Love knows no bounds.

Well I thought it was kinda nice.

http://www.itv-thismorning.co.uk/New...fid=1050&tid=2

amazing that the girlfriend stayed with him - not sure what Id have done if that happened to me (no chance with my old man I hasten to add ) spose she must really love him for who he is

People will constantly surprise you.

Originally Posted by Razor

People will constantly surprise you.

Yes - and sometimes they do it by turning into a member of the opposite sex.

From the Guardian


Gender bending

The NHS was never designed to be a sort of state-run Jim'll Fix It, so I don't understand why gender should be the one exception

Julie Burchill

Maybe it says something sad about my life, but the best night out I've had so far this year was at the Theatre Royal's pantomime of Cinderella. How we swooned at the doe-eyed beauty of Julian Clary as Dandini, at the hands-on stroppiness and tiny ankles of Joanne Good's Fairy Godmother and at the remarkable voice of Dave Benson Phillips, who may have made his name running around like a madman on children's TV but who actually has a pair of pipes to shame Levi Stubbs.

But a special welcome is always reserved for the Ugly Sisters. Ugly Sisters are, of course, always played by men and, though conventional feminism might look at them askance, I find them oddly appealing and sound; the very fact that no woman, however unattractive, is ever thought to be ugly enough to be an Ugly Sister is a testament to the superior beauty of women. In recent years, we have seen the decline of the Principal Boy, traditionally played by an attractive, athletic girl with extremely good gams; how much of this can be put down to a growing awareness of designer dykery, and our inability to see two pretty girls snogging without putting the worst possible interpretation on it? But you never think of sex when you see the Ugly Sisters.

The best reason for their continuing existence is that they demonstrate how very stupid men look, in fact, when they dress up as women. In the context of panto, this is perfectly appropriate. But for the rest of them, I see no difference between transvestite entertainers and the late Black and White Minstrels. They're both extremely offensive, and I don't understand why one is beyond the pale and the other totally acceptable in enlightened circles.

And, yes, I know that they're not the same, but may I say that I feel even less patience with transsexuals. Male to female transsexuals are Michael Jackson to the transvestites Ali G; not content even to dress up temporarily as the Other, they presume that its authenticity can be theirs through a few cosmetic adjustments. We laugh at people who want to change colour; we are shocked that millions of Japanese women each year have their eyes permanently occidentalised; we ban skin-lightening preparations, and would never dream of letting black people have Jackson-type whitening operations on the NHS.

Yet we pay for thousands of men every year to "become" women; around 7,000 at £8,000 a pop, and rising every year. You do the maths. "Oh, but I'm a woman trapped in a man's body!" So? What about all the white people who feel black, black people who feel white, poor people with rich people's tastes and short people who are dying to be tall? They're all welcome to go off and seek to make their dreams a reality, but I don't see the NHS spending money that could be better spent on hip operations, cancer treatments and simply cleaning up our filthy hospitals. The NHS was never designed to be a sort of state-run Jim'll Fix It, and I don't understand why gender must be the one exception.

The Daily Mail seems to have a special, not quite wholesome interest in male-to-female transsexuals, featuring at least one a month in extensive Before and After poses, with a headline typically saying something like THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SIR WHO WANTS TO BE A MISS; Nicholas/Nicola the Charterhouse teacher, Ian/Isabelle the Oxford tutor, Bill/Dian the Welsh preacher and Simon/Carol the C of E vicar. Its attitude used to be that these people were dangerous sexual radicals; now, it seeks to portray them as tragic victims.

My objection to trannies, though, is that they are woefully conventional souls (typical Mail readers, in fact) who seem unable to exist alongside any sort of ambiguity, which as we all know is one of the things that makes life so interesting. I wouldn't have the least problem leaving a young girl child in the care of any of them - I'd fear sexual molestation far less than from a "straight" man - but I would be worried that, by the time I came home, the child would be dressed from head to toe in pink and being danced round the room to the saccharine strains of Thank Heaven For Little Girls.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/sto...784352,00.html

[Speedy]

Hmmm,interesting.

What I find odd (this-morning article) is that Michael/Elizabeth married 3 times to women.

If he was so sure he was/wanted to be a Woman why go through all that?
Or was it to try and convince himself he WAS/IS a Man?

His/Her Girlfriend (Sian) seems very supportive.

Don't get me wrong,I have no oppinion on this subject,'each to their own' applies here.

Whilst I understand fully about this issue as I have seen documentaries and read about it and I can sympathise with anyone who is unhappy about their gender and can fully understand and respect their reasons for wanting to change - at the end of the day IMO it is not a matter of life or death and shouldnt be paid for out of NHS funds.

The reason I feel like this is - I survived a Brain Haemmorhage (cause unknown I was very healthy) and have been left with a (now fortunately controlled) seizure disorder. The Neurology services IMO are not adequate when you consider your brain is the most important part of your body.

Please bear in mind anyone of any age can have a stroke NOT just old people - babies - through to old people visit - www.differentstrokes.co.uk for more on this very unpublicised issue.

Taken from the Stroke Association Website: -

"Stroke is the third biggest killer and the leading cause of severe disability in the UK.

Almost one in four men and one in five women aged 45 can expect to have a stroke if they live to 85.

More than three times as many women die from stroke than breast cancer in the UK.

Unacceptable inadequacies in stroke care and research exist. For every £50 spent on cancer research and £20 on heart disease research, only £1 is spent on stroke research."

I am assuming the guy/gal in the guardian article paid privately as was on good salary in which case I have every sympathy the Sexual discrimination was IMO wrong.

If someone has facial disfurement, overlarge boobs that hurt their back, then they should be entitled to corrective surgery on the NHS - but they should wait their turn with hip ops etc.

There are plenty of parts of my body that I would love to have altered because they make me feel self concious/ugly etc (not those bits btw !) but my bigger than average nose and jodphur thighs (to name but a couple of bits I would change!) do not threaten my life and I wouldnt dream of wasting NHS funds -If I was that desparate I would get a loan/remortgage whatever. Anyway I dont care much about my grotty bits anymore - Im just glad I survived to tell my story.

These are just my views and not aimed at anyone and I apologise in advance if any one is offended.

Rant over

Originally Posted by Speedy

Hmmm,interesting.

What I find odd (this-morning article) is that Michael/Elizabeth married 3 times to women.

If he was so sure he was/wanted to be a Woman why go through all that?
Or was it to try and convince himself he WAS/IS a Man?

His/Her Girlfriend (Sian) seems very supportive.

Interesting question.
Not knowing the person in question I can only answer that she was in denial. Getting married numerous times and doing macho acivities to convince yourself that you're really male is common. Friend of mine has 2 kids, but will still have sexual re-assignment surgery. She knew from a young age but supressed all those feelings. She described how she feels as that she HAS to change, no choice. After a few years being treated for clinical depression and waking most morning where her choices felt like cornflakes or suicide.

When it comes to the NHS and transsexualism, not everybody does. Most of my friends wouldn't dream of letting the NHS operate on them.
Travelling to Thailand and being treated by some of the best surgeons in the world costs money and they're more than willing to pay for it themselves.


http://www.supornclinic.com/ Shows some graphic surgery details so not for everybody.

[Speedy]

I have to say after looking at that link,I'm amazed at how 'real' everything looks. bloody clever.