Before writng about the effects of relationships because of Gender Identity Disorder, it is imperative to diagnose first what the disorder is not. A person experiencing Gender Identity Disorder is not gay. A gay person is attracted to their own gender.

A person with Gender Identity Disorder is not a transvestite. A transvestite is a man who wishes to keep his genitalia and crossdresses for a number of reasons to include sexual release, exhibitionism, fetichism, anxiety relief or to pass as a woman. This behavior is hardly 24/7 as it may occur periodically or for a few hours on the weekend. When the masquerade is over, the transvestite can't wait until he gets back to being a male again.

A person with Gender Identity Disorder is not a drag queen. A drag queen is a homosexual man dressed flamboyantly as a woman for the purposes of attracting a man.

All of the above conditions are primarily between the legs. A person with Gender Identity Disorder is a person whose body does match their mind and the condition is between the ears. Their body is male but the brain, heart and soul is female. The world see the external which conflicts with the inner feeling and with this disconnent comes much despair for the transsexual (another term for Gender Identity Disorder) coupled with anger and confusion with the transsexual's family and friends.

I was diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder in March 2007 at the age of 59 falsely believing that I was a crossdresser. I will, if medically fit, begin hormone treatment in January. The overall effect on relationships because of my Gender Identity Disorder is universal in one respect: No relationship will remain the same as a gender is changing. I am no longer an attractive male to women nor a buddy to a man.

Individually, the relationships I have are mixed in that there are three male friends who have no problem calling me Joi and or seeing me presented as a female. I have also a number of female friends who have accepted my condition and a few who have embraced me as a female.

But beyond that it gets confusing. Here's a sampling of my other experiences:

* No Intimacy- As a male, many women have found me attractive. But I am a girlfriend in a man's body. While transitioning, I haven't had a date in 18 months. How can you date in the wrong body?

* Semi Supporters- These are women who accept me as a croosdresser but insist I am a man.

* The Educationally Insightful- These are people who refuse to judge because

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