Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 6, 2011 at 7:36pm

Thanks.  For a while I wasn't sure if the list was ever going to end.

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Permalink Reply by Daria Black on April 6, 2011 at 7:55pm

I agree. That was great. Looking through the bible you could probably add about 100 more.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on June 27, 2011 at 11:55pm

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Permalink Reply by Christine M on April 6, 2011 at 7:43pm

I agree with you Lee. Love and sex are brain functions. I also agree with Heather when she states that there are so many other factors that come into play when one comes to the realization that their outward gender expression in incongruent with their inner being. I would hope that when an individual decides to undergo SRS that many of those social, familial and cultural issues have been addressed.  SRS is in no way the beginning of the transition process nor is it the end of that process.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on April 6, 2011 at 8:09pm

Some of the Canadian aboriginal cultures still recognize transpeople as being 'two-spirits', a revered designation that goes way back in their culture.  It's an interesting concept even if a paranormal/deistic one.

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Permalink Reply by Lindsey on April 6, 2011 at 11:23pm

I saw a documentary called "Becoming Chaz" at Sundance this year. It was about Sonny and Cher's daughter Chastity transitioning into a man. It was a very interesting look at the whole process, the surgeries and the hormone treatments, and the effects on Chaz and his friends and family. If it ever gets distributed I'd encourage you all to go watch it. There are also some shots of cute animals.

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Permalink Reply by Steph on April 7, 2011 at 5:40am

I don't have a problem with it at all and I think Nelson's response really says it all. While I've never been against gender reassignment, I don't think I ever really understood what a difficult thing it is for someone to go through. Or, I don't know, maybe I didn't want to admit to myself that I wasn't as compassionate as I should have been until quite recently when I was doing a search on the effects of testosterone.

In my search, I came across some videos by someone named Otis Huckleberry. He shared his transformation from female to male by uploading diary type videos at different stages of the process. There's nothing really graphic; it's just a person describing their feelings. I watched all of his videos and was really moved by them.

I would challenge anyone who disagrees with gender reassignment (or just isn't too sure about the whole thing) to watch these videos and not have a change of heart.

I wasn't sure if it was ok to share the link or not but if anyone is interested, just do a search for Otis Huckleberry on Youtube. He is truly an amazing person and I aspire to have just a tenth of his courage when facing any of the difficulties life can bring.

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Permalink Reply by Gaytor on April 7, 2011 at 12:42pm

My thoughts to those thinking about it. Is it wrong. No. I have no cause to tell you who to be. In the words of Jefferson, "...It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." We all have differences between us. It's those differences that give us strength as a society or group. The sooner we accept them as a group, the sooner we will find the strength in that difference.

I would say that the change has to be tremendously difficult. If I were one thinking about it, I would seek out a transgender group to discuss it and the trials that you'd face. It's one thing to have that relief of seeing who you are in the mirror, but what is what everyone else sees going to do to your daily life? The keys to overcoming that would be found in those groups, but they likely only exist in larger cities. Your patience will be tested, but it is required in order to change the hearts of those that won't understand. 

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Permalink Reply by Ava Wilson on April 7, 2011 at 3:41pm

Absolutely not. Studies have proven that a person has two possible genders: a physical gender and a brain gender. The reason is that while the physical genitalia may have developed a penis, the brain may have developed as female, leading to conflicting problems with gender identity. It's what causes those who seek sexual reassignment to feel like they're a 'woman trapped in a man's body'. It's because they are. Because we're social creatures and don't have sex just to procreate, we have the luxury of pursuing, due to our cognitive abilities to identify with certain gender stereotypes, the possibility of reassigning our gender. But it's proven that animals are at least in possession of the same gay genes as humans are, and that sexual 'confusion' (not confusion at all) is perfectly natural in the animal kingdom. Sure, it's a minority, but that doesn't make it wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Nathan Palo on June 3, 2011 at 6:41pm

Definitely OK. Generally not a good idea, but sure, there are cases where reassignment will benefit the person.

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Permalink Reply by basement kitteh on June 16, 2011 at 2:27pm

If someone wants to change their gender, that's OK for me. Their body, their life.

 

However, I'm curious about how the FTM or MTF works in physical terms.

For instance women are always marketed the calcium and estrogen to prevent osteoporosis idea. So women need estrogen to prevent osteoporosis. Right. So how come men and children don't need it? Does a FTM person have a higher or lower risk of osteoporosis than a plain F or M, or MTF? That is just one example that I haven't seen clearly answered in the usual trans documentation. Or how does the FTM or MTF body deal with decades of artificial sex hormones? Does it make any difference if the original sexual apparatus wasn't removed (such as the "man" that gave birth a few years ago, who still had "his" original uterus present)?

 

Sex is how your body is presented (in physical terms), that is if it's a female or male body.

 

Gender is how the brain works. As I don't usually understand how women think (and most of my friends have always been male), I don't define my gender as female. I'm between, or closer to male thinking than what my physical body (female) indicates. My gender is 85 % male trapped in a female body.

That does not mean I want to fix the discrepancy between the mental gender and the physical body. (When my body started to transform from a more or less unisex child body to that of a more female one, I was horrified, felt cheated by the body, and I'm still grossed out by most female body functions.) There's nothing wrong with having a mind wired differently than the physical body.

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Permalink Reply by Kairan Nierde on June 28, 2011 at 1:52am

Congratulations!!!  Sounds like you're transgender!  Many of us never transition and/or never want to.

There's nothing wrong with having a mind wired differently than the physical body.

That's pretty much my opinion too.  I'm neither male nor female gendered.

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