TRANSSEXUALISM AND SEX REASSIGNMENT, Richard Green, M.D. and John Money, PhD, Editors, The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 21218, 473 pp, 13glos, 18 bibl., 6 index. $15.00 (1969)
Drs. Green and Money have certainly provided complete coverage of their subject as much as anyone can hope to do until quite a few follow-up reports come in. They and their thirty or so co-authors have given us the whole show, from pre-birth through operation, including probable causes, diagnosis, screening against quasi-TS's, hormone therapy, operation, post-operative care and legal status improvement. Oh yes, even facial hair! So far as possible, they give the word on how it goes afterward-but, after all, Christine's operation was just about 16 years old when most of this was written (Hopkins Press is further behind than Chevalier!)
Frankly, these composite books always leave me feeling like the man who tried to read the dictionary. He reported "it has lots of good ideas but it's not much for plot structure". In this case, it really does have structure as indicated above. The parts are in logical order: I----Social and Clinical, II-Psychological, III-Somatic, IV-Treatment, and V— Medicolegal Aspects, are each covered in turn. ("Somatic" means, in this case, the hormone balance, the brain-wave patterns, and physical measurements prior to treatment). However the writing is uneven, with some authors paring to a crisp 11⁄2 pages, while others spread the same amount of information over 30 or more. Worst offenders—those trying to sell aversion therapy. It should happen to them!
On the whole, I think you may want to buy this one, even if only to clear up any doubts as to what you are not. I got mine free, courtesy of our dear friend, Dr. Harry Benjamin, whose Introduction is one of the highlights of the book.
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THE TRANSSEXUALS MALE OR FEMALE?, by R. H. Berg in LOOK Magazine, January 27, 1970 pp 28-31.
You can't buy this of course, but your library should have it on file. It actually is related to the publication of the Hopkins book, but is far more than just a review of it. Berg apparently interviewed many of the authors and adds many interesting sidelights. He also got excellent pictures of "Viki," who is shaping up for the operation. The whole
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