Today, I found this article and
considered very useful and practical as the demand of sex change surgery
is soaring. So it might help you to have positive thoughts and
rationalize your feelings. Read the story and watch the video and please drop your comment below regarding
their opinions about why they choose transgender sex reassignment
surgery.
It wasn't until Deborah Svoboda dated someone who is trans that she understood how little she understood about being transgender. "I realized how very misunderstood they were, including by me," she says. And that comes from someone who identifies as queer and has lived and worked in diverse communities. Watch below video, can be full screen.
It wasn't until Deborah Svoboda dated someone who is trans that she understood how little she understood about being transgender. "I realized how very misunderstood they were, including by me," she says. And that comes from someone who identifies as queer and has lived and worked in diverse communities. Watch below video, can be full screen.
So Svoboda decided to use her
skills as a multimedia journalist to learn about one aspect of
transition: sex reassignment surgery. Surgery is something that people
tend to fixate on. The "Did she or didn't she?" aspect of it even came
up in Vanity Fair's coverage of Caitlyn Jenner's transition.
Svoboda put flyers up in LGBT health clinics in the San Francisco area,
asking people if they would be willing to let her document the
experience. Jamie Nelson, who says he identifies as a transgender male
who is queer, and Jetta'Mae Carlisle, who says she identifies as a
straight woman, said yes. Both were preparing to have surgery, and were
willing to let Svoboda follow them through the process.
"They also both wanted to tell their stories for the purpose of breaking
down fears and misunderstandings around trans people," says Svoboda,
who lives in Emeryville, Calif. "I could see that these two people both
had an incredible amount of courage and openness that I knew we needed
to tell such an intimate and in-depth story."
She met with Nelson and Carlisle for almost a year. As the surgery dates
grew closer, she met with them daily to photograph, video or gather
audio. Carlisle flew to Phoenix for her surgery, "So I drove there and
spent a week documenting her experience, physical and emotional."
In the end, Svoboda says, she learned an incredible amount. "The lengths
they have had to go through in order to be themselves inspire me," she
says. "They've been forced to ask for what they need, to face criticism,
rejection and even degradation. They've gone through pain and confusion
and still they find a way to hold their heads up and say, 'This is who I
am.' "
Sources : KQED & NPR
