Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

In August 2007, he did a tummy tuck. On January 10, 2008, it was breast augmentation, completing the sex change he has always wanted.

A sex change happens when a male or female undergoes hormonal or surgical manipulation to change his or her outward appearance to that of the opposite gender.

A trajectory of Peter Kugouri's* sex change shows one year of psychological and hormonal treatment for the 27-year-old man, who now sports a pierced navel, dangling earrings, waist-length hair and a female form. "I have 11 piercings in total on my body," he boasted to the Flair Magazine.

A former 'son' of a St Mary family, Kugouri, who spent his early years in Montego Bay and now resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, goes by the alias 'Sade'. His well-manicured acrylic nails, permanent make-up and Indian features scream feminine allure. "When I go out, I am not recognised as anything other than female."

Early days

Reminiscing on his early days, he said, "Growing up, I did not have any interest in women and I didn't remain a man because that is just not me."

After spending US$45,000 and having his body go through the shock treatment required for this surgery, Kugouri said there have been changes to the urges he would normally have. "I don't have orgasm anymore and I don't miss it, because I never liked the stickiness anyway."

Accordingly, the transformation makes him "feel fabulous". His only challenge now is, "Too many men are running me down, so I have to be keeping a low profile."

Hormonal manipulation

Local endocrinologist, Dr Rosemarie Wright-Pascoe, says there is no record of any such operation being done in Jamaica. She explained that if Kugouri took the hormonal manipulation route, it meant that he was given female hormones, which results in breast development and suppression of male hormones. "This may result in a softening of the normal musculature seen in men," she said.

"If he did surgery, the doctors would have removed his Adam's apple; scrotum, testes and penis, fashioning a vagina and clitoris, along with laser therapy, which removes facial hair, chest hair, etc.," she added.

She said the sexual urges are tempered by the female hormones given to decrease the dominance of the male limbs.

Doesn't date gay men

Controversial and contradictory at intervals during the interview, Kugouri says he doesn't date gay men. However, he has had a steady two-year relationship with a man in Kingston, whom he described as a Jamaican 'bad man', which is a 'turn-on' for him.

And since living in the United States, he was married to a man, who insisted that it was important for him to get a sex change (having always seen self as a woman).

Not Gay

Certified sex therapist and psychologist, Dr Karen Carpenter, noted that Kugouri could certainly not see himself as gay. "Men who identify as homosexuals understand themselves as male and identify as males. They are attracted to the same sex. It appears that this man sees himself as a female and does not wish to live in a male body. We refer to such persons as 'transgendered'. Not all transgendered change their genitalia through surgery. Many will undergo (male/female) hormone treatments and breast-enlargement surgery."

Gender Identity Disorder

She noted that the essential psychological concepts involved are: gender identity disorder, transgender and gender re-assignment surgery. "First, the man in his male body would be described as having a 'gender identity disorder' - that is, he does not identify with his biological gender. Secondly, his move to surgically change his physical genital appearance is the expression of a transgendered identity, not a homosexual one," explained Dr Carpenter.

Flair asked the doctor if a man who had been effeminate since childhood should do what made him feel whole. And if this could mean a sex change.

Same-sex attraction

"Acting effeminate is not necessarily a sign of same-sex attraction, even in childhood. Our biological sex assignment through the male- and female-genitals we are born with does not automatically determine that we will psychologically develop into male- or female-attracted persons. Attraction, desire and arousal occur in the mind and are psychological features of sexuality, not biological. Caregivers who feel that young people may be expressing what they believe to be opposite sex behaviours can seek the services of a trained and qualified sex therapist who will assist them in uncovering the nature of the behaviour and an appropriate treatment plan."

She said the important thing was to receive objective and helpful information.

Writer's note: Any medically trained person can tell immediately that the person in this interview has undergone a sex change operation because of the scars left behind. The man's body has now become that of a somewhat masculine-looking woman.

*Name changed to protect his identity.