TRANSVESTIA

surgery for whatever reason. Among males anyone who is not sexually normal, and therefore inadequate, is very likely to be genderally inadequate too. Thus as inadequate males and inade- quate men, their lives are not very satisfying. The contrast between expectation and performance, both sexually and genderally, is great and much anxiety results. However, after the surgery this gap is greatly narrowed because the expectations of women aren't so high and performance is not much of a factor. Thus less anxiety, more psychic comfort and probably a more useful and integrated citizen. The most benefit from surgery can be attained by this group.

At the other extreme are those who were acknowledged hetero- sexuals prior to surgery. Many of them have been married and fathered children. Jan Morris, the English writer, and Renee Richards, the tennis player, are cases in point. In my personal opinion these people seek surgery because of a faulty understanding of the dif- ference between sex and gender. Raised as boys and men, they have imbibed that male concept of women as sex objects to which Women's Lib so rightly and vigorously objects. That is, they see the definition of a woman as primarily a person with an orifice between her legs. Therefore since they aspire to be women they must also acquire the orifice that indisputable badge of belonging. Sex with males is not the real motivation, and is often not experienced even after it becomes possible, because their original orientation was towards persons with vaginas and it still remains unaltered in their heads just as with the previously homosexual TSs. Their sexual situation is rather precarious because as woman they may strongly aspire to be a woman to a man (genderally) but the male is certainly going to expect them to be a female (sex) too. That may not be too successful because 1) the reconstruction may not be as perfect and as functional as they would like, 2) it may be anesthetic from all the trauma, 3) without lifelong training in girlness and womanhood they may not live up to the husband's expectations and requirements, and 4) there is a constant awareness of their true history and a constant fear that he will discover it. Several suicides have been reported by Stoller and others among such people who were in economic and career terms very successful but the burden of their past just became too much.

It is my belief that where sexual orientation towards penis people does not exist, persons aspiring to the expression of their opposite gender at least among chromosomal males-could be just as happy

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