The book follows the stages of gender reassignment and contains a couple of life stories based on interviews conducted by Ferenc Vidra Szabó. The essence of these subjective stories, the psychological, medical and social summation of the topic processed in the chapter is outlined in the short introductions written by Gábor Hero, who leads the chapters. At the end of the volume, we can also read a compilation about the legal framework of gender reassignment.
The first chapter, Wayfinders, introduces three teenagers who have recently discovered the reason for their differences since they were little. An important lesson is that this discovery – and the search for the causes of previously experienced otherness or exclusion – is linked to sexual maturation. However, signs of different gender identity can appear as early as two years of age.
The next chapter is titled In Uncertainty. It presents stories of women (in all cases already in the "desired" gender) and how the lives of those embarking on the path of gender transition are made impossible by bureaucratic hurdles such as the ban on name changes. Under the title In Transition, we see stories of men, where medical problems are even more serious than in the other group. The heroes of the Arriving chapter have already undergone surgeries and name changes, but they have to deal with countless unprecedented problems, mainly the acceptance of their changed gender.
The situation of intersex people is even more complicated because they are biologically two-way people. The ambivalence of parental attitudes towards them, the arbitrary medical interventions performed on them in early childhood, and their increased exclusion result in tragic life situations. Finally, the stories of Couples offer a glimpse into the joys and difficulties of living together with people who are often lonely.
Available via opac.elte.hu
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