[bryony]

Well you posed some more topics, so I will respond!

Admittedly I have never seen a therapist for a diagnosis, but I wouldn't need to be officially diagnosed for a compound fracture either!

I'm perplexed as to how you say can this and then go on to make the point:

The problem with that is you are passing over self-diagnosis to individuals, many of whom may not have the ability or level of self analysis to be able to do it.

I think there's a significant difference between doing an accurate self-diagnosis and knowing there's something wrong going on. I think it's much like the difference of feeling pain versus knowing what is actually causing the pain.

Well, you have answered your own question for me. If you become aware of symptoms of mental disorder, then, yes, you can self-diagnose, but what about the people who have mental disorder who cannot self-diagnose? I come back to the anorexic, because that is the closest analogy. They think "there is nothing wrong with me, it is the world that is wrong"

Which is kind of what you and sfem are saying. But the strong desire we hold to present as females is proof positive that there is something wrong.

Much as you two seemingly want to deny it, humankind is a form of sexual animal. Sexual dimorphism is the key to breeding, without which we disappear. Our physical shape, along with pheremones, are what attracts the opposite sex so we partner up and breed.

Just because the world is full of people, and it seemingly doesn't matter if we breed anymore isn't a real reason to dismiss millenia of biology.

Much as it might comfort us to say "it isn't me, the world is wrong", I'm afraid, in biological terms, it is me, I am wrong. Note, I say in "biological" terms, not "societal" terms. In our brave new world, people can do pretty much as they want, but in my personal code of ethics, if and only if it does not hurt someone else, and this particularly important if that someone else is a loved one.

Yes, pm has made changes with my mental state but not in the area of personal judgment.

I don't see how you can be categorical about that, unless your dysphoria was much milder than what I experienced. If you are significantly younger, then it may well be so.

I compartmentalize. For me there is a numerous aspects of my life that are gender neutral so it's not like I have to choose between pursuing my life's dreams versus resolving my gender dysphoria. I never had much of any interest in having children. As far as finding a wife, ever since I started crossdressing I knew for the relationship to work out, the woman I marry would have to at least be able to tolerate my nonconformity with traditional gender roles.

I'm 26 so I suppose that would make me much younger than you.

I also don't have a wife and children so I imagine that is another major difference between you and me.
[/quote]

You're actually 1 year older than my daughter and 4 years younger than my son, so I'm not surprised that a lot of what I'm saying is lost on you!

The decisions to marry with the promises made, to have children whose lives depend on you, to create a family who love the husband/father image - It isn't sufficient to say "I made a mistake, I shouldn't have done it" while there are other options.

Maybe it's because I'm not married nor am I a parent, but who would really want to love a husband/father image that isn't genuine? I don't think the issue is whether transgender individuals can be a good spouse/parent or not, but whether it's beneficial in the long-term to be someone who you're really not.

Again, this is an area of guesswork if you haven't lived it.

[quote='sfem' pid='53057' dateline='1341325452']
As for reproduction being a yardstick of mental health, I hope to hell it never becomes one.

agree with you on this sfem. My preference to not have children is not a reflection of my mental health.

I think this is a case of "TLDR". I never said that. I replied to sfem thus: "Can you seriously disagree that, in general, in the animal kingdom a condition that prevents an animal from breeding is abnormal?

B.