France to Declassify Transsexuality as a Mental Illness

France to Declassify Transsexuality as a Mental Illness

carnalnation.com

On the day before the International Day Against Homophobia, French Minister of Health Roselyne Bachelot wanted to send a "strong signal" to the world about homophobia and, in particular, transsexuality. Mme. Bachelot announced today that French health services will no longer classify transsexuality as a mental illness.

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Related News Links:
www.homophobiaday.org

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Transsexual gene link identified

Trans groups across the nation welcomed the move and hope that the World Health Organization (WHO) will follow France's lead. In 1996, the WHO listed transsexualism in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD 10) as a "disorder of sexual identity." The Collective Against Homophobia hailed the the French government's move today as a milestone for transgender people, who "will no longer be stigmatized and considered by France as the mentally ill."

I'm all for the fight against homophobia/transphobia, but i seriously question if this is a step in the right direction.

For many the only cure is surgery and getting others to accept/acknowledge their new identity, but until that goal is reached it's clearly an emotionally and physically taxing process/transition, not only for the individual going through the transformation but also their loved ones. The emmy award winning Normal comes to mind, a must see for those who find this subject of interest.

Shouldn't there be some sort of a screening process in place to insure that all variables/causes worth thoroughly investigating are addressed before one commits to going under the knife and tweaking their chemistry/hormones? Didn't the classification in the DSM serve this very purpose?

carnalnation.com
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[edit on 17-5-2009 by The All Seeing I]

Interesting, it'd be nice to look at this as a positive step... perhaps not classifying it as a mental illness but as a physical one would be a better step... actually, maybe scrub that.

www.transgendercare.com...

Perhaps we can put the chicken before the egg? Transexualism is just a desire for changing ones physicality - an inability to do this may result in mental health issues?

I think this is a positive step in the right direction. I have a few transsexual friends and when I ask them about it, most of them said it was a physical thing - how they just didn't feel right in their body.

Originally posted by The All Seeing I

I'm all for the fight against homophobia/transphobia, but i seriously question if this is a step in the right direction.

Shouldn't there be some sort of a screening process in place to insure that all variables/causes worth thoroughly investigating are addressed before one commits to going under the knife and tweaking their chemistry/hormones? Didn't the classification in the DSM serve this very purpose?

A criteria should undoubtedly be in place for any revisionary program of this magnitude. But the criteria we currently rely on in the DSM-IV would seem to be less of an honest evaluation of a state of being and more of a traditionalists' poorly-supported prejudice. Transsexuality, rather than being subjected to honest and unbiased scientific evaluation, has traditionally been assigned the title of "disorder", just as any aberrances in sexuality have been. We find studies that both support and deny a biological root of transsexuality; the science just isn't in yet. It's unacceptable that the DSM-IV went on and classified something as a mental disorder when, surprise surprise, the subject didn't fit the traditional picture of a "normal" adult (but I'm really opening a can of worms with that statement, aren't I? ). This diagnosis of dysfunction doesn't defer to the social environment surrounding the patient as the cause of the dysfunction; it is rather a diagnosis of an illness within the patient--an "it's not me (society), it's you" approach. From that angle, I believe it's wise to declassify transsexuality as a mental disorder--it's a way of making amends to a group of people who have been unfairly maligned by the medical community. That in no way precludes a criteria to meet when deciding the eligibility of an individual to undergo a revisionary program (e.g. hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery).

talk about catching up with the rest of europe - its allready `not a mental illness` everywhere else BUT france.

I think there is an element of mental illness in some circumstances.

Some people are born female brained and male bodied (and male brained and female bodied); and such people have a physiological condition we are able to correct (to a point). It isn't a new phenomena, it has been recognised throughout human history. I think there are others with a mental condition that compels them to want to try being their opposite sex; and others too choose to have parts of their anatomy altered for sexual (and financial) gratification. Human sexuality is a very complex (or, depending how you look at it, simple) thing.

Perhaps transgenderism and transsexuality shouldn't be classified, people shouldn't be pidgin-holed, and each case should be treated on merit beginning with counseling, change of environment (in case environmental chemicals are the cause), tests for chemical presence, settling into the new role followed by surgery to alter the body (when required). It'd just as selfish for trasnsexuals to want all people who feel transsexual to be altered as spiteful it is that many non-transsexuals to want transsexualism to be treated as a mental illness.

What's clear is that heterosexuality, homosexuality and transsexuality (plus the rest) are all different aspects of the human condition; and members in each group are often confused about themselves and some people get too wrapped up in their confusion to be able to unravel themselves without outside intervention from people of integrity. That's my take on it anyway.

Edited to add:

Please accept my apology for my use of the word "correct" above, I don't mean it in the sense of "there's something wrong.." I mean it in the sense of "making alteration to..."

[edit on 17/5/09 by Rapacity]

How would you feel if the President was a confirmed Transsexual, would society re think his ability to govern.

Nature has its own guide lines of what species survives and what does not, we are a species on this planet so we too are bound by natural order these guides apply to everything other than an X and Y.

[edit on 17-5-2009 by tristar]

Originally posted by tristar
How would you feel if the President was a confirmed Transsexual, would society re think his ability to govern.

That is a mighty big "if," especially in light of the fact that his sexual preference, not nature, would have been exposed prior or during his run for President. Outcome: he would not have been elected POTUS.

reply to post by The All Seeing I


I am not surprised at all. next one will be the Poedophilia.
ok, one is strange about it. how is it possible that it was not a Netherlands or US first to do so?

Originally posted by Seekerof

Originally posted by tristar
How would you feel if the President was a confirmed Transsexual, would society re think his ability to govern.

That is a mighty big "if," especially in light of the fact that his sexual preference, not nature, would have been exposed prior or during his run for President. Outcome: he would not have been elected POTUS.

You never just know what surprises the future has installed.

Well as a person who can speak from first hand experience on this subject all I can say it is about time. Hopefully the APA will follow suit. Having lived my life successfully as a man for 39 years I had a spiritual experience which compelled me to come to terms with the duality of the human soul. As a part of my transformative journey I was to live as a woman not female mind you but as a woman, this was in order for me to experience life from a different perspective and I must say it has been quite revealing to the nature of our society. As a man I was in the good old boys club had the world by the tail, but now that I have lived as a woman for the past 9 years I have experienced violent physical assaults, and across the board discrimination. Why? because I refuse to be put into a box. I could hide and become a woman culturally as I "pass" but that would be living a lie and I am done with that. The fact is each of us has attributes of both genders but if we honestly express who we are we face the harsh reality that our society wants you one one team or the other. It is my opinion that my trans people recognize this and just want to adapt to society so as not to face the harsh reality that exists. As for myself I will fearlessly remain divinely androgne and challenge society to evolve. Their is not a damn thing wrong with being how the creator wants to experience you.

reply to post by czacza1



How could you even compare pedophillia to transexuality?

Sorry for the one-liner but that response really bugged me.

I am all for allowing people to live their lives how they want to live them. My only issue is that health care professionals should raise an eyebrow when somebody comes into their office and expresses a desire to have a sex change operation. Health care professionals should take every reasonable measure to make sure somebody does not hastily undergo a sex change operation without thoroughly weighing and considering the consequences and other options.

The results of sex change operations are permanent. If transexuality is not classified as a "disorder" health care providers may not try and counsel against sex change operations. This may lead to people suffering because of hasty sex change operations.

This is not to say that some transexualts are better off for getting sex change operations. On the other hand, there might be some people out there who for one reason or another are going through a phase in life where they have a temporary desire to go through a sex change operation. These people are going to ruin their lives if they get operations.

I dont like it, i think its freaky. and gross and just plain wrong.

you know the only time i have ever seen a similar thing in nature was with these weaird fish that would pretend to be female to avoid confrontation with the males.

[edit on 17-5-2009 by MR BOB]

reply to post by tristar


I'd be a lot more comfortable with a transexual president (than a Bush), how enlightened would it be to have someone that at ease with themselves?

As an aside I'm sure there's some kind of Clinton joke in here somewhere...

I'll agree with the comment that anyone undergoing the process of gender reassignment should be receiving counselling, if nothing else the process would be traumatic, but then in an ideal, caring society people would be getting decent counselling for lots of things, recovering from accidents, bereavement. Would anyone here think that someone desiring breast augmentation should be counselled with regard to that?

reply to post by jokei


i honestly could never ever ever ever ever see that happening.

I culdn't see it happening either, I just like tossing ideas into the ring for discussion. My personal opinion is that there is nothing wrong with anything that goes on in the broad spectrum of sexuality BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS - which should be the criteria for which most of these matters are judged.

Originally posted by beautyfrompain
I think this is a positive step in the right direction. I have a few transsexual friends and when I ask them about it, most of them said it was a physical thing - how they just didn't feel right in their body.

Indeed. I have transgendered friends aswell, and they all say the same thing; That it is not a mental or psychological matter, but a PHYsiological matter. They all agree that they truly are the gender they identify themselves as in their Soul, mind and inner self, but have only happened to be born with some physical disabilities that needs to be corrected.

Not all Transgenders desire surgery, however, as not all Transgenders are Transsexual.


[edit on 17-5-2009 by Nightchild]

They don't allow you to have the surgery, in most cases, without counseling first and stuff.


This is good. I have ... three? transgender friends. None of them are crazy. They're all very happy. Only one had surgery, two take hormones.

I don't think it's freaky or gross. But my generation accepts almost everyone. Or, ahem, we should.