江山易改，本性能移

Transsexuality is an interesting, if baffling, subject for most people. It is often confused with transvestitism, even though the two are distinctly different.

Transvestites feel a compulsion to dress in clothing that is considered appropriate to the other sex, while still feeling comfortable with their given sex. Transsexuals, on the other hand, feel a strong dissonance between their sex---their physical selves, and their gender---their identity in society. Basically, they feel as if they are trapped in a body of the wrong sex.

This condition, called gender dysphoria, is not merely a disposition, but an unsuppressable urge. Along with their discomfort with their own bodies, transsexuals must contend with stigma, shame, and sometimes violence, in an unaccepting society. Difficulties that transsexuals face are so great, in fact, that 50 percent of them die before the age of 30---the vast majority from suicide.

Transsexual feelings are strong, in part, because they have a biological basis. They are caused by different factors including a critically timed hormone released by the mother during gestation.

Other confirmation of transsexuality's biological roots are its existence in cultures all over the world throughout time. From Greece to Africa, from India to North America, transsexuals held a sacred place in primitive societies and were allowed to live as the gender of their choosing.

Modern classification and medical treatment of transsexuals began in 1930 with the first sex change operation. Still, for decades afterward, the mainstream medical community saw transsexuality as a mental disorder. After the ‘60s, however, studies supported a biological cause. Scientists also learned that transsexuality is evenly split between males and females, and that transsexuals may be straight, gay, bisexual, or asexual.

A greater understanding of gender dysphoria has led to methods of reassigning transsexuals to a congruent sex. These include hormone treatments, which soften the skin and enlarge the breasts of men and deepen the voice and increase facial hair in women. While these measures help assuage transsexual identity issues, many transsexuals choose to take the next step and have sex reassignment surgery.

Sex reassignment surgery is expensive and may be done with or without modification of the genitals. Female-to-male transsexuals present a greater challenge, as doctors are as yet unable to construct a fully functional penis. However, despite potential problems, sex reassignment surgery has a huge rate of success: 97 percent of female-to-male transsexuals are satisfied with the results, as are 87 percent of males who become females.

It is hoped that these scientific advances, along with a greater understanding of transsexualism, will lead to more fulfilling lives for transsexuals. Perhaps in the future, they will be accepted as just another unique group in society.

1. baffling a. 令人困惑的，難解的

2. dissonance n. 不合

3. disposition n. 傾向

4. stigma n. 污名，恥辱

5. mainstream a. 主流的

6. congruent a. 相合的

7. assuage v. 緩和

8. genitals n. 生殖器

變性欲，對多數人而言，即使難以理解，但也仍是一個感興趣的話題。變性欲與易裝癖常被混淆，盡管兩者截然不同。

異裝癖者會感到一種內心的沖動驅使他（她）們去穿那些更適合異性穿著的服飾而仍對他們固有的性別感到滿意——變性欲者則會對他們的性(別)──自己的身體及性別──社會身份，感到非常不協調。基本上，他們覺得自己陷進了錯誤性別的軀體中。這種情況被稱為性別焦慮的狀態，不僅僅是一種意向，更是一種無法抑制的沖動。變性欲者除了對自己的身體感到厭惡，他們身處不能接納他們的社會，還要對抗污名、羞辱，甚至暴力。變性欲者面臨著重重困難，以至于他們中百分之五十的人事實上都活不到30歲──大部分人都自殺了。

變性的感覺是很強烈的，部分是有他們生物學上的根據的。造成這種情況的因素不盡相同，其中包括母親懷孕的關鍵時刻釋放出來的荷爾蒙。

變性欲有其生物學根源的另一實證是它長期以來始終存在于世界各地的文化之中。從希臘到非洲，印度到北美，變性欲者在原始社會中具有神圣的地位，并且還被允許按照他們選擇的性別來生活。

現代對變性欲者的分類和醫學治療始于1930年的首次變性手術。盡管如此，在幾十年后，主流醫學界仍將變性欲視為一種精神錯亂。然而，60年代以后，研究結果卻證實變性欲是因為生物學上的原因。科學家也發現變性欲平均分布于兩性之間，而且變性欲者可能是異性戀、同性戀、雙性戀，或無性者。

對性別焦慮狀態有了進一步的了解，便產生了將變性欲者重新分配到適合自身的性別中去的種種方法。其中包括能讓男性皮膚變細、胸部變豐滿，或讓女性聲音變得低沉、臉部的毛發增多的荷爾蒙療法。這些方法有助于緩和由變性欲者的身分引起的爭議，但仍然有許多變性欲者選擇更進一步的措施，做變性手術。

變性手術費用高，完成后可能將生殖器改造或維持原狀。想變成男性的女變性欲者面臨的挑戰較大，因為醫生們至今仍無法造出功能齊全的男性生殖器。然而，撇開潛在的問題不談，變性手術的成功率非常高：97%變成男性及87%變成女性的變性欲者，對結果感到滿意。

希望科學的進步和人們對變性欲更深的了解，能為變性欲者帶來更美滿的生活。或許在將來，他們只是被視為另外一群獨特的人，而被社會接納。