© europics.at

04. 02. 09. - 11:45

• more Around the World news
• RSS Feed Around the World

04. 02. 09. - 11:45

World's youngest sex swap op carried out in Germany

A boy who became the world’s youngest female transsexual when he announced he wanted to be a girl at the age of two has had an operation to make him a girl.  

The op - carried out in secret and paid for by the German NHS - was authorised after psychologists confirmed that Kim Petras was "without doubt a girl in a boy's body".

  It is the world's youngest ever full sex change operation and Kim - born Tim -had been undergoing hormone therapy since the age of 12.  

Dr Bernd Meyenburg who heads the Psychiatric Special Outpatient Clinic for Children and Adolescents with Identity Disorders at the University of Frankfurt Hospital said: "Very few youth psychiatrists have any experience with transsexual developments.

The families wander from one psychiatrist to the next.   "I was always against such operations on children so young but after seeing how happy one of my patients was and how well adjusted after returning from having the operation abroad while still a teenager - I realised that in some cases it is the right decision.  

"Kim is such a case - she always knew what she wanted."   Kim overcame years of taunts and bullying to achieve her dream of becoming a girl and already has a modelling career behind her and launched a CD of music to critical acclaim. 

 Now aged 16, she said: "I was asked if I feel like a woman now - but the truth is I have always felt like a woman - I just ended up in the wrong body."   And she can't wait for the summer so she can try out a whole new wardrobe of tight fitting clothes.  

She said: "I had a problem because I couldn’t wear skinny stuff, but now I can wear whatever I want to. I really am looking forward to going swimming like everyone else and to wearing tight jeans that show off my figure. They are so tight, I always felt quite uncomfortable in them until now.  

"I tried to hide my extra bodypart, but still it looked weird. Now I can go as tight as I want to. I used to wear mini skirts too, but yes, now even the tight ones can be part of my wardrobe.  

"I can enjoy swimming, and bikinis, go in the changing rooms without a problem, everything has changed because of this operation. I just can't wait to put on my favourite bathing suit and go swimming like I've never done before."

 "I had to wait until my 16th birthday but once that was past I was able legally to have the operation. I know that because of my past people will always bring up the subject, I can’t get away from it. But I hope that one day I might be better known for something else like my music."  

Model Kim – now studying fashion design – began calling herself a girl when she was just two years old.   Her dad Lutz said: "I suppose it took me longer than my wife to accept it, but Kim is a very persuasive girl, she knows what she wants and how to get it. I am very proud of what she has achieved, how she has managed to get there and how she sticks to her dreams no matter how hard and painful they are to follow." 

 Last year Kim became a model for a nationwide German hair salon chain.   Director Giuseppe Pino Galanti said: "Kim fits perfectly with the image we want to portray. She is very pretty, and has a lot of style and personality, both of which are equally important.

  "Our stylists produce work that is sassy, trendy and unique, just like Kim."   Producer Fabian Gorg signed Kim to his record label after a song she wrote become a runaway hit on the internet.   Gorg whose www.joyce-records.com label is producing Kim’s work said: "Her debut song 'Fade Away' which she wrote herself proves that she has got the talent to legitimate the internet hype which came up about her."

Austrian Times

Jennifer Rostock to strike twice
German punk rock stars Jennifer Rostock will perform in Austria twice as part of their current tour, it has been announced.

Salzburg boy foils attempted abduction
A 10-year-old school boy had a narrow escape on Monday when a man tried to abduct him on his way home from school.

Siemens lay-offs may hit Austrian workers
Munich technology firm Siemens announced yesterday (Weds) that it would lay off 4,200 workers in its IT division SIS.

Schwarzenegger Museum to open in summer
The house where Arnold Schwarzenegger was born is to open as a museum.

Car dealers spared by downturn
The economic downturn has had minimal effect on Austrian car dealers as the number of newly registered cars soared last year.

Minister calls for CO2 emissions tax
Austria's environment minister has called for the introduction of a carbon tax that he says would bring in 1.5 to 2.0 billion Euros of revenue annually, according to today’s (Thurs) edition of the newspaper Die Presse.

Seasonal workers number cut
There will be 3.5 per cent fewer foreign seasonal workers in agriculture and forestry this year than in 2009, Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said today (Thurs).

Google Street View cars to roll over Austria again
Google Street View cars are expected to drive all across Austria again this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise.

Asylum seeker tries to torch himself
An Afghan asylum seeker tried to burn himself to death at a petrol station in Hall in Tyrol’s Innsbruck-Land district yesterday (Weds), police said.

Majority believe in some kind of God
Sixty-nine per cent of Austrians believe in some kind of God, according to results of a new poll by Linz public opinion research institute IMAS released today (Thurs).