Transgenderism, transsexualism,
and gender identity
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Overview:
This section discusses gender identity. That is what a person perceives their gender to be.
For the vast majority of individuals, their genetic gender (as defined by the sex chromosomes in every cell of their body) matches
their gender identity (as defined by the section or sections of their
brain that tell them what their gender is).
Genetically most people are males and are certain that they are males; or
they are females and firmly aware that they are females. They are quite unable
to change, even if they wanted to.
However, in rare cases, a mismatch happens. The individual will experience
gender dysphoria. They will often describe having a permanent feeling of being a
woman trapped in a man's body, or vice versa. They can become profoundly
depressed. Some commit suicide. Therapy, counseling, and prayer have a zero --
or near zero -- success rate at resolving their conflict.
Transsexuals are often defined as people experiencing gender dysphoria who
attempt to resolve their problem by undergoing hormone therapy and/or sexual reassignment surgery (SRS) in order to more closely appear to be of
the sex that they believe themselves to be. Success rates of this path are very
high.
The specific cause of gender dysphoria is unknown. However, there is a near
consensus among researchers that it is caused by biological factors before
birth. It is definitely not a choice. It is a state that most transsexuals
discover in childhood, and it remains with them throughout their life.
Unfortunately, much of the public is not well informed about gender identity
and gender dysphoria. Many people tend to fear and reject those that they do not
understand.
