More balanced help needed for transgenders

This letter was sent to ST Forum but was not published.

It is heart-wrenching that some transgenders are kicked out of their families and as a result, make the wrong choices to go into drugs or sex work. This aggravates the loneliness and low self-esteem in them that can be prevented with the right help. (Beauty pageant for transgender women gets more support from the public; Jan 17) 

There is no such thing as "sex-reassignment" surgery. A mutilated male pumped full of estrogen can never be a woman. Nor are women who have undergone total hysterectomies transformed into males. They remain women whose ovaries and wombs have been removed. They are not men. 

The conviction of oneself as 'transgender' is a delusion. As the larger community, by supporting this beauty pageant, we are encouraging this delusion to grow, not helping the deluded person to face the reality of his condition. This is to shortchange the treatment of anyone who comes with a genuine struggle. Transgenderism is a presenting problem that needs to be dealt with at its root causes, not cover-up with more lies and false glory. Support and counselling is needed from the larger community like the family service centres to help clients and their families have a balanced view of the help available. 

Every human has intrinsic value, born beautiful and precious. As a person born with a physical disability, I can somewhat identify with the transgenders, feeling like an outcast, enduring the insensitive comments of people who do not understand my condition. I do face differential treatments at times which make me angry and lament the unfairness of life. 

I could have continued being bitter and make more wrong choices that put me in greater danger and isolation. I am not immune to issues like family circumstances, rejection, relationships, work etc just because I have a disability. Likewise a person struggling with identity issues. Problems do not vanish just because they have a new 'identity'. It is we who make the decisions on how to live our lives, no matter the circumstances. 

When struggles are viewed as challenges, when we rise up as overcomers rather than see ourselves as victims, when we experience the beauty and worth in ourselves, we are then ready to view our problems objectively.