Google me: Personal agonies behind those transgender headlines

By JULIE MIDDLETON

Transgender issues have been in the news this week, with a Christchurch policeman, Steve Lurajud, revealing he wants to become female, and courageous young Hutt Valley woman Julie talking about how she took hormones from the age of 14 to assist her transition from boy to woman.

Like New Zealand's most famous trannie, Wairarapa MP Georgina Beyer, both feel that their psychological identity doesn't match their physical body - a condition known as gender dysphoria.

According to www.law.vuw.ac.nz/vuw/fca/law/files/nzjpil-Polster-8Oct.pdf New Zealand has between 2000 and 3000 transsexuals, both male-to-female and female-to-male.

Check out Google and there are 1,030,000 entries for "transsexuals". Once you get past the inevitable sex sites - ("see chicks with dicks, live sexy shemales, and high-quality extreme videos!") - there are some really sincere, informative sites.

The site Americanboyz caters for those who identify as "FTM, MTF, butch, transman, gender outlaw, transsexual, drag king, new man, boychick, she-bear, shapeshifter, transfag, tomboy, passing woman, two-spirit, amazon, tranny boy, intersexual, female guy, tranz, boss grrl, bearded female, transgenderist, sir, kurami, hermaphrodite, questioning, just curious ... "

The personal testimony is fascinating, and you begin to realise what a tough journey transsexuals face socially, emotionally and physically.

This comes from the Americanboyz site: "Being transsexual is not fun. It's not cool. It's not all that erotic, either. You do it because you could not do anything else and still be as happy ... there are many joys associated with that relief from pain, but it is a hard and difficult road."

This is from www.tsroadmap.com: "Self-acceptance is the most difficult part of transition ... Voice is one of the most neglected parts of successfully blending in as female. "Luckily, getting a voice down can be quite cheap. I spent under $100 on voice [training], and I never get clocked on the phone." And later: "I feel face surgery [scalp advance, forehead recontouring, brow lift, trachea shave] was easily the most important investment of my entire transition."

There are sites covering hormone treatment, links to surgeons, tips on voice training, and how to tell the kids and at what age (7 to 11, apparently, before peer pressure outweighs parental influence, says www.ren.org/rbp06.html. Oddly, there seems to be less on FTM transsexuality, although www.tgworld.org/transemploy.php suggests about 45 per cent of all transsexuals are female to male. One site snorts that's because it's still a man's world - even if that man becomes a woman.