How To Change Your Sex: A Lighthearted Look at the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do [Paperback]

Lannie Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2008

Lannie Rose changed her sex and now she explains how you can too! How To Change Your Sex: A Lighthearted Look at the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do is an amusing and practical guide to everything you need to know for your sex change, from how to tell if you are transsexual, through venturing out in public in your new gender presentation (including which restroom to use!), to hormones and surgeries, to what to expect afterwards. Whether you are seriously considering changing your own sex, or if you have a friend or loved one who is going through the process, or even if you are just curious, you are bound to be entertained and informed by this handy little manual. Also, catch the free annotated audiobook PODCAST at www.lannnierose.com/podcast.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Trans women are talking about How To Change Your Sex "...the most entertaining and educational thing I've read on the subject..." -Tori P. "...an amazing author ... intensely personal revelations ... valuable information ... penetrating social insights ... entertains while it informs. Bravo, Lannie!" -Rosalea Roberts --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

So you want to change your sex? It's a good idea—if you happen to have been born transsexual; that is, if the sex between your legs doesn't match the gender in your heart. I was born transsexual but I didn't realize it until I was 46 years old. That was just a few years ago. Then, after living my whole life up until that time as a man, I changed my sex; now I live as a woman. You can, too!

Changing your sex is not just a surgical procedure; in fact, the surgery is completely optional. What changing your sex does entail is simply changing your entire perception of your own self; and, changing your gender presentation—how you dress, how you walk and talk, how you relate to all the other people in your life, how you engage in sexual activity, your name, and all of your identification documents. You may even change what you are doing with your life.

You will probably change your body, at least in terms of your hairstyle, grooming habits (facial hair and the length of your fingernails), and ornamentation (piercings and tattoos). You will probably use hormones to make even more fundamental changes to your body. You may opt for various plastic surgeries like rhinoplasty and liposuction to further modify the appearance of your face and body. Ultimately, you may choose to change your genitals with the operation (as in, "Have you had the operation?"): sex reassignment surgery or SRS. Or, you may decide that your genitals are fine just the way they are.

There are plenty of books and other resources that discuss all aspects of transgenderism, transsexualism, and sex changes in great detail. Many of them are very good, and they contain all sorts of important information that you will probably want to know eventually. These resources tend to be long, detailed, and serious. This book, How To Change Your Sex, is a quick, practical, and entertaining overview of the subject. It is guide to the things you will want to learn more about. I skip over the details that you will quickly uncover as you research any of these topics further. I concentrate on the most important points and on practical advice based on my own experience and that of many other transsexual women and men I have spoken with. While I've tried to write in a lighthearted style, all of the information in this book is as accurate as I can make it and as serious as can be. Changing your sex is no joke! This book is a great starting point for someone who is just beginning to realize they have gender issues and wondering if they might eventually lead to a sex change. It's also a good overview to help family, friends, and coworkers of transsexual individuals understand the process that their loved ones may undergo.

You can change your sex from male to female (MTF) or from female to male (FTM), depending on your starting point. You can even change back again—but if you follow the advice in this book, you should never have to! Most of the information in this book applies generally to both directions. If the MTF point of view dominates, that's because that is the direction I went. In a few places where it became too cluttered syntactically to cover both cases, for example when discussing spouses, I've simply resorted to writing from the MTF perspective. I'll let you FTM guys figure out how it applies in your case. I know you'd want it that way, you are such a gallant bunch.

Please note that I do not have any professional training in this area. I am not a doctor, psychologist, or lawyer. (I do hold college degrees in computer engineering and business, but that is neither here nor there.) My expertise comes from having changed sex myself, from talkng with a lot of other people who have changed their sex, and from reading the same books that you can read yourself. Please consult with appropriate professionals rather than relying on any advice I give in this book. As a matter of fact, there is woefully little hard data on many of the issues facing transsexual people, so we are forced to make many of our decisions based on rumor, anecdotal evidence, tradition, and folklore. I probably should preface almost everything I say in this book with, "In my humble opinion"; but that would get rather cumbersome.

Whether you are on the long, exciting road to a sex change, or a short hop to a cross-dressing hobby, or just curious, I hope you enjoy learning about How To Change Your Sex. I imagine that most of you will never change your sex; but perhaps you will be inspired to make other changes to your body or your life—maybe something that has long been a dream of yours. Three things that every transsexual person knows well are these: Change is possible; miracles do happen; and life is short, so you'd better start making your dreams come true today! --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (October 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435753607
• ISBN-13: 978-1435753600
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)