It's frequently a fantasy of transgender readers to imagine what it would be like to be inter-sexed or androgen insensitive or some other unusual genetic manifestation. On today's Guardian website is an account of a woman who suffers with Swyre Syndrome or XY gonadal dysgenesis which has caused her problems much of her life.

From the Guardian a story about how one parish convinced a diocese to put a proposal to the General Synod of the Church of England about renaming ceremonies for transgender Christians. While I'm unlikely to consider it as an unbeliever, I welcome what looks like the slightest movement of progress for those who do, and I wish Blackburn Diocese good luck with their motion.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/21/proposal-for-...

Another article from the Guardian about guns. Everyone, should by now, know how opposed I am to them but there are some interesting statistics, especially the increased risk of injury or death to women if guns are kept in the home.

For those interested: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/18/gun-violence-wa...

Please keep the responses civil.

Why am I surprised? Probably because I'm incredibly naïve and don't understand why anyone would want to do it. It's dangerous and pointless. What's the point of bragging rights, which apparently alpha males enjoy, if you cheated to get them? Some people seem to think it's worth it, I'm saddened especially as it's rife in youth cycling. Whoever is responsible should be jailed for a very long time - it's tantamount to child abuse and these are the people we want to develop in fitness, technique and ethics. Winning is not all.

A poorly understood condition in which sufferers dislike or feel something is wrong or ugly with their body and which can have serious consequences for individuals. It has at least one celebrity sufferer.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/09/body-dys...

This is a very interesting article, including a link to the full 79 page report about transgender women working in the sex industry in Shanghai and Beijing by a group called Asia Catalyst, which I found while poking about on the Guardian website. It appears that the Chinese generally are not very accepting of transgender people so treatment to transition and so on is not easily found, plus the establishment while not making it illegal is not very helpful either.