THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511110131
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The G.I. became a curvy, knockout blonde.
He was George Jorgensen, a World War II veteran. But in 1953, he brought transsexualism to the forefront after undergoing a sex-change surgery in Europe and becoming Christine.
The medical community blanched, but the procedure rapidly spread around the globe. Dozens of gender-reassignment clinics - teams of psychiatrists, therapists and physicians - opened up shop in the United States. Even Johns Hopkins University signed on, becoming a leader in gender research.
Then, Jon Meyer, a psychiatrist at John Hopkins, published a study in 1979 saying transsexuals who had the surgery were no happier than those who did not.
Even though Meyer's research was attacked, Johns Hopkins stopped offering gender-reassignment surgeries. Others followed suit. The number of clinics nationwide has now dwindled to 12 or fewer, clinic operators say.
``I'll only say that I think (Johns Hopkins') surgical priorities changed,'' said Dr. Peter Fagan, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, who still refers patients to clinics, including those in Norfolk.
Fagan disagrees with Meyer's study. He says research shows a considerable number of people carve out happy lives after gender-reassignment surgery.
Transsexuals represent a small fraction of society. European studies estimate that about one in 30,000 adult males is transsexual, compared to one in 100,000 females. Similar numbers aren't available in the United States.
Some transsexuals may be content by simply dressing as the opposite gender, taking hormones or having breast implants. Others want to completely eliminate their assigned gender and begin anew.
But surgery is no magic solution, which is why Fagan will only refer to doctors about 30 percent to 40 percent of the people who question their gender.
Norfolk's Gender Reassignment Team accepts a few dozen of the hundreds of people who inquire about the program each year. Members of the other Norfolk clinic - The Center for Gender Reassignment - declined to be interviewed.
The clinics generally follow guidelines set by the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association - a California organization that regulates the field. Most clinics require at least one year of full-time cross dressing, hormone therapy and counseling before they'll allow the surgery to be performed.
The therapists with the clinics decide whether their patients are truly transsexual. The reason, they say, is that some people claiming to be transsexuals have other psychological problems.
In some cases, people who have been refused surgery in the United States have gone to Mexico and other Latin American countries, where the procedure costs less and isn't strictly regulated.
With few rules, physicians at ``quickie'' clinics abroad sometimes perform shoddy operations. Physicians at the Gender Reassignment Clinic in Norfolk have had to fix botched surgeries.
But even if a transsexual goes the formal route, life is not golden.
Experts sometimes worry whether a transsexual person will be able to pass in the new gender.
``A significant number of people can pass,'' said Fagan. ``That's part of what the real-life test is about: living and working in the gender role. If they're not going to pass - how can they deal with it?
``That's not necessarily what they take into account.'' MEMO: [For a related story, see page E1 of The Daily Break for this date.]
KEYWORDS: GENDER REASSIGNMENT SEX CHANGE by CNB