Hi everyone, I'm a real ive transsexual, female-to-male. (also new here). I have read this thread and would like to make a few comments.
"Personally, I think that anybody who seriously wants to swap genders that badly should seek psychiatric help immediately."
This is what a lot of people don't understand. The sex change IS the "help." They tried using psychiatric therapy to cure people of Gender Identity Disorder (that's the technical name for it) for decades without any success. The sex change is the cure.
"Very few people are truly happy after getting a sex change, and most feel more lost and confused then before they did it."
Where are you getting that from? I've been involed with the trans community for years now and I've only ever heard of one person regretting going through the change. Keep in mind too that psychiatrists have control over sex changes, so if the procedure didn't "work" (make people feel better) they would stop allowing it.
"I heard some lunatic yelling on the Man-Cow radio show about how homosexuality is the default for humans. Renounce the evils of heterosexual marriage! Go gay!"
Homosexuality and transsexuality are two different things. Homosexuality is which gender you are attracted to: transsexuality is what gender you see yourself as. Does every gay person want a sex change? No, obviously they don't or there would be a lot more sex chnanges going on. A lot of transsexuals are homosexual (meaning after they change sex they have relationships with people of the same sex).
A few other things:
Yes, F2M's have to go through the psychiatric procedures as M2F's. F2Ms are easier to diagnose however.
If you think you could spot a transsexual on the street, you're probably wrong. M2F's pass about 90% of the time... For F2M's it's virtually 100%. It really isn't that hard to make people see what you want them to see. I have even heard of men having sex with post-op M2F's without knowing it. (For the record I don't agree with that).
I would be happy to answer any other questions about sex changes or Gender Identity Disorder anyone has.