Focus on gender politics: Is changing gender as simple as changing clothes?

[LostInTime]

Mercator dot net
Theron Bowers | Thursday, 7 June 2007

Doctors get involved because transsexuals often demand hormones and surgery to fulfill their desires. But are physicians enabling a mental illness or merely complying with a cosmetic request?

Many transgender activists object to the "crazy" label. The brother/sister of actors, Rosanna, David and Patricia Arquette was featured in Newsweek. Alexis Arquette is on a crusade against current standards of care. He/she complains that sceptics are "questioning the sanity of people like myself". Most sexual reassignment centers require two years of counselling before the procedure. Alexis objects to the counselling and seems to propose that physicians ought to treat castration and penile amputations as casually as nose jobs.

[Kate]

Grrr. NOW I'm in a nasty mood

Same cast of psuedo-scientists though being quoted. As soon as I see "Bailey" or "Blanchard" my eyes start to glaze over.

Funny how they ONLY focus on examples of people who should NOT have transitioned. They paint this picture that we're ALL like that.

And what's with this OBSESSION these kinda people have with defining the sexes? It's weird, so many people protest "but the chromosomes don't change!" or whatever, like we're arguing that transition makes us identical to biological males/females - and since that's impossible, transition is a failure, a farce. They just seem sooooo determined to invalidate everything because THEY don't get it.

~Kate~

[LostInTime]

They want us all to lead a life just like their own.

No thank you. I will live my own life.

[Kate]

They want us all to lead a life just like their own.

No thank you. I will live my own life.

Agreed, but it's WEIRD. It's like they're not so much against TSism itself, but are TERRIFIED of how it threatens their clear-cut binary definitions. If we're allowed to be considered "real women" (or men) after transition, then their whole system of categories and boxes becomes questioned, and that seems to scare the heck out of these people.

But geez, I'm not suggesting I'm identical to a biological female. Why are THEY so hung up on that? They're arguing against their own insecurities it seems, not me. I don't care if I'm a "real woman," I just wanna be a real Kate. Can't they just let me live my life as *I* see fit? Who am I harming by transitioning?

I dunno, i STILL say people who change their hair colour from their god-given, chromosomal colour are mentally ill and sick too. Put them in the DSM please. I mean these crazy hair coloured people are out there, walking around, pretending to be "natural blondes" and whatnot! It creates so much confusion for everyone, like they should NOT be able to put "blonde" down on the ID cards just because of a cosmetic change, ya know? They're STILL brunettes underneath!

These so-called "scientists"... what a terrible, frightened way that must be to live.

~Kate~

[Wendy]

Doctors get involved because transsexuals often demand hormones and surgery to fulfill their desires. But are physicians enabling a mental illness or merely complying with a cosmetic request?

As a young adult the white coats either did not understand or ignored me.  But guess what happens to your mind if you hide things for decades?  You guessed it you will actually become ill.

Ah!  A self-fulfilling prophesy!

I think some people are different at birth and are not mentally ill.  I think helping a person adjust to their differences is far healthier than living a life of fear that someone might find you are different and will harm you.

[LostInTime]

I dunno, i STILL say people who change their hair colour from their god-given, chromosomal colour are mentally ill and sick too. Put them in the DSM please. I mean these crazy hair coloured people are out there, walking around, pretending to be "natural blondes" and whatnot! It creates so much confusion for everyone, like they should NOT be able to put "blonde" down on the ID cards just because of a cosmetic change, ya know? They're STILL brunettes underneath! ~Kate~

Hey! I just dyed my hair from natural blonde to pitch black and I most certainly am not mentally ill.


Or am I? 

[Wendy]

I dunno, i STILL say people who change their hair colour from their god-given, chromosomal colour are mentally ill and sick too. Put them in the DSM please.

Well there you go.  Life is more fun since I went lighter.

[Kate]

Hey! I just dyed my hair from natural blonde to pitch black and I most certainly am not mentally ill.

It's a deviant lifestyle choice forced upon society by the Clairol Agenda. And the media, with it's commercials, is trying to make this illness seem NORMAL and acceptable. LIT, if you could just get away from other hair-coloured people, you'd see how you're being coerced into this madness. Save yourself!



~Kate~

[RebeccaFog]

I read about half way through the article, but my stomach began to feel uneasy. Maybe I'm just feeling a little vulnerable tonight.

I just wish those people would stop.

[Kate]

I just wish those people would stop.

Me too, Rebecca, me too

I used to read through that stuff to test myself, thinking I'd be stronger for it if I could remain confident in the face of their "arguments."

But ya know, it's not worth it. They're not after the truth, they're just looking for ways to justify their bigotries and insecurities. It's no different than people who pull select passages from the bible to condemn whatever they need to hate.

I'm done with 'em. I feel bad for 'em, as their world is so ugly and filled with hate and fear. But if they ever want to escape, they're gonna have to find their way to me now. I'm not dipping myself into that awful ugliness anymore.

~Kate~

[RebeccaFog]

   I'm going with some friends to the Pride parade in Boston tomorrow. Maybe this will give me a lift. I heard it's usually a pretty big affair with the whole GBLTI spectrum.