Why are the rates so high?

Suicide is a huge issue in the transgender community. 41 percent in the US alone have attempted suicide. If that weren't enough, 19 percent of transgenders have been refused medical care, and 2 percent have been physically assaulted in a doctor's office.

If suicide weren't enough, 2.64 percent of transgendered people report being infected with HIV, this being 4 times higher than the national average of 0.6 percent. On top of that, mental disorders are more widespread among the LGBTQ community. And the answer to the question why, is because of all the prejudice, stigma, and hostility towards this group.

If battling suicidal thoughts, drug and alcohol abuse, mental disorders, and for some, HIV weren't enough, job security is also on the line. There is no anti-discriminatory rule that prohibits letting a transgendered people go simply because they decided to go ahead and change. This, in fact, contributes to their health problems. All these statistics, and more, can be found by clicking here.

Why are these rates so unbelievably high? They are all more than triple the American national average. I think the question should be, would the rates be lower if there were less prejudice, and more acceptance among society? In my opinion, I think the answer would be yes. Any group under these circumstances would react this way, and to ridicule a group for having such problems that has been created for them, not by them, is also a huge issue. Has no one considered that perhaps these individuals require a sex change to lead productive lives?

(Image taken from Live Science)

Regret?

Sex changes are a huge deal and much time must be put forth when considering such a big decision.

There are a number of cases where transsexuals underwent sex reassignment surgery and came to regret their decision. One person, going by the alias Claudia, recounts her experience as 'rushed.' She felt undergoing male-to-female surgery would solve all of her problems, including her relationship. Her full story can be found here.

Statistics about surgery regret are scarce and hard to find. The topic is still taboo in society, therefore many scientists are unwilling to study it because the subjects (transsexuals), are unwilling to participate. However, a study in 1992 stated that postoperative surgery is generally low - only 1% in female to male, and 1-1.5% in male to female. (More about this can be found by clicking this link.)

So the question quickly becomes: why are postoperative regret stories making more headlines than successful stories? I personally think it's because society still isn't comfortable with people changing sexes. Upon reading comments on an article republished from 1993 in 2012, I find that people are still very judgemental and frown upon this surgery. I find that people like to see that these surgeries don't work out to affirm their belief that a man is born a man and must therefore be comfortable with himself, just as a woman should be with herself. (These comments can be found here.) I find that people are still very uncomfortable with the thought of transsexuality that stories of failure make them feel better about themselves, potentially because they would not be happy if they were to have gender dysphoria.

(Image taken from TransGriot)