The Operation That Can Ruin Your Life

[Shana A]

The Operation That Can Ruin Your Life
JULIE BINDEL
November 2009

http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/2298/full

Last year, I was nominated for the Stonewall Journalist of the Year award. This seemed fair enough since I write prolifically about sexuality and sexual identity. But I guessed that Stonewall would not dare give me the prize, because a powerful lobby affiliated with the lesbian and gay communities had been hounding me for five years. Six weeks later I, along with a police escort, walked past a huge demonstration of transsexuals and their supporters, shouting "Bindel the Bigot". Despite campaigning against gender discrimination, rape, child abuse and domestic violence for 30 years, I have been labelled a bigot because of a column I wrote in 2004 that questioned whether a sex change would make someone a woman or simply a man without a penis. Subsequently, I was "no platformed" by the National Union of Students Women's Campaign, a privilege previously afforded to fascist groups such as the BNP. As a leading feminist writer, I now find that a number of organisations are too frightened to ask me to speak at public events for fear of protests by transsexual lobbyists.

[Susan]

I think she has earned the scorn, she wrote one of the most bigoted stereotypical pieces I have read in a long time.

I wrote: "Those who 'transition' seem to become stereotypical in their appearance — f**k-me shoes and birds' nest hair for the boys; beards, muscles and tattoos for the girls. Think about a world inhabited just by transsexuals. It would look like the set of Grease."

It's clear she's never been to this site to see what normal day to day transsexuals actually look like.

She quotes a definition that no transsexual would accept then takes it to the most wildest possible conclusion...

A definition of transsexualism used by a number of transsexual rights organisations reads:

Students who are gender non-conforming are those whose gender expression (or outward appearance) does not follow traditional gender roles: "feminine boys," "masculine girls" and students who are androgynous, for example. It can also include students who look the way boys and girls are expected to look but participate in activities that are gender nonconforming, like a boy who does ballet. The term "transgender youth" can be used as an umbrella term for all students whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth and/or whose gender expression is non-stereotypical.

According to this definition, a girl who plays football is trans-sexual.

But a more accurate definition is the one used here.

Transsexual: a person who is mentally one gender, but has the body of the other. They desire to live and be accepted as a member of the mental gender, this is generally accompanied by the strong desire to make their body as congruent as possible with the preferred sex through surgery and hormone treatments.

She then tries to say that Surgery for transsexuals is bad...

A number of transsexuals are beginning to admit that opting for surgery ruined their lives. "I was a messed-up young gay man," says Claudia McClean, a male-to-female transsexual who opted for surgery 20 years ago. "If I had been offered an alternative to a sex change, I would have jumped at the chance, but as soon as I told the psychiatrist I felt trapped in the wrong body, or some such cliché, he was writing out a referral to the surgeon."

There are two causes to this.

The first is non-transsexual individuals who only think they are a transsexual, trying to shortcut the process, and lying to their doctors to get what they think they need. This is why I support the hoops the Standards of Care make us jump through. While it may slow down the treatment of legitimate transsexuals, it stops many non-transsexuals from making a mistake which indeed can ruin their lives.

The second reason is a doctor who simply does not do their job. It is their job to double and triple confirm that yes this person is a transsexual, that yes they fully understand the implications of their decision; and that they fully understand that once this is done, it can not be reversed. It is the job of  the doctor to act as a gatekeeper for good or bad. Not to rubber stamp whatever the person standing in front of them expresses a desire for.

I strongly feel that puberty-blockers should be made available to individuals under the age of 18 who express symptoms of gender dysphoria with the concurrence of a medical professional.  Surgery decisions should be a matter between the individual, their parents if under 18, and the medical professionals who have the information needed to make a informed diagnosis.

Medical science cannot turn a biological male into a biological female — it can only alter the appearance of body parts.

And what you don't understand is that a MTF has never been male even if their body was, and a FTM never was female even if their body was. You say your body was this way and so you must be this way. Well the same could easily be applied to sexual orientation. Your body is female you must have sex only with men. Your body is male you must have sex only with women. You know we could pass laws criminalizing anything but this. *Sarcasm*

She then tries to use people who want to hack of working limbs to become handicapped as a justification for not allowing transsexuals to have surgery to align their mind with their physical body.

Julie Bindel does have a reason to fear that Transsexuals and our GLBT allies will continue to protest her, but it is her trans-misogynistic attitudes that are the only cause. Bigotry and hate can never be tolerated, especially from a self proclaimed ally.

[juliekins]

I don't know much about the Stonewall Journalist of the Year award, except to say that if the committee is made up of primarily gays and lesbians, then I think this is proof that they truly don't understand the GID condition, nor trans people. I think the author's comments come from the same gender protectionist camp as right wing fundamentalists who subscribe to "one man, one woman". If I didn't know better, I think this article was written by some LGBT phobic right winger.

I think this author belongs to the same feminist camp that would keep us out of the Michigan Womyn's music festival, because we are not "authentic women".

Here is what Wiki says about the organization based in the UK:

"Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organisation in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the Local Government Act. Sir Ian McKellen, Lisa Power, Matthew Parris and Michael Cashman were among its founders. Stonewall GB is based in London. Stonewall Scotland has offices in Edinburgh and also includes work on transgender within its remit. Stonewall Cymru is in Cardiff and north Wales.

Although Stonewall was a lobbying organisation rather than membership organisation, it has diversified into policy development for the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people since Labour came to power."

I didn't notice anything about trans rights. Reminds me of the the non-inclusive ENDA people, dumping us on the road while they were willing to accept rights only for G, L, & B's.

The article authored by the "journalist of the year" is nothing more than a bigoted, ignorant editorial rant. The definition of journalist, I thought, would include those who seek out facts and present it to the public for a news report. Somehow, I think that Ms. Bindel doesn't understand what it means to be a journalist.

Maybe she's trying to land a gig on Fox News, known for "balanced" reporting!

[Arch]

Jeez. No, Ms. Bindel, according that definition, a girl who plays football is non-gender-conforming.

I had better stop here before I start banging my head against the wall in frustration over her apparently willful ignorance.
Post Merge: October 31, 2009, 01:52:06 PM
Okay, I have to say this. Her style of "argument" is UNCONSCIONABLE.

She writes, "There is a form of cultural relativism at play here." Then she trots out a blatantly inflammatory and strategically placed reference to female circumcision and forced marriage and just leaves it at that. Uh, you mind explaining that connection, Ms. Bindel? Tell me about cultural relativism. I'm dying to hear.

[Syne]

Typical narrow minded bigot. So into her own world that she misses the rest of it. Rather sad actually.

[Agent_J]

Most of this seems to just be a repeat of what she has previously written.  The only surprise here to me is that it wasn't in The Guardian, who carried her writing at least through last year in spite of issuing their own apology for the 2004 piece referenced in the link article while the author was refusing to do so (she later did but only for "the tone.")

I do find the image curious as I'm not certain what one of a series of images presenting pairs of girls age 12-14 and trans women who have similar appearances could possibly suggest with respect to the article.

[V M]

Of coarse Ms. Bindel's afraid. She's gonna have to bundle up her bum and sit in the corner again 

[Susan]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I must remind you to attack the issue never the person. Not one thing I posted even came close to an attack. But several of the followup responses did. We are better than that!