Abstract
When looking at the medical needs of transgender people in Brighton and
Hove, I have focused on the medical issues of Gender Dysphoria which are
particular to this client group. Other health issues that affect the
population as a whole are considered to be outside the scope of this report.
Rather than the term transsexual or transgender for those who have the high
degree of Gender Dysphoria that requires radical action, the terms
transperson, trans man, trans woman, etc, are usually the preferred terms of
this community, so this is how they will usually be referred to in this
Report. Even though there is an estimated population of transpeople in
Brighton and Hove of up to 200, they are rarely seen. This is because they
live ordinary lives, and after transition simply return to those lives in a
different gender - their history is not necessarily relevant to the
integrated lives they are leading. Gender Dysphoria occurs across the
population and includes people of every age, social group and profession.
There are highly intelligent, gifted and successful transpeople in all walks
of UK life: the forces, the legal profession, Oxbridge and ther
universities, entrepreneurs, engineering and electronics, airline pilots,
information technology, education, surgery, medicine and health care,
writers,
journalists, composers, musicians etc etc.
The medical issues distinctive to this client group relate to the
alleviation of the
condition known as Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity Disorder, or
transsexualism. The lack of true understanding tends to create profound
additional suffering for those people affected, over and above the issue
itself, so there needs to be some elucidation to put the entirety of this
Report in context, to make it comprehensible to those who do not have that
understanding.
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Citation: Persia West
persia.west@ntlworld.com
