Transgenders taking the pill to look beautiful

KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Preeti Rana, 21, (name changed) always wanted to have soft hands and feet and a well-defined feminine figure despite having been born a male.



Thanks to hormonal pills that (she thinks) have enhanced her beauty, she has not only been increasingly noticed by males but has even been proposed to by three guys within just the last eight months. [break]



"I was shocked, but of course also extremely delighted, when I was proposed to; it was proof I really looked like a girl," Rana said blushing. "But I had a hard time pleading ´sorry´ with them". The stunningly beautiful Rana has been using the medicines since the last two years.



Rana is not alone. Actually it´s very natural for the male turned female to be obsessed with beauty, observes vice-president of the Blue Diamond Society, Manisha Dhakal.



"My decade-long association with third gender people suggests that transgenders unexceptionally are into a beauty craze, they want to hide their veins, they want bigger breasts and a soft body. So they go for the hormonal pills as soon as they come to know about them," she remarks.



According to Dhakal, pure hormonal pills or hormonal therapy are not available in the country, so they fulfill their need with birth control pills, which contain a certain amount of hormonal chemicals. And strikingly, many transgenders take the pill despite being aware that using the medicine without medical supervision can have serious health consequences, she remarks.



Ironically, Dhakal herself has been taking the pill since the last few years without consulting a doctor. "Earlier, I used to just take the pills available in Kathmandu, but later when I got a chance to visit abroad, I switched to the imported pills as I came to know that they have better ingredients and are less harmful," said Dhakal.



Currently, she is taking pills made in Bangkok, which she stocked up on when she went to there last year. "I would certainly have contacted a doctor or a consultant and if it was available I would even go for hormonal therapy. But no such thing is available here, so many like us are using the medicine without supervision," Dhakal admitted.



Males should not take medicines meant for women and vice versa, without consulting a trained health practitioner warns gynecologist and obstetrician Dr Nutan Sharma. "Depending on the hormonal status of an individual the untested pills can have little to severe health impact," said Sharma. She added that in developed countries transgenders are given stepwise hormonal treatment by doctors.



"We have evidence that haphazard use of the birth control pill has affected the health even of women, so no wonder the impact can be dangerous if men use them, and even more so if there is overdosing," she comments.



Medical studies show that the use of untested hormonal medicines has side effects such as development of patches on the face, excessive weight gain, reduced sexual appetite, depression, mood swings and nausea.



Dipa Gautam (also name changed) is a BDS staffer, and is already suffering from all the above effects except nausea. "I gained considerable weight after using birth control pills.



Later, dark patches surfaced on my face as you can see, and I also began to feel rather weak and depressed. It seems the medicine does not suit me," Gautam said. Interestingly, Gautam has not stopped taking the pills. "I fear I might end up looking ugly if I do not continue with them."

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