Changing genders: Poverty, Homelessness, Misuse of Drugs and Suicide

by | Dec 10, 2016

We have all been persuaded by news reports that if you suffer from gender identity disorder your life will greatly improve if you just change your gender. It is even suggested for 5 year old kids.

But will changing gender really improving the lives of people who suffer from gender disorders? Well you can draw your own conclusions after reading some of the survey results from 6,450 transgenders:

  1. Transgenders report living in extreme poverty.
  2. They report misuse of drugs and alcohol
  3. Transgenders report low incomes at 4 times the rate of non-transgenders.
  4. Transgender report being unemployed at twice that of the general population.
  5. 2% of transgenders reported being homeless, twice the national average.
  6. 41% of transgenders report attempting suicide.

Are these the signs of improved lives?

This survey was conducted in 2011 by The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force when they joined with the National Center for Transgender Equality. The results were published under the title: Injustice at Every Turn. The survey was intended to show the wide-ranging discrimination suffered by transgenders. I, however, would suggest that what they really proved was that changing genders does not improve the lives of transgenders.

Even a colleague of Dr. Harry Benjamin, Dr. Ihlenfeld, who worked with the transgender population reported in 1979 that 80% of people who wanted sex change surgery should not have it. Dr. Ihlenfeld said, “There is too much unhappiness and too many suicides.” So nothing is new. For 35 years changing genders has been reported to cause too much unhappiness and resulted in too many suicides.

The 2011 survey results can lead the reader to suspect that the modern day consequences of changing genders are, as they were in 1979, poor quality of life and suicide attempts.

The young 5 year old kids can look forward to a 30% death by suicide if they are among the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgenders between the ages of 15 to 24. Is that what we want for them?

Changing genders is some very strong medicine the advocates are pushing. Is this a prescription you want to put your name on?

Walt Heyer
Been there; done that. It is no way to live.
www.sexchangeregret.com

Refs:

(1) http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf

(2) http://www.healthplace.com/gender/gay-is-ok/suicide-and-gay-lesbian-bisexual-and-transgender-youth/