I have read that a lot of transmen (am I using this correctly?) have the top done but never actually finish the bottom. i wonder if that is because phalloplasty seems like a nasty business or for other reasons. Only transman i have know didn't finish bottom.
It's also expensive as hell and there's a somewhat high possibility of things going wrong (like, "omg i can't pee or feel anything" wrong).
I understand all of the arguments for GRS in modern Western society, but transgendered people have existed for the entirety of human existence, and in cultures which accepted trans people as a third or fourth gender, there are no such reports of disgust with one's natural body, and to me that speaks volumes.
From my perspective, and I don't want to get all woo-woo on you here but it's not an uncommon view from people raised in native American religions, it's sad and a waste when people feel they have to destroy such a rare gift by changing their outside bodies.
I say this despite knowing many trans people and supporting their decision to choose surgery in order to make them happy in the here and now... I just feel that requiring surgery for this happiness is something that our society has coerced.
The thing is, most trans people aren't a third gender. Androgynous/neutrois people are quite happy with that state of being, which is why they don't tend towards bottom surgery (though I know one neutrois person who recently had surgery to turn their penis into a blank spot with a place to pee + a clit, which they were pretty happy with.) Transsexuals, however, just want to be seen as a man or a woman. While you're right in that there definitely is something of a gift in being able to experience aspects of both sexes/genders, it's not a gift to have the wrong set of genitals, nor is it a gift to be viewed as something you're not. Adding a bit of personal perspective here: I don't want to be seen as a part of some "third gender." I'm a girl. I'm not feminine/female in every respect, and I'm comfortable with bending genders, but I'm still a pretty normal, everyday girl. Being treated like some special, mythical door number 3 isn't going to make me happy, but will just encourage me feeling singled out and marginalized as either an object of pity or scorn.
And most therapy related to gender identity issues these days aims to make people happy and comfortable with their own bodies before they try to change anything. In fact, the medical "gatekeepers" tend to view anxiety/depression resulting from gender dysphoria as a sign of mental illness and enough reason to delay/prevent treatment. Generally if things work out right, SRS isn't being done "to make them happy" so much as it's just a way to make it easier to get comfortable in their own body.
