Quote Originally Posted by GretchenM View Post
Unfortunately, and this is not a criticism of the book, although the science can provide a lot so we can understand better who we are and why we are the way we are, it does not provide a lot of guidance in how to live with it. That is up to us.
That's certainly true. But Beven did what he set out to do. He can't build the whole structure, but he can be a brick in the foundation. The rest *is* up to us.

I think one of its most important functions is that it gives people a "science" explanation on why we exist; why we are drawn to do what we do. And when we know that this is *not* an aberration, not a mental illness, then more of us can give ourselves permission to be. And what we see so much of in the Crossdressers forum is people who need to give themselves that permission. I was hoping some of the information would take hold and I'd start seeing it pop up in the discussions and spread out from there, but that hasn't happened. But at least it's out there.