«Transsexualism: Assigning Gender Identity Even Without Surgery»

• "Transsexualism and transgenderism" was discussed on Tuesday afternoon at the Maieutics Center on Via Granati, during a conference sponsored by the Center itself, directed by Maurizio Falcone, and the Arcigay "Marcella di Folco" committee of Salerno. The meeting's goal was to promote the depathologization of transsexualism with the transition from the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) to the DSM-V. "We are asking for gender reassignment to be possible without first undergoing surgery," explained Antonello Sannino, president of "Marcella di Folco." "Martina Castellana, for example, who, like others, cannot undergo surgery for various reasons, has only been allowed to use the name Martina alongside Michele, yet everyone knows her as a she. However," Sannino continued, "separating recognition from surgery would mean no longer making healthcare for transsexuals free: the issue is complex." Meanwhile, more and more Italian women feel they are men. In our province, there are approximately 600 transgender people, 40 percent of whom are female, who are asking to be recognized as male.
Marilia Parente