The Transsexual Phenomenon
A Scientific Report of Transsexualism And Sex Conversion in the Human Male And Female
Harry Benjamin
The Transsexual Phenomenon ‘drew on [the author’s] work with clients who had a variety of “sexual disorders.” He argued that transsexuals were a group distinct from transvestites (heterosexual men who derived sexual pleasure from dressing in women’s clothing but who did not wish to become women) and homosexuals. While he acknowledged that overlap between groups was certainly possible, he argued against collapsing them into one category of “sexual pathology,” as each condition required a different treatment approach. In The Transsexual Phenomenon, Benjamin also challenged the dominant psychological treatment of transsexuality. He argued that psychoanalysis did not lessen the desire to change sex; it simply forced patients to go underground with their desires and lead miserable lives. Benjamin instead advocated that transsexuals be given hormones for the sex they wished to become in an attempt to fit the body with the mind. Benjamin also advocated surgery for patients deemed by medical experts to fit the diagnostic criteria for transsexuals. Benjamin’s views positioned him as a maverick in the medical community. However, his treatment approach to transsexuality eventually gained precedence over psychoanalysis.’ ~ Kristen Schilt, and Erik Gregersen, Senior Editor, Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Details
| Genre | LGBT Studies/Social Sciences; Health; Sexuality; Non-Fiction |
| Publication Date | 1966 |
| Publisher | Julian Press |
| Language | English |
| Rating | Great |
| BookID | 13070 |
