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Nottingham Post
All the breaking news at thisisnottingham.co.uk
Tuesday May 7, 2013
I’m comfortable with my identity after sex change Health Correspondent dominic.howell@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk
BETH Seymour had her testicles removed in April last year. Beth, now 57, grew up in the Notts town of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and it was when she was in her 20s that she began to realise she was a woman trapped inside a man’s body. She is telling her story exclusively to the Post in an effort to break down the stigma which she says has surrounded transgender issues for years. It is a little-known fact that Nottingham is home to one of the largest gender identity clinics in the country. It is in Hyson Green and the number of people seeking help for gender issues is, according to experts, rapidly increasing. So what has caused this wave of gender confusion? And what
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Gender dysphoria is the clinical name for her condition, but Mrs Seymour is not one for labels. She said: “Problems occur when you try and box things up like that. I am a woman and I’m now married to a woman who used to be a man – what does that make me? A transgender lesbian?” Mrs Seymour had her testicles removed in an operation funded by the NHS. “They don’t get in the way any more and I no longer need to take testosterone blockers,” she said, adding that she had taken the tablets for years ahead of the operation. “Tak-
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In the limelight: Jenna Talackova, centre, the first transgender Miss Universe contestant. Transgender people are now accepted far more than they were 20 or 30 years ago. is being done about it? Beth now considers herself to be a woman and is Mrs Seymour since her marriage abroad to a woman who used to be a man. Her journey to womanhood has not been an easy one. She has tried to commit suicide twice, suffered from depression, anxiety and panic attacks and developed a drink problem which, at its worst, saw her downing two bottles of vodka a day. She was in a heterosexual marriage for 17 years but this came to an end because of her desire to be a woman.
Life of change: Beth Seymour today and, right, in 1981.
thisisnottingham.co.uk Helping others: Beth
Seymour is founder of the Transgender Support Group, in Friary Street, Derby.
ing any form of pill for that amount of time can be detrimental to your health.” She also forked out £2,000 on electrolysis to remove all facial hair. Mrs Seymour – who now works for a charity – has put a considerable amount of time and effort into making her appearance genuine. “I never go out without my lippy,” she said. “And I used to be part of the high-heels and painted-fingernail brigade, but you have to try these things to work out what style suits you.” For men who want to become women, there are three types of operation available on the NHS. The first is known as an orchidectomy, which is what Mrs Seymour opted for and involves removing the testes. The second option is called a penectomy, which involves removing the penis. The final option is a vaginoplasty, which is when surgeons construct a vagina from the leftover tissue of the penis. The vagina is created and lined
with skin from the penis, and tissue from the scrotum is used to create the labia. Mrs Seymour, whose operation to remove her testicles took no longer than 45 minutes, said that the “full op”, including psychotherapy sessions, cost the NHS £16,000. Leading expert in transgender mental health Dr Walter Pierre Bouman, of NHS Notts Healthcare, said he was cautious about any media coverage of the issue. “We get countless requests from journalists and television companies who want to do interviews with people,” he said. “And one argument which often surfaces is should this operations be allowed on the NHS. “Some people try and argue that money shouldn’t be spent on dealing with gender dysphoria when it could otherwise be spent dealing with child cancer. But this is a false argument. “Gender dysphoria is not a mental disorder, it is a condition, and one which can be
Why I’m addicted to hospitals IF you are like me, you have been enjoying reading about nurses who inspire us with their great attitudes and caring natures that go beyond their increasingly complex roles. Nursing seems to have managed to remain a vocation in a world of technology. At the end of the day, someone holding our hand probably has as curative an effect on us as the drip in our ar m. Well, probably not, actually,
Barbara Cathcart, chief executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity, on her experience of nursing but the “feeling” behind that hand surely enhances our recovery. As a non-clinical person, it’s amazing how addicted I am to hospitals: I love the order that is made from chaos, the miles of corridors; the volunteers directing people; the feeling of being surrounded by people
Nottingham Post
Having the op
By Dominic Howell
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All the breaking news at thisisnottingham.co.uk
who care; the strength and human determination of trying, striving to fix broken limbs, rogue cells, to even sometimes heal broken lives. It is nothing less than heroic. Watching 24 Hours in A&E gives a sense of what occurs on a daily basis contained within the 90 acres at the City Hospital
Hormone therapy CROSS-SEX hormone therapy is often used by people wanting to change gender. ■ A trans man, as in a woman becoming a man, will take testosterone. ■ A trans woman – a man becoming a woman – will take oestrogen. The aim of hormone therapy is to make someone comfortable with themself, both in physical
treated.” Latest research suggests that the NHS and private clinics collectively see around 1,500 cases of gender dysphoria a year, and Dr Bouman said the rates were increasing. “The more people become aware of the condition and understand that we can help, the more cases we’re seeing,” he said. “Years ago, people may have gone through their whole lives
appearance and how they feel psychologically. These hormones start the process of changing the body into one that is more female or more male. Hormone therapy may be all the treatment needed to enable them to live with their gender dysphoria. The hormones may improve how they feel and mean they may not have to undergo surgery.
without having the opportunity to have any treatment.” In an effort to break down society’s perception of trans people, Mrs Seymour is involved in a picture project called The Narrative. She said: “ I hope these portraits will show another side of trans people other then what you read in the press.” ■ To view the pictures, visit www.issuu.com/bethseymour/docs/narrative_pics/1.
GETTING funding for transgender operations on the NHS can be a problem. A document published by the Department of Health in 2008 admitted that funding for such operations was a “postcode lottery”. Entitled Trans Wellbeing and Healthcare, the report states: “In England, the Department of Health allocates the money for funding the treatment of all conditions to the 152 primary care trusts in the UK. “With regard to gender dysphoria, the decision in a North West Lancashire Health Authority court case established the right to treatment for transsexualism. “Nonetheless, a primary care trusts may decide that the treatment has low priority for funding, provided that it makes the decision on rational grounds. “The process of allocating money that can be used to pay for treatment, and the relative amounts made available, vary. “Consequently, some primary care trusts will fund many treatments readily, but others give all the treatments a very low priority. “So, to an extent, it is a ‘postcode lottery’.” The document added: “In the case of trans women, this is likely to mean that facial feminising surgery, for instance, will not be covered. Even breast augmentation may be deemed aesthetic, and therefore not funded, despite the fact that this surgery may be essential to the success of the transition to the new gender role.” In the case of Mrs Seymour, she had to pay £2,000 of her own money to have electrolysis on her face. She said: “Things are better than they were but they could still be improved.”
Tuesday May 7, 2013
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Health & Wellbeing
THE Gender Recognition Act 2004 gives certain legal rights to transgender men and women. Under the Act, trans men and women can: ■ Apply for and obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate to acknowledge their new identity ■ Get a new birth certificate, driving licence and passport ■ Marry in their new gender To apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate, you must be over 18 years of age. The application process requires you to prove that: ■ You have or have had gender dysphoria, the clinical name for feeling trapped in the body of a man or woman. ■ You have lived as your preferred gender for the past two years ■ You intend to live permanently in your preferred gender. What to do if you think you have gender dysphoria: See your GP if you think that you or your child may have gender dysphoria. They can refer you or your child to a gender dysphoria (GD) clinic. GD clinics offer expert support and help, as well as assessment and diagnosis. There are strict criteria for diagnosing gender dysphoria; these are different for children and adults. However, the criteria are based on the assumption that gender dysphoria is a purely psychiatric condition (relating to the mind), which is now increasingly thought to be a misconception. For this reason, specialists tend to make a diagnosis based on each individual, rather than just on the criteria. Each case of gender dysphoria is unique and should be treated as such. The traditional criteria for diagnosing includes these typical symptoms: ■ A dislike or refusal to wear clothes typically worn by their sex, or show dislike or unhappiness with their genitalia – for example, refusing to pass urine as members of their sex usually do. ■ They may also experience long-term anxiety, distress and impairment in social and occupational areas of life due to their condition.
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and our caring medical staff and 27 miles of corridor at QMC, but it doesn’t have a patch on the real thing. So, although I never actually sat down one day to say that I would be involved in the world of healthcare, it is where I have happily ended up. As chief executive of the hospitals’ charity, I find myself in the wonderful position of overseeing fundraising and working with the trust to determine where our charity’s funds can best be spent to augment the
services already wonderfully provided by the NHS. Not surprisingly, a key area of our spending is on supporting the development of nurses, midwives and health professionals in their profession. One day every year, each nurse has time with their Director of Nursing to learn first-hand about what each of them can do to make their patients’ experiences the best that they can possibly be. Not only that, but she dir-
ectly challenges them to speak up for patients and to contact her directly if they want to raise any concerns. That is a powerful message to give to 5,000 people working under you and one that would not take place without the charity. Our city’s nurses care about their patients, they care about their development, and they care about doing the best for all of us. I often wish that our great British public would join me in celebrating our good fortune.
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