Interview with Brittany

Brittany, the author of A Day in the Life of a Texas Transsexual, blogs about her story as a transsexual woman. Through reading her blog, I have even found myself mis-informed about various aspects of transsexualism. So, I thought it would be a good idea to interview Brittany, and ask some questions about transsexualism and her own experiences. So, without further to do, I present to you my interview with Brittany! (Disclaimer: Please note that these answers are only from Brittany and she is not speaking as a representative for other transsexual people who may or may not agree with these answers.)


1. First and foremost, what is the difference between transsexual vs. transgender?

Transsexuals feel they are, or at least ought to be the opposite sex. The body they were born with does not match their 'gender identity.' They feel like they are NOT in the right body and will do whatever it takes to correct that including changing their bodies with hormone replacement therapy (female hormones and androgen blockers), electrolysis, facial feminization surgery (FFS) and gender reassignment surgery (GRS).

Other people who fall under the "transgender umbrella" such as cross-dressers or drag queens ARE happy with the bodies and have NO desire to change their bodies. They have a gender identity that does not conflict with their bodies and enjoy being the sex they are. I have seen some descriptions say that cross-dressers dress only for "sexual gratification" but that is NOT always the case either. Some just enjoy feeling female for a while and then gladly go back to being male. And there ARE cross-dressers who are female and dress as male out there also!

Drag queens are homosexual men who dress as women for their own erotic pleasure or for their partners who are attracted to men dressed as women. They identify as male, are perfectly happy with their bodies and do not want GRS.


2. When did you know that the body you were born with didn't match your gender identity?

For many years when I was very young I just assumed that I when I grew up I would finally be female – which, in a way, is actually coming true! When I was about four years old my father caught me wearing some of my mother’s clothes and whipped me for it. From that point on I knew that I would get in trouble for feeling the way I did. I also knew that I needed to hide those feelings and should probably be ashamed of them also. Still, no matter what I did those feelings never went away.

To be perfectly honest, back then I didn’t have any idea why I felt like I was female. I didn’t know anything about ‘gender identity,’ I just knew that my feelings must be “wrong” because I had been punished because of them.

When I was a freshman in high school, my biology teacher told my class about “the sad and rare case where some people were born as one gender but actually had the brain of the opposite gender.” This made perfect sense to me! Still, that was the mid-70’s, I lived in the SW Ozark region of Missouri, and I was only 14-years old -- so what could I do? I didn’t have the information or opportunity back then that transgender people have today.

Over time I became fully aware of who I was. By the late 80’s I would search the TV guide trying to find talk shows discussing transsexuality. I was starved for information and this was the only way I knew of to get any real information on the subject at the time. I would record these shows while I was at work and watch them when I got home from work.

At one point I recorded a show that gave information for the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). It took me a while, but eventually I worked up the courage to write them and ask for information. One of the things they sent me was a list of organizations for gender dysphoric people in major cities in the U.S. I eventually worked up the nerve to call the St. Louis Gender Foundation – which was on the list of organizations the IFGE sent me. I had to leave a message but the president of the group called me back and talked to me for over two hours. She was the very first person I had EVER spoken to about how I felt – and that was in 1993 when I was 33-years old.


3. There is a common misconception that people who are transsexuals are actually just homosexual and like to play "dress up". Can you explain the differences between transsexualism and homosexuality? Does one have to be homosexual (before they transition) to be a transsexual person?

First of all, sexual orientation and gender identity are two completely different things. Sexual orientation is based on who you are attracted to sexually. Gender identity is what gender you actually identify as (male or female). I have seen also seen this defined this way: sexual orientation is based on WHO you want to have sex with and gender identity is based on WHAT SEX YOU WANT TO BE while you are having sex.

In most cases, once set, your sexual orientation does not change no matter what your gender identity is. However, sometimes there are instances when someone who is transsexual actually have their sexual orientation change once they have been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a while. I have heard that about 70% of transsexual people do NOT switch sexual orientation though – which is especially true for people who transition later in life such as myself.

In my case, I have NEVER been attracted to men at all. I have only been attracted to women and that is still the case even though I have been on HRT now for over ten months. I sincerely doubt my sexual orientation will change in the future.

Since I am transitioning to the female sex and I am attracted to women, I will identify as a “Lesbian” since my sexual orientation has not changed (and I was a “straight” male). So in my case, I went from being a “straight” male to a Lesbian female!


4. I have read on your blog that you are currently transitioning from a man to a woman. What would you say has been the hardest part of that transition?

This is probably the most difficult question for me to answer, probably because it is very difficult to put my finger on any one particular thing.

Transsexuals reach a point in their lives where they have to finally make a choice – transition and live your life as you have always known you should – or die. Some estimates say that 50% choose death – which is by far the easiest way out. I WANT to live my life and I will do whatever I have to do and endure whatever I have to endure in order to live it! And I knew from the very start what I would have to be ready to deal with…

I knew I would have to go through a lot of physical pain from electrolysis and surgeries I would have to undergo (facial feminization surgery (FFS) and gender reassignment surgery (GRS)).

That physical pain is nothing compared to the emotional pain I knew I would have to go through during transition. When you transition you have to be prepared to lose everything. You have to be prepared to lose your job, retirement, home, all your friends and even your family. I have seen more than one person lose all of these things and I fully understood that I might lose them also.

I would have to say that the most difficult part of transition is telling other people that you are transitioning from one gender to another. You never know how people will react. People who you are sure will support you may not while the ones you thought would shun you end up fully accepting you. The stress involved with coming out to the people in your life is probably the hardest thing to deal with (in MY view – and keep in mind that I do NOT speak for all transsexuals!).

Having to tell my parents was one of the hardest things for me. I really did not think either one of them would ever accept me. Think how hard it would be to tell your parents that their 48-year old son is transitioning into womanhood! In my case, both my parents accepted me, although my father is still having some difficulty with it due to his religious beliefs.

Last week they announced my transition to about sixty of my coworkers, some of whom I have worked with for over 23-years. After the announcement my coworkers were trained for two hours by a nationally known speaker, author and advocate for transgender people. Telling so many people the secret that you have spent your lifetime hiding is very difficult and stressful to say the least, but everything went very well and the support I received was stunning – thanks to the sensitivity training provided to my coworkers by the very talented speaker.


5. From what I gather, in the future you are planning to undergo gender reassignment surgery. What does that entail?

Different surgeons employ different techniques to perform GRS. Some doctors perform the main operation (vaginoplasty – the creation of the vagina) and months later after healing the patient must return to undergo another operation (labiaplasty) to form the “hood” and make everything look right.

First the testicles are removed and parts of the penis is inverted preserving blood and nerve supplies to form a vaginal (vaginoplasty). A clitoris fully supplied with nerve endings is formed by the glans of the penis. The scrotal tissue is also used to form vaginal tissue.

Some surgeons prefer to create the outer vulva in a secondary surgery when other tissues, blood and nerve supplies have recovered from the first surgery – usually 4 – 6 months after the first surgery has taken place. Some doctors, like the one I plan to go to, do both the vaginoplasty and labiaplasty in a single operation. Once healed, sometimes it is impossible for even a gynecologist to tell that the person is not a ‘genetic woman.’

Transsexual women are usually able to achieve orgasm during sexual intercourse. Of course, they do not have ovaries or uteruses which means they are unable to have children or menstruate. They must also remain on hormone therapy after their surgery to maintain female hormonal status.

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And that concludes our interview! Interesting, no? I want to thank Brittany again for being so open and honest in her answers. For those of you who have not read her blog, I highly recommend it!