Defining the word transsexual



Our members have noticed the start of a new internet group - Transsexual True Meaning - seeking to redfine the word transsexual. 
 
We were surprised by this for two reasons.
 
Firstly, as the originator of the group admits, transsexual has a well established definition that has existed for over 60 years
 
Here is the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) entry:
 
:- A person who has undergone treatment in order to acquire the physical characteristics of the opposite sex.
 
The Cambridge English dictionary is similar
 
:- Used to describe a person who has had medical treatment to change their sex.
 
It adds an example of appropriate use in a sentence


:- Bagger, who started life as a man and had a sex change operation, made history by becoming the first transsexual woman to play on the Ladies' European Tour.
 
Regardless of the rights or wrongs of a transsexual woman taking part on a ladies sporting tour - which we do take seriously - the meaning of the word is made clear by these world renowned authorities.
 
As you can see it differs from transgender in that it involves those who specifically alter their body physically to live as the opposite sex.

We wish to make clear that we do not make the claim that biologically we can change sex as the dictionary definition might imply. However, we do what is medically possible toward that aim.


Transsexual is not simply a feeling or dressing up to resemble a man or woman by expressing gender stereotypes. It involves medically assisted major bodily change.
 
Trans activism is pressing for self ID and has a much looser and wider concept of what the word transgender means. They have attempted to absorb transsexual into it and that idea has gained traction.

As a consequence we transsexuals have become very protective of the word, much as women rightly have of their definitions.

Trans activism accuses us of being old fashioned but the term says what it is and differentiates from the often non medically routed transgender identity which we consider important.
 
Not because we are better. We believe every person must earn respect through concern over the rights of others. Surgery does not change that.

However,transsexual and transgender are different and it sometimes matters - to put it bluntly - if a trans person has chosen to retain their natal sex organs (as many transgender do) or altered their body and removed them (as most transsexuals do).
 
It gives to others added information when judging a person in their presence.

So using this word accurately matters, not just to us but often in particular to women.

Of course, it matters to men, too, and there are transsexual men. About 30% of transsexuals transition female to male and make whatever bodily changes they can make too.
 
Which brings us to the second concern. This new site wants to redefine transsexual as a person who is sexually attracted to a transgender person - because such people presently have no word to apply as others have heterosexual and homosexual.
 
We think this suggestion was well intended and we cannot speak for how those who are in relationships with transgender men or women feel about themselves.

They are free to decide if they are gay or straight in their perception and we would not seek to instruct that choice.
 
As for someone in a relationship with a transsexual person most of us have one and these are again open to the individual to define as they prefer.
 
There are transsexual women married to women and others married to men. The same is true for transsexual men. The proportions do not seem very different from non transsexual relationships. Though, of course, there are different social consequences that we would not seek to minimise.


Transsexuals under the present GRA rules since 2004 have been able to marry heterosexually and - since same sex marriage has more recently been legalised - can do so homosexually as well.
 
Our spouses are what they are. Men, women, straight or gay, and need no special word to define their relationships with us.
 
Indeed we suspect a heterosexual man married to one of us (and they do exist) would probably find it offensive to be told that they are now a transsexual for having such a loving relationship with someone they regard to be a woman.
 
So, with respect, we would ask transgender people NOT to appropriate the dictionary definition of what we are - transsexual - in much the same way as they seem to be trying to dispute the dictionary definition of the word woman. That is equally unreasonable.  
 
We make clear we do not consider posters defining the word woman to be transphobic. They report the true dictionary description of the word much as we have done above with the word 'transsexual'.

We support the official definition of  the word woman.
 
So we request kindly that transgender activists please leave the word woman alone and allow the word transsexual to mean what it has meant since medically defined in the 1950s.

Transsexuals and crime statistics

We have been concerned by several stories in the media about horrific sounding attacks by 'transgender women' - on both men and women.

A major issue is over the impact this has on crime statistics - specifically - How are these crimes being recorded?

There seems an implication that police are relying on what the arrested person declares their sex to be and does not make further checks for fear of being accused of transphobia.

In our view this would be unacceptable if it results in figures for violent assaults carried out by women to be escalated in future records.

We wish to point out that under 5000 people in the UK have legally altered their sex via the existing Gender Recognition Act, which requires psychological assessment and medical approval in order to do so.

Self-ID might be employed via the Equality Act in certain circumstances for access to spaces, but in our opinion legal sex should be what is recorded in terms of legality such as criminal charges and, even then, trans status could also be indicated if it were relevant.


Of under 5000 people who have legally altered their sex marker only at most 3000 are transsexual women who have also obtained a copy of a legally altered birth certficate denoting this.


The chances of all the recent 'trans women' arrested for violent offences being in that number are slight, given the estimated 500,000 transgender people in the UK.

Police are allowed to access birth certificate records during their investigation of a crime even for those who are in this 3000. It is necessary to do that for the true facts to be established and transparency against abuse of identity during the commission of any crime - such as fraud  - to be possible under the current rules of the Gender Recognition Act.

We wonder how often police are actually doing this - and if not, then why not?

As transsexual women we support that right of access in legitimate circumstances such as these.

We feel it is important that correct information is entered into crime statistics and that it is a betrayal of women not to do so as the impact on them from misleading data left for future generations is clear if this is not done.

It is also a betrayal of transsexual women such as the authors of this blog - who followed all the existing rules.


We were medically and psychologically assessed in a process that involved lengthy physical transition because we believed that society deserved that level of reassurance.  And we willingly left the decision on whether our birth certificate marker should be changed to doctors, not our own feelings.

If we achieved a change of legal status in the right way and yet accept that police should still have access to accurate information, then how can it be right to not correctly record someone in official statistics?

Especially not someone who has had no medical and psychological assessment but is simply self-identifying to the authorities as regards their apparent change of sex?

THE USE OF APPROPRIATION

We have been grateful for the many respectful replies we have received on here and on social media.


It is heartening to know that our call for moderation and curbing the excessive use of language is something that others also support.

However, there has been an increasing tendancy to see appropriation of intersex people brought into this debate.

We wish to make clear that intersex conditions are not the same thing as being transsexual or transgender. We have been told this by more than one such person with an intersex condition and we urge that you listen to them and not seek a way to imply you are like them. It is unfair.

These unfortunate people face a partially understood medical condition that carries many problems but is not known to be related to whatever is behind being transsexual.

We fully support research by scientists wanting to look for causes of transsexualism - be they physical, psychological or sociological. Knowledge is power to help future generations deal with what we know is a traumatic experience.

Yet we are very concerned to see some activists calling out academics who are endeavouring to fund meaningful investigation. Some even seek to get them into trouble with their colleges or employers just for doing this.

That is utterly wrong.

The search for a cause to transsexualism is a valid enterprise and we should not pre-determine any conclusion it might reach.

Science is evidence led - not conducted only if it agrees to prove what someone wants to be true.

In both of these actions we urge that those applying them for what they consider to be valid reasons please think again.

Similarly, we have noticed analogies used on social media to make those with a gender critical perspective look as if they have reasons for their opinions that seem unpalatable. Not merely genuine viewpoints, which we accept that such views very often are .

We cannot and should not impose our beliefs onto anyone.

Comparing treatment of transgender people with how the Nazi regime handled those of which they disapproved 75 years ago has become commonplace.

And transsexuals who support the rights of women to self determine their boundaries - as we 14 creating this blog do - get called truscum or quislings and even collaborators with agents of terror.

Many brave and honourable women challenged totalitarianism in occupied France and their sacrifice should not be demeaned.

As we approach Remembrance Sunday and the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War the use of such analogies to blacken the reputation of any woman, or trans woman, who does not follow ideology is disrespectful.

It unfairly appropriates and also diminishes those women who stood against oppression in past generations.

UPDATE  FRIDAY 19 OCTOBER 2018

The GRA Consultation has now closed.

As you can see we are now 14 members of this informal gathering hoping to seek a way towards mutual understanding.

There are other transsexuals supporting us and we are grateful for their encouragement.

We have been overwhelmed by your response on here and elsewhere. Thank you. There are a few replies from people who disagree with us but we respect your right to have a different opinion. We have not deleted these posts from comments. That is not how we intend to engage.

Rather we seek to find a way to move this debate forward from the polarised attitudes that dominate social media. Disagreement is fine so long as we all respect one another's right to an opposing view and try to work together. If replies are civil then they can be critical.

Words are too often used as weapons in a war of ideologies. This pushes discussion further apart. We need open discussion in search of a way forward that might be acceptable to all.

Hopefully, government will now be doing this and we would ask that the media, also, follow a more positive stance when seeking answers.

It is easy to select examples of awful events or activities that prove your own beliefs. We do not minimise them. If they call for condemnation on either side we will do so without reservation.

We have listened to your ideas and thank you for suggestions.

Under consideration is finding a platform where discussion can be friendly and words that demean either side are excluded. Blogger is not designed for this but we will continue to post messages here and hope you, too, will continue to offer your thoughts.

Hopefully we will find a place and time where we can have a good debate over a couple of hours, perhaps, as a trial run. Then, if that is successful, we can take it from there.

You deserve to have your say free of the political ideology that  has so far dominated all sides of this debate.  That is why we are here. And we respect your help, advice and support in trying to achieve this aspiration.

Watch out for our next update with further details of the next step that we hopefully take together.



A STATEMENT TO THE MEDIA

It is not the policy of this blog to approach the media. However, we welcome anyone making reference, or quoting from, its content if they so choose.

Nonetheless we were asked to give a comment as the GRA consultation period ended. It was not used, but we thought you might like to see what we wanted to say. 

COMMENT:-

Really this is all about respect.

Transsexual women have always respected women, because, whilst we do not claim to literally be one, we live as one through mutual respect and a bond of trust between us and them over many years.

The transgender movement seems to have lost that concept. It is now about acquiescence and rights not mutual understanding.

No wonder women - and society in general - are starting to disrespect trans people.

You reap what you sow.

We just wish they would wake up to how this is not all about us. But about all people. All of us live in a community and you do not become part of that community by demanding entry and telling them that their rules are wrong.

Transsexuals understand that.

Transgender people need to or they will find themselves facing a less bright future than they deserve.

TRANSSEXUAL WOMEN OPPOSING
SELF-ID:-
Why we are afraid

NB:- Please bring this blog to wider attention. If you support the contents then pass on the link. Post any comments below. We will respond to these in our next statement on this blog. 

SOME FACTS:-
 We are a number of individual transsexual women who are expressing deep concern over planned government changes to the GRA
 (The Gender Recognition Act; an act passed by parliament in 2004 by large majority.)

• It was written for transsexual people
• Doctors giving evidence then predicted there were 5000 of us in the UK who would qualify.
• As of August 2018 there were 4910 registered. About 3000 are transsexual women (who transition male to female) and the rest are transsexual men.

Yet the UK government state the act is not being used by enough applicants and want to extend it to add up to 500,000 people who define as transgender - including cross dressers.

Consultation on this plan is about to close.

Transsexual person
A medically diagnosed condition from childhood.

It involves acute stress from knowing that psychologically
that person is of opposite sex to the physiology of their body.

A transsexual person knows that you cannot change biological sex but extensive psychotherapy and medical assistance alter their body to match with the mind and live in harmony.

A large majority have had surgical alteration.

Transgender
A desire to adopt the lifestyle of the opposite sex, full time or part time, often expressing this via clothing and make up.

The desire to have surgery or other medical treatments is much less common (some suggest as low as 10% of cases only).

Few wish to see doctors or be psychiatrically evaluated. Some transition back and forth.

The transsexual women who have approved this statement say:-

(please quote or tweet any of the following)

“Transsexualism is not just a feeling in our heads or about dressing up. We knew we had a problem, sought medical advice and followed treatments proposed to try to resolve the problem."

"Medical transition was the last option after following medical treatment, not the first. It was not a choice.”

“Government suggest removing all medical gatekeeping and the crafted bonds of trust that establish medical necessity to change our legal status. We believe these safeguards are vital as a show of respect from us to society when seeking access into protected spaces such as toilets. Nobody should just demand this by right.”

“Transgender individuals deserve rights. However, women already have reasonable concerns about ceding their own rights to transsexuals via the GRA. Now transsexuals with rights gained through years of medical assessment are asked to hand them on to people who have done none of that. Diminishing further still the rights of women.”

“We worry that many of the 500,000 transgender accessing legal status would still be physically intact with male bodies or even capable of rape. Medically transitioned transsexual women would be as much at risk from them as would women.”

“Adapting the law would mean that it no longer covers a long established medical condition. The planned GRA changes would allow any person to state that they have changed sex and obtain a birth certificate proving so without any medical involvement at all.”

“We firmly believe that birth certificates should only be altered when doctors agree there are legitimate reasons. This change would remove that long standing principle.”

“As Transsexual people we know surgery does not mean that we literally become women. But we will happily engage in discourse with women to set boundaries based on mutual accord. We respect their right to do this.”

“We make these physical changes to live within society as women without wishing to usurp women's necessary needs for privacy. Our medical treatment has left us mentally healthy adults who have for years afterward contributed fully to society. That is all we have ever sought.”

“We are very concerned by the aggressive tactics and angry demands of the trans activists and just want to continue living peacefully via mutual respect as we have done for half a century. But changing the GRA from medical assessment must concern society, in particular women, who understandably say NO.”

“They may conclude that the only solution will be to exclude everyone - including us. They cannot possibly know the physical or mental status of all those newly self-identified women who now selfishly demand acceptance because they say so.”

“The proposed changes materially disadvantage women in order to benefit up to half a million who merely choose to self-identify as the opposite sex for various undiagnosed reasons. The 5000 presently registered transsexual people for whom the GRA was created 14 years ago are unhappy to be expected to cede rights to those unprepared to give society more than just their word that this should occur.”

“If government choose this route, our years overcoming a medical condition and establishing our life to contribute fully to society becomes minimized to the status of a part time cross dresser or a sex offender asking for transfer to a female jail. Both are real events that have occurred recently.”

“Some transsexual women who transitioned half a century ago are so scared about how this may damage their life we fear they might become prisoners in their homes. They are being told they may no longer be able to enter ladies toilets despite not having had male anatomy for most of their lives."

"As a consequence - and like many women - we transsexuals ask the government to listen to us as we say NO to self ID."

We are 14 transsexual women who do not know one another but have come together to express these concerns.

Our occupations are as follows.....

1 x Writer and Event Organiser, 1 x Railway Engineer, 1 x Author and Radio Broadcaster, 1 x Chartered Engineer, 1 x Caterer, 1 x Retired Teacher, 1 x Broadcast Engineer, 1 x University Lecturer, 1 x Talk Show Host, 1 x Advisor at Citizens Advice, 1 x Electronic Engineer, 1 x Support Worker, 1 x Wedding Planner, 1 x Content Creator

IF YOU ARE A TRANSSEXUAL MAN OR WOMAN AND YOU AGREE WITH OUR CONCERNS PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN.

IF YOU FEEL ABLE TO DO SO THEN PLEASE POST YOUR OWN OCCUPATION (NO NAME REQUIRED) IN A MESSAGE ON THIS BLOG.
 
WE WILL LATER ADD IT TO THE LIST WHICH WE HOPE MAY DEMONSTRATE THAT TRANSSEXUALS GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS TO BECOME NORMAL PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

TRANSSEXUALS ARE NOT HERE TO ALTER DEFINITIONS OF WORDS IN A DICTIONARY OR OPPRESS OTHERS FROM DISAGREEMENT.

WE DO NOT DEMAND AUTOMATIC ACCEPTANCE BY ALL.

DISAGREEMENT OR CONFUSION IS NOT TRANSPHOBIC TO A TRANSSEXUAL.

IT IS HUMAN NATURE AND UNDERSTANDABLE