There are a number of people who have undergone so-called “gender reassignment” surgery who regret it deeply, and they are largely being ignored in the rush to pronounce such surgery a beneficent act.
Professor Miroslav Djordjevic of Belgrade, one of the world’s leading genital reconstructive surgeons, has spoken with at least a dozen men who have undergone the traumatic surgery involving removing their genitalia and now wish to reverse the procedure. According to The Telegraph, the clients in question come from all over Europe. The Telegraph explains, “Reattaching the male genitalia is a complex procedure and takes several operations over the course of a year to fully complete (at a cost of some €18,000).”
Djordjevic stated that many of these individuals have contemplated suicide.
Yet it has been alleged that Bath Spa University rejected an application for research on gender reassignment reversal because it was a subject deemed “potentially politically incorrect.”
The Telegraph reports:
James Caspian, a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender people, suggested the research after a conversation with Prof Djordjevic in 2014 at a London restaurant where the Serbian told him about the number of reversals he was seeing, and the lack of academic rigour on the subject. According to Caspian, the university initially approved his proposal to research “detransitioning.” He then amassed some preliminary findings that suggested a growing number of young people – particularly young women – who were transitioning their gender and then regretting it.
But after submitting the more detailed proposal to Bath Spa, Caspian discovered he had been referred to the university ethics committee which rejected it over fears of criticism that might be directed toward the university.
Caspian said the university told him, “Engaging in a potentially politically incorrect piece of research carries a risk to the university. Attacks on social media may not be confined to the researcher, but may involve the university. The posting of unpleasant material on blogs or social media may be detrimental to the reputation of the university.”
Djordjevic commented, “Definitely reversal surgery and regret in transgender persons is one of the very hot topics. Generally, we have to support all research in this field.”
One anonymous transgender person told The Guardian that if she had been counseled, she might not have gone through the process, admitting, “Had that been the case for me, I might not have transitioned. I was so focused on trying to change my gender, I never stopped to think about what gender meant.”
Djordjevic is afraid that the current World Professional Association for Transgender Health guidelines forbidding “gender reassignment” surgery to anyone under 18 could be altered to include minors. He said he would not perform the surgery, adding, “I’m afraid what will happen five to 10 years later with this person. It is more than about surgery; it’s an issue of human rights. I could not accept them as a patient because I’d be afraid what would happen to their brain and mind.”