Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nelson on April 6, 2011 at 1:52pm

i don't have a problem with it at all assuming someone follows the prescribed standards of care, including counseling.

for the people that seek gender reassignment, they were born into a physical body that isn't the one that matches their minds. and it's basically torture for them. why would i wish that on anyone? and on what grounds? i have no justification for thinking that the physical human body is inherently anything such that i would say that someone shouldn't modify it to suit their hormones/minds/lifestyle.

why would i refuse someone the happiness that they're entitled to as another fellow human being?

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Permalink Reply by Joshua Brahen on April 6, 2011 at 3:00pm

you hit the head of the nail

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Permalink Reply by Zombie Atheist on April 6, 2011 at 3:11pm

I agree. Sex isn't as black and white as a lot of people think it is either. I have a Female to male friend who is completely happy with his change and did it all legally and is much happier than he was. Though he is dealing with some family issues.

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Matthew on April 6, 2011 at 7:15pm

Well said Nelson. +1

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Docster on April 6, 2011 at 9:01pm

You stole the words out of my mouth. All of them.

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Permalink Reply by Sophie on April 7, 2011 at 12:13pm

nods

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on April 6, 2011 at 5:13pm

I used to think it was wrong when I was a Christian. This was because I thought people were born into their bodies to learn the lessons of that life (i.e. what it was like to be male, female, black, asian, etc). So to me, gender reassignment was going against god's plan for their life.

 

I don't think that way any more. I don't see any problem with it at all as long as they have had the necessary psychological evaluations and medical treatment. Gender reassignment is not reversible from what I know about it and my main concern is ensuring they are not getting into something they will later regret. I remember there was a documentary on HBO some years ago about transgender people and one of the people they interviewed regretted going through the process but they were pretty much stuck.

 

My only question would be about the ethics of telling future partners that you had gender reassignment since a) not everyone is okay with this and b) it affects plans for childbearing.

 

I'd also be interested in learning what causes people to feel at odds with their gender. Is it purely a psychological condition or is there a physiological component that contributes to the need for gender reassignment?

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Permalink Reply by Emmy Ellison on April 7, 2011 at 6:17pm

I've watched multiple shows on Discovery Health, The Learning Channel, etc and they have said that the "wiring" in the male and female brains are different. So somehow while growing in the womb, things start to form into male and female. But for some reason some people end up with the body from one sex and the brain of the other. One show on National Geographic (called "Taboo") talked about a place in... I think India, where they have 5 genders. Male, female, hermaphrodite, trans male, trans female. There all accepted in the society.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on June 3, 2011 at 6:59pm

Depends on why people undergo gender reassignment.

 

Usually people think of transgenderism. But you should read up on intersex conditions. There are a number of medical conditions that result in things like ambiguous genitalia or the presence of both kinds of sex organs. That needs to be surgically corrected at some point. For example some people with XY chromosomes have a genetic mutation that makes them insensitive to androgen. They thus develop into women, but there are some anomalies with the reproductive organs like the presence of testes in the body.

 

Transgenderism is usually understood to be more of a psychological problem, but there is some evidence that such people usually have brain structures more similar to their desired sex.

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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on June 3, 2011 at 7:34pm

I don't think it's generally considered gender reassignment in cases of AIS, though similar procedures may be involved depending on the circumstances.

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on June 28, 2011 at 3:21am

For better or worse that is how human society has been organized for thousands of years: Males and Females. Binary. One or the other. It is only recent that the reality of multiple genders has been publicized. You cannot expect a society who has depended on categorizing men and women into a binary gender concept to flip over like a pancake and suddenly embrace multiple genders. While that would be ideal that is incredibly naive. People are just now getting used to the fact that homosexuality is a fact of biology. Eventually transgender, hermaphroditism, genderqueer, androgeny, and whatever else will have it's day. One day, the idea of gender will go the way of the DoDo bird but that's several generations away.

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Permalink Reply by AntiChristianLeague on June 29, 2011 at 11:01am

I agree... To say that surgical intervention is "necessary" for intersex individuals is to make a bald assumption about who they are/should be. When really, the decision for or against surgery needs to be made by the person themselves.

 

"Genderqueer" is a term I've never heard before, so I had to look it up. I'm glad I did..as it makes complete sense.

 

I'm physically/sexually a woman, but do not feel like one. Nor do I take kindly to the idea of being treated like a female by the western definition. I feel like I am a gay man trapped in a woman's body, who would ultimately prefer to be completely genderless.

 

 

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