{"id":723188,"date":"2019-10-14T18:55:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T18:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/2019\/10\/14\/ex-soldier-who-became-woman-switches-back-admits-it-was-a-mistake\/"},"modified":"2019-10-14T18:55:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T18:55:57","slug":"ex-soldier-who-became-woman-switches-back-admits-it-was-a-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2019\/10\/14\/ex-soldier-who-became-woman-switches-back-admits-it-was-a-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-soldier who became woman, switches back, admits it was a mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
\n
\nAn ex-soldier who became a woman and then switched back warns that children are encouraged to transition too quickly.<\/p>\n
Peter Benjamin knows more than most about the realities of transgender life. For several years, he tried living as a woman. Then he had sex-reassignment surgery, realised he had made a mistake and reverted to being a man.<\/p>\n
The market researcher, 60, who has a grown-up daughter and son, says living as a woman was \u0093making me ill\u0094. He is speaking about his experience out of concern for people who, like him, change gender, only to find their lives as isolated and challenging as they were before.<\/p>\n
An ex-soldier who became a woman after having gender reassignment surgery admits it was a mistake which was \u201cmaking me ill\u201d.<\/p>\n
Peter Benjamin, 60, is back living as a man but has been unable to reverse sex-reassignment surgery.<\/p>\nPeter Benjamin transitioned to a woman but believes he made a mistake. Photo Credit: Facebook<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The ex-squaddie, 60, is back living as a man, but can\u2019t reverse the surgery. Photo Credit: Facebook <\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
He began taking hormones from unlicensed vendors and read transgender websites, after starting cross-dressing when he was in his teens.<\/p>\n
But after changing gender he started having panic attacks and drinking heavily and realised he wanted to be a man again.<\/p>\n
Peter told The Sunday Times: \u201cMy anxiety levels were sky-high.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was seeing the doctors for all sorts of problems. My drinking was going up because I couldn\u2019t cope any more with being transgender. I just had to get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018POSH BIRD\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n
Peter served in the British Army from the age of 16 to 20, but his career ended when he wore a skirt to his barracks after a heavy drinking session.<\/p>\n
The transvestite ex-squaddie married three times but was diagnosed with gender dysphoria after his third wife died in 2011.<\/p>\n
A female lodger began calling him Victoria, saying: \u201cYou\u2019re a posh bird. You need a posh name.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2015, Peter had surgery to remove his male genitalia.<\/p>\n
He said the NHS paid a private London hospital \u00a310,000 to operate on him, but his doctor would not recommend him for breast augmentation surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy drinking was going up because I couldn\u2019t cope any more with being transgender. I just had to get out of it\u201d<\/p>\n
But after surgery, he realised he had made a mistake after his son and daughter drove him home and he was left alone.<\/p>\n
Peter said: \u201cThey took my suitcase upstairs and then my daughter gave me a hug and then they left. That was the only support I had. There was no follow-up psychiatry \u0097 nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said he didn\u2019t look much like a woman and struggled to be accepted by female friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hoped to have more female friends but the opposite happened. I thought, \u2018Ladies who lunch, go on holiday, have friends around for coffee,\u2019 but it just didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
ATTACK FEARS<\/strong><\/p>\n
The ex-squaddie was also scared bigots would attack him after he transitioned.<\/p>\n
Peter said: \u201cIt\u2019s easy, isn\u2019t it, being a man? I can just put on a pair of trousers and a top and go out. Being a woman, people ridicule it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were staring. I had to watch my back.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cTravelling on the train, I\u2019d be absolutely dripping when I came up to London because I was scared I would be attacked or assaulted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not scared where I am living, but for a simple thing like leaving for the shops, I\u2019d be having panic attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peter said he binned seven bags of women\u2019s clothing, wigs and makeup after deciding to switch back to being a man<\/p>\n
But he hasn\u2019t updated a birth certificate issued on August 31, 2016, which said he was born a girl and is now warning that children are encouraged to transition too quickly.<\/p>\n
It comes after it was revealed a former psychotherapist at England\u2019s first NHS child gender clinic called for judges to stop children from having hormone-blocking treatment unless it is in their interests.<\/p>\n
Peter added: \u201cWe\u2019re going to have mental health hospitals full, dealing with these children who have decided that they are not transgender as they grow older.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NHS is going to have such a big burden on it over what\u2019s happening. I am so worried.\u201d<\/p>\nPeter said a lodger began calling him Victoria. Photo Credit: Facebook<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPeter is now warning that children are transitioning too soon<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
An ex-soldier who became a woman and then switched back warns that children are encouraged to transition too quickly. Peter Benjamin knows more than most about the realities of transgender life. For several years, he tried living as a woman. Then he had sex-reassignment surgery, realised he had made a mistake and reverted to being […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":723189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-723188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-odd-but-true"],"yoast_head":"\n
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