tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post915361208441424713..comments2024-02-20T15:17:48.594+11:00Comments on A.E.Brain: A Dialogue with Ron Gold - Part VZoe Brainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13712045376060102538noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-45167885427833944112011-08-21T19:24:45.347+10:002011-08-21T19:24:45.347+10:00As a transwoman, I think I can soundly answer some...As a transwoman, I think I can soundly answer some of the seams and gaps for most non-transgender people. On the most simple level, those parts of my body that are the basis for my assigned sex feel extraneous. In the sensory deprivation from activity to sleep I feel female physically (always did), and aspects that don't coincide with that quite literally feel numb. More so, I was consciously aware of the effect of testosterone on my state of mind. Some of my innate skills were actually dampened by the effects of testosterone.<br /><br />I became less emotionally sensitive, sexual sensation predicated any emotional aspects when it came to intimacy and quite frankly it was 'distressing'. It wasn't about social gender stereotypes for me. Most of my problems where fear of violence in being discovered. Many expect, or even demand the hyper-feminine caricature so that is a factor. Body image (body-map), the nature of hormones as well as side effect of HRT, as well as "states of physical completeness" with the above all play significant roles in sexual intimacy and function. Point in case, I experience extreme dysfunction with sexual intimacy without all of the above criteria met.<br /><br />It is quite similar to the discomfort cisgender people experience from medical sexual dysfunction. No one would question them for seeking treatments to be sexually functional. It's not mutilation because medicine currently can't make someone reproductively viable. Sexuality is an important part of being human. SRS allows for many transsexual and intersexed people experience positive sexual intimacy who wouldn't otherwise. Any provider not following sound guidelines should be prosecuted (like surgeries for BDD sufferers); however, comparing the two be grossly in error. I would agree with misuse being unacceptable for BDD; however, saying the same is true for transsexuals is hypocritical.<br /><br />Medical transition supported by sound principle, guidelines, and thorough patient involvement and screening should be endorsed and supported. I personally want to be intimate with someone one day, surgery gives me that chance. Hormone therapy helps me feel more complete, but it is only one part. Is anyone just a just their hormones or just their genitals? They are both essential parts of the whole. Given the times and technology we do the best we can, and that is therapeutic support, hormone therapy, and SRS. Thanks for this post Zoe and if you talk to him again, or if he is following you can repost as you like.Reneta Scianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05042846135143806218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-80700720686398141572009-12-23T12:53:52.297+11:002009-12-23T12:53:52.297+11:00I tend to agree with you MgS, it also seems as if ...I tend to agree with you MgS, it also seems as if Mr. Gold likes to pathologize things that he doesn't understand.<br /><br />There's also a general underlying unquestioning of a gender-binary that I feel from reading his comments, and I'm also not too keen on his use of the word "moral" when referring to an alleged "choice" of sexuality. He makes it sound as if there is a right or wrong.Nikola Kovacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08961407335215785047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5573426.post-64899699633284224822009-12-23T07:35:22.251+11:002009-12-23T07:35:22.251+11:00As one of Mr. Gold's critics, I must take umbr...As one of Mr. Gold's critics, I must take umbrage with his statement here:<br /><br /><i>No one seems to have noted that the focus of my ire was not those who've undergone sex-change surgeries, but the doctors who prescribe and perform them. </i><br /><br />There's a reason for this - Mr. Gold's argument hinges upon erasure of the individual narratives of thousands of transsexuals around the world. His ire at the doctors only makes sense if one assumes that transsexuals don't know what they are experiencing.<br /><br />Mr. Gold is free to hold his beliefs and position as he chooses. However, it remains a sad statement that he hasn't even bothered to do enough basic research to confirm the assumptions upon which he is basing his opinion.<br /><br />An argument that is purely based on assertions is just that - assertion.MgShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183962674882855323noreply@blogger.com