Customer Reviews

True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book gives a relatively good overall view of transsexualism for people who know nothing about it, but with some serious flaws. The author's descriptions of the experience are based entirely on accounts from therapy clients and her approach is objective, too much so in many regards. She presents outdated information without any genuine effort to refute it, such as the old freudian psycho-model of "gender identity disorder." She also mentions the horrid "treatments" visited on transsexuals, such as "aversion therapy" and "shock treatments" with no mention of their obvious cruel inhumanity. Her statement that we can't "change the brain," is downright sickening, and she presents it as though science should actually strive toward that Stepford Wives solution to transsexualism.

In some cases, the author makes broad generalizations, giving the impression that they apply to all transsexuals. For example, she makes the assertion that most transsexuals come to the realization of their status only after reaching some "turning point," such as debilitating depression. I don't know of any accurate statistics, but her failure to point out those who experienced what Jamison Green spoke of in his book "Becoming a Visible Man" (lighting candle after candle in dark cave), may leave readers with the wrong impression. For some transsexuals, the realization slowly dawns over the course of a lifetime and the decision to seek transition isn't connected to some personal crisis.

Her vehement support of the arbitrary Standards of Care guidelines and assertion that "the system works" suggests a certain level of ignorance of the big picture. Where she mentions those who view therapists as gatekeepers, she gives the impression that she thinks they are being unreasonable. In truth, the arguments against the system are perfectly valid. It doesn't work for everyone. For some, their access to what they need is hindered by it. While there should be some system in place to make sure individuals are making informed decisions and are capable of doing so, mandatory timeframes can hurt those who have already finished processing and are ready to turn to the next chapter in their lives. The author seems to think that therapists should make the final decision about whether an individual is a "real transsexual" based on certain criteria that may not apply to all transsexuals.

Her short sections on the "real life test" basically ignore individuals who are physically incapable of passing without surgery and hormones. She ignores FTMs who've been dressing and behaving appropriate to their inner gender for years, but don't have the right bodies and faces to pass and are perceived as tomboyish women.

The author also shows disrespect for her clients by referring to MTFs as "he" and FTMs as "she," and frequently failing to use their chosen names. She also disrespects the trans community with repeated use of the term "gender identity disorder," which inaccurately represents transsexualism. The problem lies not in gender identity, but in the incongruity between mind and body. It is a medical condition, not a psychological one.

Overall, I recommend this book as an introduction to transsexualism only with great caution. Much of it is best taken with a grain of salt.

As a MTF Transsexual in the process of transitioning, I have found comming out to my family to be the most difficult hurdle to overcome. Especially my father. All the literature available to help family and friends understand the plight of the transsexual is very clinical. It does not get to the core of who I am, and the excruciating pain I've endured everyday of my life. I purchased this book hoping it would explain to the non-transsexual what it means to be me. This book meets that challenge head-on. I was particularly impressed by the chapters covering Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood. I read those chapters and felt as though I was reading from my own journals. That someone had written my biography. If you are a transsexual trying to find a way to come out to family and friends, or you are the family and friends of a transsexual who just came out to you, I highly recommend this book. I am going to have a copy of this book for my father to read the day I come out to him.

This is a very useful book to anyone just beginning to try to understand the concept of transsexualism. It is carefully written, without technical medical descriptions, and balances well between biographical/autobiographical material and factual information. It is neither sensationalist or syrupy, but does convey the difficulties faced by transsexual individuals in the various stages of their lives. For this reason, I would recommend it to anyone recently identifying as transsexual who needs an introductory text for those around them. The title states it is for "families, friends, co-workers and helping professionals" and indeed it is eminently suitable for these groups. As a transsexual man myself, I have two copies which I have lent to people including my father who found it very helpful, and my therapist and have purchased a further copy for my partner's family. Three copies must be a fair recommendation of a book! I find its layout logical and appropri! ! ate, beginning as it does with some basic facts about the subject, leading on to how it affects the individuals in various stages of their lives - childhood, teen years and adulthood. It then goes on to deal with the nuts and bolts of therapy, transition, surgical options and coming out and ends with some biographical text. It covers both male to female and female to male aspects well, where many other texts focus primarily on the male to female route. It is also relatively apolitical - many other texts on the subject tend to have their information tied up with a significant political element which can make them in my opinion difficult for those new to the subject to read. All in all it is one of the best books I have on transsexualism. The only one in my collection which is sufficiently similar to compare is Trans-X-u-all (O'Keefe and Fox) which, while it is a good book, is not such a good introductory text as this.

I've never had any personal encounters with transsexuals before and am not one myself, so my personal opinion of transsexualism was based on ignorance and second-hand opinions. I read this book out of pure curiosity.

Reading this book opened my eyes to the plight of what transsexuals have to go through, all throughout their lives. It also helped me see things from a different perspective.

The book is readible and sensitive, seeking for understanding rather than trying to defend.

I thus recommend this book to anyone who cares enough to try to understand the fellow human being, even though that fellow human being may be "different".

I bought his book because I needed a way to explain to my wife what I am, and why I feel the need to change. This book is positive, honest, comprehensive and well worth every cent I paid.

I am giving a copy to the important members of my family, and suggesting it as a source of information to friends and associates. Buy it, read it, feel better if you're transsexual, understand better if you're a friend, family, coworker etc.. etc..

I've read a number of books describing transsexualism, hoping to find the right one to give to people as I tell them about my own transition. When I read this one, I knew this was it, and I told my parents about myself within the week. They have since told me that this book was essential to their understanding of my condition. I believe the authors have provided an invaluable resource for anyone whose life is touched by knowing a transsexual person.

I have read a lot of literature about transsexualism, and this one topped them all. Sure, there are other great sources out there, but TRUE SELVES explains it best in layman's terms - Brown and Rounsley did such a lovely job with it that they've outdone themselves - BRAVO! Being a transsexual is not easy and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one, that there are people we can turn to, and that there are resources to help us out of our despair. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It's a great book if you have no idea about what transsexuality is, however, it also supports a very narrow perspective and ignores a lot of the other groups catagorized under "transgendered." I would have loved to see something a bit more open-minded (despite their best efforts), maybe even a little more thorough.

I am not the type of person to read alot, but I have read this book several times. It is so full of great information for anyone making a gender transition especially if you are considering living full time as the opposite sex or having Sexual Reassignment Surgery or SRS.

This also a great book for families and friends of those who are in any way gender conflicted. It helps to bring alot of understanding about what all transgendered individuals go through in life, especially transexuals.

This book has helped me so much as a male to female transexual, and I have lent it to some friends and family who have wanted to understand me better and it has helped them to realize why I whished to pursue SRS.
This is also a great book for those who are making the transition to give to thier employer to read so that they may prepare for the change in the workplace. It explains different ways that people come out and transition in the workplace and addresses many related issues such as which restrooms will be used etc.
I read this book many times before finally seeking a psychiatrist to help me with transitioning and to prescribe hormones etc. I was better able to pick through and find someone who had experience and understood transexuals.
The first psychiatrist I visited was obviously unfamiliar with this subject, although he pretended to have handled "a couple of previous cases" I was able to see right through him and see that he had never had handled a case invoving gender dysphoria.
When I paid the bill, I also sent him a copy of this book with a not telling him to "Study Up"!
Even those professionals who are very familiar with transexualism still get alot out of reading this book.
So if you are just a part time closet crossdresser, or a full fledged transexual seeking surgery, this is the best book on this subject that I could reccomend!

This is an outstanding book for those who are trying to understand transsexualism and the torment often felt by those who are transsexual. The book not only is helpful to those people that are close to a transsexual person, it is also a great aid for transsexuals to understand the gender idenity issues that they face every day. I strongly reccomend this book to be read by anyone interested in transsexualism. It helps people come to an understanding of an issue many live with and do not truely address for a large part of their lives. As a society we need to understand the reality of transsexualism better and help those we love live as their trueselves.