MovieChat Forums > Transamerica (2006) Discussion > Why is it so important to undergo surger...

Why is it so important to undergo surgery ?


I'm straight and very open minded, I believe people have a God given right to be whoever they want to be and love whoever they want (as long as nobody is abused in the process of course) but I don't understand why undergoing a sex change operation is so important to some people. I'm not judging or saying they shouldn't, I just don't get it.

I mean, this is cosmetic surgery only, no surgery can turn a man into a woman or a woman into a man, biological sexual identity is hard wired inside human DNA and no surgery can turn testicles into ovaries and a scrotum into a womb... at the beginning of the movie Bree said something like "after my operation, not even a gynecologist would be able to tell the difference"... well,he/she is deluding herself, I'm sure a gynecologist among all people would be able to tell the difference in a split second !
I don't want to make it sound offensive, but why couldn't he accept his male body and "just" be gay if that's how he felt ?

Very interesting movie anyway :)

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Some people really feel trapped in the wrong body; the wrong sex. Sexual identity may be 'hard-wired' in the DNA, but the opposite sex could be 'hard wired'... not the sex that is reflected in your sexual organs.

A FANTASTIC vid about an actor playing a TRANSVESTITE!:
http://www.trikeaband.com

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Unless you possess a PhD of some sort I really don't think you are in a position to make that kind of conclusion, right? For starters sexual identity being "hard wired" within the DNA is not only dead wrong but an insanely mis informing and ignorant assumption. Sexual identify is actually determined in the final stage of fetal development whereas sex organs are formed within the 1st stage of fetal development. So go back to high school and learn some very simple biology.

It has actually be scientifically proven, not speculated BUT PROVEN, that gender (the brain) and sex (penis or vagina) can be mix matched at birth. Most children claiming gender dysphoria when tested are determined to have unusual sex hormone imbalances, often that of the levels that match the sex they are claiming they should be. (if biologically male, having female sex hormones and vica versa). There are also several other tests that are done that I'm not going to go on and on about. Look it up!

So you think that person, let's sat male to female transsexual for argument sake shouldn't have need to go through with the full sex change. First off a sex change isn't cosmetic. Getting botex is cosmetic. Not changing your assigned sex organs. So the person, again we'll say MtF, is supposed to undergo hormone replacement therapy, get breast implants, body contouring, facial electrolysis, jaw contouring and the many many other surgeries to pass as a genetic female yet when it comes down to it "he" is supposed to spend the rest of their life with a penis instead of taking the 3 extra hours to go and get the sex change. tell me how the hell this makes any sense. So for the rest of "his" life "he" can't go into a females bathrooms or change room, have "M" on all their identification and be harassed, humiliated and questioned by anyone who has to see their ID. They have gotten all the work done to pass as female yet they are going to have a penis between their legs. Well the last time I checked woman don't have penises. Sorry.

And yeah actually a sex change can make a man a woman or a woman a man. Period. I have post-operative transsexual friends and I have seen their vagina's and quite graphically and I can assure you the technology is out there to ensure that nobody can tell the difference. A gynecologist... maybe. But he or she would have to be pretty far up there.

I understand you don't mean disrespect. But you are ignorant and I'm going to assume you weren't really thinking before you asked this question. Transsexuals are humans too and hvae like you said "a god given right to do whatever makes them happy"

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BTW... the above posting is intended for the OP only.

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This comment is years late and probably is just going to float in the ether as a prayer or a lament.

It's good that you think of yourself as an open-minded person, but your comments about a transgender woman (meaning she was born a biological male) are completely transphobic! Did you not see the movie? The transition that is facilitated by surgeries is just the physiological adjustment to mirror the emotional, psychological and affectional realities of Bree's identity. She is a female in the most salient way that a female can be female: she knows that she is!

There is no automatic correlation between gender and sexual orientation. Your comment that she should just make peace with her body and have sex with guys is an affront to the dignity that this movie tries to bring to the struggles of transgender people. How did you know that you are straight? When did you know? And did anyone ever try to tell you that you arent'? Are you male? If so, when did you know that you were male and did anyone ever tell you that you weren't a male? Put yourself in Bree's size 14 pumps and wrap your mind around her reality.

When people preface a statement, "I don't want to make it sound offensive...." you can be sure that they are going to say something incredibly offensive. I hope that in the time since you posted originally, you have gotten some credible information or maybe met someone who is transgender. I think that if you did, and that person became a real person to you, fully fleshed out in three dimensions, you might have to reconsider your flippant remarks.

Respectfully, Eric.

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Ignorant does not mean stupid, but rather a lack of knowledge. Having an open mind means asking for people who know to open it for you. Sorry you were attacked, but I think your questions were just fine.

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