UK transsexuals tell courts law needs crossover

But Britain now faces a discreet revolution from its several thousand transsexuals. Discreet, because far from the flamboyant image made popular in films such as punk musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, most transsexuals would sooner blend unnoticed into Britain’s leafy suburbs.

‘‘You won’t get transsexuals marching on Whitehall,’’ says 40-year-old Rebecca Baty, a transsexual who ran as a candidate for the Conservative Party in local elections this year.

‘‘A lot of (transsexual) people are lining up to have a go at the government,’’ Christine Timbrell, a 61-year-old chartered accountant who underwent surgery a number of years ago said.

Estimates of the number of transsexuals in Britain fall anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000, with about three quarters of them having switched from male to female. Even British judges see change on the horizon.

Ruling in one case, Justice Lightman said he thought it possible that birth certificates might one day recognise the ‘‘current, as opposed to the historic, sex of the holder’’.

Last month, the government said it would reconvene a working group to examine transsexual rights, considering issues such as birth certificates, family law and inheritance provision.

Prejudice is still rife, despite many transsexuals blending unnoticed into society. Caroline Cossey reached the pinnacle of male acceptance as a ‘‘Bond girl’’, fooling the ultimate ladies-man 007 in the 1981 James Bond spy-thriller For Your Eyes Only.

But when she was uncovered in 1990, she was mercilessly hounded by the tabloid media. ‘‘In some areas you’ll still find significant hostility,’’ said a leading psychiatrist who studies gender identity disorders. (Reuters)