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Abstract
Transsexualism is discussed in terms of gender and genitalia more often than in terms of spirit or soul. The outer appearance, or rather the skin, represents the body's transition from one gender to another. Yet it is arguable that the body itself is simply a shell that must be inhabited and animated by the soul to be considered alive and human. This study examines the inner, spiritual life of four people, Christian and non-Christian, two male-to-female and two female-to-male transsexuals, in different stages of gender transition, in an attempt to follow the life of the soul during the outer body's progress toward gender reconstruction. The results suggest that a parallel development of spirit or soul accompanies the transition of the body and appears necessary for the transition to progress. The transsexual transition is compared to other models of transformation: James Fowler's (1940) “faith development,” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's (1965) “theory of evolution,” and Victor Frankl's (1969)“will to meaning.” As a result, this study offers an in-depth model of Christian transsexual transition and proposes that this model might be used in trans-therapy, as well as to explain other types of transition that both trans- and non-transsexual persons alike pursue during the life span.