I would say the great majority fall into two distinct categories...(1) those who want SRS to escape from being labeled a homosexual, and (2) those whose transsexuality springs from the same soil as transvestism. After all, the erotic desire to more feminize one's appearance and fashions isn't far removed from the erotic desire to more completely feminize ones body, permanently.

. . .

I am firmly convinced that married transsexuals (those who married as men), who feel they need to change, are suffering from a very heterosexual and male-like, aggressive or testosterone-laden phenomenon; they need more and more visual stimulation to attain their exotic high -- a more sensuous mental movie in which to enact their wildest fantasies.

Due to the boredom they find in their sexual union with their wives, due mainly to their over-sensualized, erotic stimulation and sexual climax from pornography; as well as their overall responsibilities experienced as husbands, their wives simply don't fulfill their sexual longing any more.

So, instead of the stressors of marriage and parenting causing them to seek another partner, as is typical with many non-transsexual men, they try to turn themselves into another partner; or become both parties in the relationship, thereby eliminating the need for the "real-woman." Thus, they attempt to create a new movie to watch, one in which they are an active participant, and one in which they now possess the enviable position of the woman/wife, where they can then play out their newly proscribed gender role, exhibiting the very qualities they have desired in another woman, which their wife doesn't seem to have. Many qualities they project, may not even exist in "normal" people.

I find it impossible to believe that someone would go through all the work to change their sex just because they're horny and bored.  I've heard trans people accused of many things, but being hobbyists is new.  The obvious question is, "Why go through all that work, time, money, rejection, and stress instead of a few minutes with a porno?" And why take estrogen which lowers sex drive and makes masturbation more difficult? This idea has no bearing whatsoever for transmen.  The idea is somewhat similar to autogynephilia, but autogynephilia acknowledges the driving force is inborn, not the result of boredom. Further, what of transexuals who are not married? If they have no issue with adultery, why are they still feeling the way they do?I hate to say it, but Leach's theory of bad parenting makes more sense than this. I am not surprised that Leach still posted it though because he is more interested in lambasting affirmative views of transgenderism than the truth or something consistent.

I am convinced that treatment of heterosexually attracted transsexuals needs to take into account the following factors:

A) Hormones are very damaging psychologically. They dull the masculine libido, and therefore sexual conflicts are buried and become inaccessible to psychotherapy.

As far as libido, libido will reach a level somewhere between the original and an average female's libido. Yet female's sexual conflicts are still accessible to psychotherapy. By this logic, transmen should take hormones because it would supposedly make their sexual conflicts more accessible.

By "death" I can only interpret "death." Yet hormones have not shown to impact life expectancy. In fact, they tend to bring them more in line with the sex they identify with (females naturally having a longer life expectancy than males). But even transmen on hormones have shown to defy expectations and live longer because being happy also adds to your life expectancy and trans people on hormones are happier.

C) Sex therapy is indispensable for these transsexuals. After years of people saying it's not about sex, it's about gender...I believe it is terrible to have ignored the erotic/sexual features of transsexuals. Clinicians who have expertise in psychotherapy, are often, unfortunately, poorly prepared in sex therapy. One can go through medical school and a psychiatric residency with no training in human sexuality! One can go through a Ph.D. in clinical psychology with only one course in sexual dysfunctions. This is just terrible; that no one wants to talk about transsexuals' sex/eroticism and that people don't have training in sex therapy specifically.

Is he really so stupid as to confuse sex (vagina and penis) with sex (intercourse)?!  I cannot disagree with promoting more education of any kind, but is Mark consistent? How many sex courses has he taken? Leach has taken zero. Therapists are generally in the business of dealing with issues they haven't had many courses in because any given client can bring up any possible issue. For any issue that comes up, it's their responsibility to find as much education as they need. Of the therapists I have seen, the affirming therapists had much more sexual education than others.