Male to female: the role transformation of transsexuals

Twelve male transsexuals were found to have acquired a successtion of gender roles from childhood to adulthood-ambivalent, homosexual, drag queen, and transsexual. Thse roles constituted different stages of their livers during which they were clarifying their psychosocial gender role as transsexuals. Their transition through these roles suggests that these individuals are a subset of the transsexual phenomenon, for many--probably most--other transsexuals do not adopt these roles prior to becoming adult transsexuals. The social interaction of these transsexuals with significant others differed from the ways in which sociological role theories view this process: the significant others in their lives (apart from their mothers) primarily influenced their role changes by withdrawing from and/or rejecting these individuals--not by inducing them to conform to their role expectations. As permanently cross-dressed transsexuals, these individuals continued to associate with the institutions of the gay world, which alone was tolerant of them and where they could draw on the emotional support of other transsexuals in this last presurgery role. At this point they had become their own reference group.