“Putting the pieces back – in the right way this time. Ill-informed critics pursuing their own agendas talk of “amputation” and “fake vaginas”. Wrong! Very wrong! Nothing is “cut off”, only some tissue is removed; nothing is artificial. It all works; it’s all me. The tissue of the penis and scrotum are peeled back and resewn to line my vagina and form my labiae. The glans of the penis is fashioned into my clitoris. The rich network of blood vessels and nerves is retained. They feed my vagina and vulva with blood and feeling. We all begin life in the womb with the capacity to develop male or female genitals – irrespective of our chromosomes. It all depends on what happens with genes and hormones and life’s’ incredible capacity to reproduce itself in a bewildering and rich array of diversity.”
– Paula Kaye 2004