case you missed it. The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA) has changed it’s name to The World Professional Association for Transgender Health or WPATH.

Their new address on the web is : http://www.wpath.org/

And, if you don’t know, WPATH is, in their own words:

is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders.

We have approximately 500 members from around the world, in fields such as medicine, psychology, law, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, voice therapy, sexology and other related fields

And, their bi-ennial symposium is in the USA this year! It’ll be held in Chicago, September 5th through September 8th at the Embassy Suites Hotel. The hotel is in downtown and a short walk to Navy Pier and Michigan Avenue. The theme for the conference is: “Looking to the Future: Environment, Transplantation, Telepsychiatry”

Here are some of what will be talked about:

• Dr. Walter Bockting on Spectrum vs Dichotomy
• Dr. Stan Monstrey - Surgery Overview and State of the Art
• Dr. Randi Ettner - Children of Transsexuals
• Dr. Richard Green - Nature versus Nurture

Surprisingly you do not have to be a physician to join. You can be on the latest cutting edge developments in the field of Gender Identity Disorder by joining as a supporting member!

Supporting membership is available to individuals who do not work in the professional disciplines listed above, but still have an interest in being an active member of the organization. Supporting membership costs $110 (US) per year, and carries no voting privileges.

Get it on the fun by visiting the WPATH site at this link HERE.