Originally aired at 9am today, for UK audiences only it's also available on iPlayer for the next week:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007vrr0
The Choice is a series of 1/2 hour programmes on Radio 4, featuring people who have made life-altering decisions and exploring the whole process, from the original dilemma to living with the consequences. Previous episodes have featured a chap who killed his abusive father; a woman who's adopted 9 children with special needs (most with Down's Syndrome) and a whistleblower. Today's featured Miranda Ponsonby.
A quick Google later reveals a BBC Leicester interview earlier this year which covered similar ground, interviews in the Daily Telegraph (just over 2 years ago) and The Times (earlier this year), plus numerous other articles - so some of you may already be familiar with her story (especially as her autobiogaphy was released back in the summer).
For those not yet familiar, in a nutshell, Miranda was born Rhodri. After a career including public school boy, sportsman, soldier and farmer, 20 years ago Rhodri transitioned. However, rather than going the usual route, the op was done privately [1], before starting on hormones or even a RLT. She's since taken on a new career in nursing, and (aged 76) is still working at Kettering Hospital.
[1] The only complication being the surgeon initially left one testicle behind...
Comments
Oh dear!
Sometimes, what we seek has less appeal when we have it in our hand.
How sad that Miranda sees that she made the wrong choice.
I just hope that this doesn't provide ammunition to the 'anti' lobby; well over ninety per cent of post op women will tell you that surgery couldn't happen quickly enough.
I certainly have no regrets - well, other than Dad's little wriggler got it wrong in the first place.
Susie
Unsure / indecisive?
She's evidently not completely sure about whether her choice was correct. In The Choice, she claimed she regretted it, however in the BBC Leics article:
However despite this, now aged 76 Miranda looks back over her colourful life still largely happy with the path her life has taken, and feels she did all she could for her sons.
and in The Times:
During the interview, Miranda seems to struggle to make sense of why she did what she did and how she feels about it. At one point she says: “I wouldn’t do it again,†then pauses. “Well, it’s difficult to know. I’d have missed so much if I hadn’t.â€
Although she'd never admit it, perhaps part of her dilemma is her unusual approach to transition. After all, the psychologist appointments and RLT are part of the recommended process for a reason...
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!