Transsexuals Please Explain Why Sex Surgery is Necessary?

How Can a Person Feel like They Are the Opposite Sex?

Before Thomas Beatie decided to "become" a man, "he" was in a beauty pageant; so I supposed maybe Thomas Beatie is closer to 5-7. However, according to "Inside Edition," Thomas Beatie's height comes in at 5-10. So ironically, here is this girl who's always wanted to be a man, and Thomas Beatie just happens to be as tall as a man; an enviable trait among other female transsexuals who got cheated out of a man's height.

A transsexual is a person who, from an early age, always felt they belonged in the opposite-sex body. Transsexuals report feeling out of place, feeling awkward, and to get others to understand their inner struggle, transsexuals will ask typical people: "If you're a woman, imagine that every morning when you awaken and look in the mirror, you see a man. And if you're a man, imagine that when you awaken, you see a woman in the mirror. That's how a transsexual feels."

Well, I still don't understand.

Transsexuals commonly report that they (prior to sex reassignment surgery) always longed to "live the life" of the opposite gender. My question is: What IS the life of the opposite gender? Now, if I myself went through a sex-change procedure, I would not be living a different life afterwards (except for superficial changes like dressing differently and shaving my face). I would still be doing the same things. So what is the point of having sex reassignment surgery and hormone treatments? Take Thomas Beatie. Why did he tamper with nature by getting hormone injections? And undergo risks of major surgery to have breasts removed? What is Thomas Beatie doing now, that he couldn't do as a woman?

He can shave his face. Well, I doubt that's why Thomas Beatie did what he did. He can bench press 255 pounds, says "Inside Edition." Well, if a woman wants to achieve this, she doesn't have to undergo sex reassignment procedures and have her breasts cut off. Further, I highly doubt the desire to bench press 255 pounds is why Thomas Beatie began taking hormone injections, had breasts removed, and started dressing like a man.