Personally I find the whole gender issue kind of silly, people shouldn't need to swap their gender to put it in line with who they are.
On a more mental level, I can understand. I've always felt that guys get the short end of the stick, and if I was given the choice I'd much rather be born a girl.
If there were a "magic wand" I might just choose to use it, but I can honestly live with being a guy. Despite all the social constraints I don't think my gender defines me that much.
The whole biological imperative thing has always struck me as being a little... odd. I suppose it's a sex thing?
I don't really understand how that works, but I'm pretty sure that's probably just me.
I think I have very... odd feelings when it comes sex, gender, and sexuality. I don't think I approach it the same way everyone else does, so I can't shake the feeling I'm missing some part of the picture here. I have a lot of mixed feelings on the issue. I can understand how people get freaked out about transgenders, the first time I found out about hormone therapy, gender reassignment surgery etc. I freaked the fuck out, I mean, "People do these things?"
I was only about 15, just discovering sex, and had always thought that "boys are boys, and girls are girls, and that's the end of that". So I think it's fair to say that was a natural reaction, I think for a few weeks I was a bit traumatised (something I find rather funny), but I came around to the idea once I had some time to think about it.
So that lead up to my current attitude. I don't really understand exactly the mentality behind it, but frankly, if you want to swap sides, go for it. I don't really mind all that much, and I have to admit I respect people who are willing to go through all the grief it entails.
I think the only reason some people are afraid of transexualism is because sex is a very personal issue for most people, and transexualism adds a third axis onto the sexuality issue (the first being male/female the second being homosexual/heterosexual). For people raised with a traditional view of sexuality it must stand that view on it's head. I don't think people really know how to deal with it, and people are afraid of things they don't understand and can't get a handle on (consult Star Wars for the effects of fear).
...
I think that's the end of my rant.