ANN VITALE power point talk

[melissaK]

http://www.avitale.com/NTHStalk.htm

Ann Vitale, a noted therapist in TS/TG work, gave a pps show presentation at the National Transgender Health Summit, Univ. of California San Francisco April 9, 2011. She has posted her script and slide content. IMHO it's worth the time to read. She's decades post op, and has decades of therapist experience and shares some of what she has learned. I know some of you on this board periodically mention Dr. Vitale too, so the content is not new to you, but the summary nature of the pps show makes for an easy read.

hugs,
'lissa

[Kaitlyn Michele]

To me she is the cream of the crop Melissa...she has many talks posted over the internet for years..
The way she describes our condition is so clear it sets her apart...
she is open minded and most importantly PRAGMATIC AND REALISTIC about what we are all trying to do here.


the money quote in her presentation for me was about transsexuals, and even after only a couple of years for RLE, and less than one year post srs, this is so true and so clear it gave me chills when i read it..

"Transsexuals who have been through transition and are now 20, 30 and even 40 years into their post-op/post treatment lives, report that although they have no regret having transitioned they know now that although something profound happened they never really changed their sex.

They have, however, attained something far more important. / What they routinely report is that without the burden of chronic gender related anxiety, time and space to live has opened up for them. They know now and accept that they will never get to where cisgendered people start in understanding their gendered self. But that for most transsexuals is enough. How well one makes that adjustment is the stuff of a longer philosophical discussion. "



I have been trying to express this feeling but dr vitale does it better than i ever could...

[Michelle.M]

Oh, this is a good read! I like her take on FTM and MTF as terms. Gender Role Transition. Excellent.

Julia Serrano uses a term that I like in place of GID or the variants - Gender Dissonance. A bit easier to roll off the tongue than Gender Expression Deprivation Anxiety and for me really sums up the sense of disconnect.

[Sophora]

thank you for sharing this. I have to concur I like the term gender dissonance myself. It fits more than GID does. I really don't believe it is a disorder.

[celeste26]

Thanks Melissa for offering this link to us. I read it and it is valuable.

[Rianna Humble]

Julia Serrano uses a term that I like in place of GID or the variants - Gender Dissonance. A bit easier to roll off the tongue than Gender Expression Deprivation Anxiety and for me really sums up the sense of disconnect.

Might be easier to say Gender Dissonance, but for Dr Vitale's naming you can think of a child who didn't get their way "Gee Dad!"

[Kelsy]

Anne's book the Gendered Self is a great resource!

[Robin Lee]

I shared Ann Vitale web site with my therapist. Can't wait to see her for my next appointment. Ann has a very good view of who we are and what we have gone through in our lives.