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'Ex-Trans' Activists Exposed: The Big Name Behind Their Fight Against Gender Transition

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/17/ex-trans-activists-exposed-big-name-behind-their-fight-against-gender-transit?page=0,0&fb_action_ids=720971918024651&fb_action_types=og.comments (http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/17/ex-trans-activists-exposed-big-name-behind-their-fight-against-gender-transit?page=0,0&fb_action_ids=720971918024651&fb_action_types=og.comments)

After an investigation spanning six weeks, The Advocate reveals how those few voices arguing against gender transition are finding followers.
BY  Dawn Ennis
July 17 2015 11:35 AM ET

Mark Angelo Cummings — author, former occupational therapist, and social media personality — has been a transgender man for 12 years, but now says he is "ex-trans." And, with his newlywed wife, he seeks to build a movement against gender transition.

"I have been a member of this community for a very long time," Cummings tells The Advocate. "I considered myself a very strong advocate in the beginning, trying to educate people regarding this issue." He cofounded the Internet program Transition Radio with his ex-partner Jessica Lynn Cummings for that express purpose.

Now he says he has a different lesson to teach:

    "Educate people that they don't have to do this, that they can live comfortable in their skin. Instead of gender specialists giving people letters to get hormones and surgery, let's deal with the real issue they have, which is neurological impairment, mental issues."

Quote from: Shana A on July 17, 2015, 02:53:06 PM
'Ex-Trans' Activists Exposed: The Big Name Behind Their Fight Against Gender Transition

http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/17/ex-trans-activists-exposed-big-name-behind-their-fight-against-gender-transit?page=0,0&fb_action_ids=720971918024651&fb_action_types=og.comments (http://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/07/17/ex-trans-activists-exposed-big-name-behind-their-fight-against-gender-transit?page=0,0&fb_action_ids=720971918024651&fb_action_types=og.comments)

After an investigation spanning six weeks, The Advocate reveals how those few voices arguing against gender transition are finding followers.
BY  Dawn Ennis
July 17 2015 11:35 AM ET

Mark Angelo Cummings — author, former occupational therapist, and social media personality — has been a transgender man for 12 years, but now says he is "ex-trans." And, with his newlywed wife, he seeks to build a movement against gender transition.

"I have been a member of this community for a very long time," Cummings tells The Advocate. "I considered myself a very strong advocate in the beginning, trying to educate people regarding this issue." He cofounded the Internet program Transition Radio with his ex-partner Jessica Lynn Cummings for that express purpose.

Now he says he has a different lesson to teach:

    "Educate people that they don't have to do this, that they can live comfortable in their skin. Instead of gender specialists giving people letters to get hormones and surgery, let's deal with the real issue they have, which is neurological impairment, mental issues."

Having read the article... Am I correct in understanding that this individual has discovered that they're genderfluid after fully transitioning, but have also decided that others should not be allowed to transition? Because that's a wee bit hypocritical.

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Yes, I read it too and consider this an individual supporting further intolerance and hatred while gaining notoriety for  nonsense.  What they say about us as community is sadly wrong and damaging.  Too bad they cannot accept other ways of being for some while they have had the freedom to make what they consider mistakes.  Hypocrisy is too nice a term for this sort of demented mendacity.

"Sure we'll throw the whole trans* community under the bus.   How much money do we get?" *facepalm*

I think Jennifer Finney Boylan might have been on to something when she said, "We eat our own." 

Sad.

So, a pair of people who both identified as trans, and are now claiming that transition is wrong and people shouldn't change their bodies because it's their minds that need changing, are still presenting as their trans-identified gender and using its pronouns and names, despite claiming that everyone else should just stick with their birth sex?

Yeeeeah... I smell a wee bit of hypocrisy there.

Also, Cathy Brennan acknowledges that she might have identified as trans had she been born more recently? The plot thickens.

(And again, I don't think any of these people really understands body dysphoria... there's so many of us who, even if each and every person were freed from the social institutions of gender roles and were free to behave however we want, be seen however we want, with the complete freedom to be masculine as a girl or feminine as a guy, would still have clinical distress due to our bodies feeling wrong. Almost every single regret story I've ever heard has come from people who only desired the social role, and viewed the bodily transition as a means to achieve the social role rather than the bodily transition being a desire on its own.)

I agree. I'm not sure these individuals really understood what they were after during their transition. Expressing femininity or masculinity cannot get rid of the very real feelings that many people, including myself, experience about their body and wanting to change it through hormones, surgery, et cetera.

This is where those of us who never had problems with gender, and instead merely sought to modify our physical sex, which process solved our problem, get incandescent with rage at the arrogance of people who presumably did have a problem with "gender" and therefore unsurprisingly didn't find a solution in merely modifying their physical sex. The two things are not the same, and you need to know which one is causing the problem, otherwise the solution probably wont be the right one.

On the basis of that it makes me bloody angry that these pathetic little twerps, who clearly had a completely different problem to me, seek to ban something that was the only thing which did help me. I'm sorry they weren't bright enough to understand the true nature of their problem, I'm even more sorry that they now appear to be too stupid to realise that their problem was different from a lot us who do benefit, but none of that gives them the right to be arrogant pricks and start trying to ban stuff. GAH!  >:-)

<exit rant mode>

I've read the whole article and all of the comments so I understand why people are infuriated by the views of these people but I honestly feel sorry for them, they are deeply troubled human beings.

Please try to keep comments civil please

This is just another case of, "it is what happened to me so it must be what is happening to you". He is projecting his own anger at himself onto the world. His reliance on debunked theories makes that plain.

We are free to express ourselves in whatever way we wish. I began transition for me, no one else. I am sorry that these folks didn't realize what was right for them. I did not rush into this, I struggled for decades before taking the leap. I hope they find peace as they become more in tune with who they are, find a healthy message that reaches folks like them but also back off from the treatments that are saving my life and the lives of other transsexuals. I am in touch with all aspects of my gender, feminine and masculine. I know myself better than they ever will and I balk at anyone who would dare insult my intelligence or motivations.

I detest those it wasn't for me, so it isn't for anyone else type people.

  Um, I see a lot of conflicts in that article. Like, um whaaat! The article is not readable with all of these conflicts. Too much mixing of their Yin and Yang.

Joelene

Yeah, well, while some of their ideas could have been expressed better, I do agree with some of what they're saying, including being transgendered as a psychological condition (which is axiomatic, surely). I also agree with the concept of "educating people that they don't have to do this [transition]". I identify with this latter point. I've been confused about my gender since childhood and have been on several courses of HRT, yet I feel no closer to understanding where my head's at regarding my gender, let alone transitioning. Many transgendered people, myself included, do not yet know, may never know, which transgender narrative(s) applies to them. Yes, maybe, probably, I'm gender fluid. But honestly, I really don't know.

What I do know, however, is that someone suggesting that I'm "not bright enough" to understand the nature of my gender is rude, intolerant and totally counter to what transgendered people everywhere (I'm assuming) hope to achieve. That is, widespread understanding and tolerance about transgender issues at the level of the individual and the wider community. To shut down or lambast some transgender experiences over others is to suggest that we know all there is to know about being transgendered -- we do not.

In my opinion, the sharing of ideas among transgendered people should not be met with intolerance. I for one am glad that people speak out about their trans experiences, no matter how their personal experiences are unfolding. It's really helpful. If you are party to censoring, condemning or shaming people whose transgendered experiences you don't agree with, then I think you're party to shutting down potentially important insights that someone other than yourself might find invaluable. Who knows, perhaps you'll also learn something.

Well, Trans Regret is a thing. It's rare, but it happens, and when you find you've made irreversible changes that you now hate, well maybe you get a little irrational about other people's choices.

(That's me trying my hardest to be charitable).

The last thing we need...

Seriously, they are using arguments that you would hear from people who know nothing about it which is weird because they know the answers to those arguments yet they pretend they don't.  Like their "cutting of an arm" example as if they don't understand the difference.  Please.

These two could have been a positive force even with their advocating of alternatives to transitioning and their kinship to the two-spirit concept.  The problem is that, while what they suggest may work for some transgender people, it won't work for the dysphoric ones whose problem originates from the actual physical aspects of their bodies.  It just doesn't work that way.

I do agree that there would be fewer people transitioning if our society was less gender-binary and people could express themselves however they wish but it wouldn't work for a whole ton of us.  If only they presented this in a way that wasn't so generalizing.  You know, more like a "Hey, before you transition, rule this out first" type of thing.

The way they are doing it really smells of paid interests.

Quote from: Carrie Liz on July 17, 2015, 05:24:42 PM
And again, I don't think any of these people really understands body dysphoria... there's so many of us who, even if each and every person were freed from the social institutions of gender roles and were free to behave however we want, be seen however we want, with the complete freedom to be masculine as a girl or feminine as a guy, would still have clinical distress due to our bodies feeling wrong.

Exactly!  In fact, many of us have come to this conclusion after years of trying alternatives.  For me (and likely others), this was the last stop before suicide.  Telling people who are at that point that they need to go back to the start and try harder is super dangerous.

Quote from: Carrie Liz on July 17, 2015, 05:24:42 PM
...there's so many of us who, even if each and every person were freed from the social institutions of gender roles and were free to behave however we want... would still have clinical distress due to our bodies feeling wrong.

Maybe. Maybe not. We'll probably never know, as it's not exactly testable. I get the sentiment, though.

Quote from: Echo Eve on July 17, 2015, 09:12:36 PM

Maybe. Maybe not. We'll probably never know, as it's not exactly testable. I get the sentiment, though.

It's totally testable.  There are many transgender folks who live comfortably as their true gender yet still experience dysphoria because the need to transition transcends social needs.

I'm one of those people.  My desire to live socially as a woman is socially-driven and is not derived from gender dysphoria.  It is socially driven because I do have the biological imperative to physically transition to alleviate the dysphoric misalignment that plagues me.  Blending in as a woman is only the social aspect that's more like an afterthought that will make life more comfortable and less awkward.  So even if that component didn't exist and we all could feel totally comfortable wearing whatever we want and acting however we wish, there would still be some of us who would still suffer without a transition.

Quote from: Abysha on July 17, 2015, 09:22:12 PM
It's totally testable.  There are many transgender folks who live comfortably as their true gender yet still experience dysphoria because the need to transition transcends social needs.

I'm one of those people.  My desire to live socially as a woman is socially-driven and is not derived from gender dysphoria.  It is socially driven because I do have the biological imperative to physically transition to alleviate the dysphoric misalignment that plagues me.  Blending in as a woman is only the social aspect that's more like an afterthought that will make life more comfortable and less awkward.  So even if that component didn't exist and we all could feel totally comfortable wearing whatever we want and acting however we wish, there would still be some of us who would still suffer without a transition.

It's untestable because we do live in a society that puts a heavy emphasis on binary gender roles. So unless you can control for that we're left with personal anecdote as the only measure.

I have no problems with people who regret, just people who think that because transition was not the right path for them, that no one else should be allowed to transition. That they are trying to save the rest of us from their mistake.

No one ever sees under my shirt or in my pants. I needed those areas to be different, to be feminine. I needed that before I knew it could happen, before I knew what society thought. I suffered, mouth breathing for decades, because I couldn't stand my own smell. The feel of my own skin and the state of my hair made me sick. I am asexual, my body is for me alone. If I were trapped in a void, alone for eternity, I would still need to transition. That is not a suggestion it is a fact. Social transition is almost a byproduct. I did and do experience social dysphoria but it is not nearly as intense or impactful as the physical.

My transition is about and for me, no one else. I am not transitioning to a gender binary. I am an aromantic asexual femme tomboy trans woman. If I simply wished to be seen as a cis woman I would feel hopeless. It was in accepting that I don't belong in the binary that I found my trans identity and gender freedom at long last.

Quote from: Echo Eve on July 17, 2015, 08:15:42 PM
I do agree with some of what they're saying, including being transgendered as a psychological condition (which is axiomatic, surely).

The Psychological community disagrees with this offensive statement.

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on July 17, 2015, 10:18:13 PM
The Psychological community disagrees with this offensive statement.

Before having a go at me, you should probably think about where mental phenomena come from.

Lot's of contradictions in the article.

Sadly if someone has the will and money to transition they are able too regardless if it's right for them. The place I transitioned through in Australia  got shut down in 2009, thankfully for me they were able to open again under new management.

I couldn't stand seeing myself naked with the wrong bits, made me cry.

Quote from: Echo Eve on July 17, 2015, 10:33:46 PM

Before having a go at me, you should probably think about where mental phenomena come from.

I'm guessing this is leading to you to expanding the term "psychological" to include physical therefore you can say there's nothing wrong with calling it that.

The problem is that it's simply not purely psychological but it's actually physiological, as well.  The problem I have with focusing on the brain is that it's the exception to the normal way we treat medical conditions.

The common scenario is that the brain and body are not the same gender (simplifying it, of course).  There is ample evidence that there are physical markers in the brain that indicate it is beyond a psychological condition.  Since we know how to treat it by altering the body but do not know how to treat it by operating on the brain, that's what we do.  It's what we should do, anyway, since your brain determines your identity therefore it is the authority above your body. 

It's obvious why most cisgender people want to say it's all in our heads.  It's because our transitions make them uncomfortable.  Why else would you suggest to somebody to fix their brain to ignore a physical issue?  If a person is missing a leg, do you operate on his head so he thinks he doesn't need it or do you give him a prosthetic leg?

Obviously, studying the cause is important.  It's important so we may find ways to prevent it in future generations and maybe someday there will be a way to operate on the brain to switch your gender in your head (like a cranial SRS?) but that's not what we have as options right now.

I just realized my rant trailed off and I forgot I was replying to you.  If any of this seems combative, keep that in mind, hah!  Take this as more of a generalize rambling that's not entirely directed towards you.

Quote from: Echo Eve on July 17, 2015, 10:33:46 PM

Before having a go at me, you should probably think about where mental phenomena come from.

And before you have a go at me know you are dealing with a career Paramedic with internships in both routine and criminal Psychology. I later worked one year in the Criminal Mental Health Unit of the State Prison here and am a Certified Crisis Negotiator. Now we have concluded I am more competent to speak on Psychological Issue's. Now, let's address the Physical. I suppose you discount brain mapping studies (Physical), Genetic disorders such as 47 XXY, Mullerian Duct Syndrome and many other Physical contributors as well. What these two in the story are spouting is fiction at best from to angry militant type guns for hire. They have zero to contribute to our community. :)

Quote from: suzifrommd on July 17, 2015, 08:41:44 PM
Well, Trans Regret is a thing. It's rare, but it happens, and when you find you've made irreversible changes that you now hate, well maybe you get a little irrational about other people's choices.

(That's me trying my hardest to be charitable).

I have actually wondered about this because I have heard that it "happens all the time" but i found nothing to support their statements. Mostly i wonder where their statistics cone from (sometimes quoted 20-30%) of transsexuals regret their hrt or surgery

The last I saw the best info was only 10% regret transition. I will try to find the article to post here. :)

so the guy says he's "ex-trans" but he still takes hormones?

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 18, 2015, 12:38:48 AM
so the guy says he's "ex-trans" but he still takes hormones?

You caught that too huh? Lol :)

I have known them both around two years and they are nutty as fruit cakes. The bad thing is they do have an audience and sponsors.

Quote from: BenKenobi on July 18, 2015, 12:34:30 AM
I have actually wondered about this because I have heard that it "happens all the time" but i found nothing to support their statements. Mostly i wonder where their statistics cone from (sometimes quoted 20-30%) of transsexuals regret their hrt or surgery

I wouldn't put much stock in any self-reporting related to gender.

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on July 18, 2015, 12:28:09 AM
And before you have a go at me know you are dealing with a career Paramedic with internships in both routine and criminal Psychology. I later worked one year in the Criminal Mental Health Unit of the State Prison here and am a Certified Crisis Negotiator. Now we have concluded I am more competent to speak on Psychological Issue's. Now, let's address the Physical. I suppose you discount brain mapping studies (Physical), Genetic disorders such as 47 XXY, Mullerian Duct Syndrome and many other Physical contributors as well. What these two in the story are spouting is fiction at best from to angry militant type guns for hire. They have zero to contribute to our community. :)

Is it common for someone working in mental health to refer to others as being "nutty as fruit cakes"?

Why would I discount brain mapping studies -- discount in respect to what?

If this argument develops any further I will intervene.

I was away from the board for 8 days taking care of personal business and one of these pops up. At 33 years post surgical I am among the other old timers on this board who have had many years in our new role. When I was in treatment it was stressed that we be very careful with our decision because if we weren't transexual before the surgery, we would be after the surgery. Much of my cross living time I almost daily faced the question am I making a mistake. After two years of questioning I knew that I would never want to return to my male role because I had tasted a good deal of life as a woman and knew that was where my future should be. In the years post surgical, I have never even in the worst times of my life regretted the decision I made. Conversion therapy would have never worked with me because I never fit in the male role. Yes, I still have a good deal of the old me living with the new me but they live in harmony as they should.

This isn't the first time I have encountered one of these save the world from my mistake types. My first encounters was as much as a year before finding this board. The person in question has a pretty big name for returning to the old role and I did an email exchange questioning the persons motives. I discovered that therapy or what passed for therapy hadn't done a very good job of questioning this persons motives. Basic things I learned in therapy almost 37 years ago were new to this person thus leading to an incorrect personal evaluation of the persons reason for surgery. I also saw a little of the it was wrong for me so it must be wrong for you attitude even though this person was in contact with me, a person with far more years under her belt.

I know mistakes are possible so when working with others I have never pushed anyone into surgery. This is a decision each of us must make on our own after receiving an extensive education in all the alternative life styles. In the end, only we can make the decision for ourself and we are responsible for the mistakes in our life. Nobody can take that responsibility for us. To do so may force us into a short unhappy life which they must also take responsibility for.

Here you have a person who didn't even know their own mind making decisions about others who they never meet or understood. The scary part is they got the news coverage to broadcast these falsehoods in the first place. The can do a great deal of damage to something that has been a proven treatment for many years. Forgotten is the hundreds of thousands of us who have transitioned starting in the 60's who have never regretted the decision we made all because one person made a mistake.

Quote from: Abysha on July 17, 2015, 11:06:47 PM
I'm guessing this is leading to you to expanding the term "psychological" to include physical therefore you can say there's nothing wrong with calling it that.

The problem is that it's simply not purely psychological but it's actually physiological, as well.  The problem I have with focusing on the brain is that it's the exception to the normal way we treat medical conditions.

The common scenario is that the brain and body are not the same gender (simplifying it, of course).  There is ample evidence that there are physical markers in the brain that indicate it is beyond a psychological condition.  Since we know how to treat it by altering the body but do not know how to treat it by operating on the brain, that's what we do.  It's what we should do, anyway, since your brain determines your identity therefore it is the authority above your body. 

It's obvious why most cisgender people want to say it's all in our heads.  It's because our transitions make them uncomfortable.  Why else would you suggest to somebody to fix their brain to ignore a physical issue?  If a person is missing a leg, do you operate on his head so he thinks he doesn't need it or do you give him a prosthetic leg?

Obviously, studying the cause is important.  It's important so we may find ways to prevent it in future generations and maybe someday there will be a way to operate on the brain to switch your gender in your head (like a cranial SRS?) but that's not what we have as options right now.

I just realized my rant trailed off and I forgot I was replying to you.  If any of this seems combative, keep that in mind, hah!  Take this as more of a generalize rambling that's not entirely directed towards you.

Yes, I'm including "'psychological' to include physical". And so are you, it seems.

I'd love to, but I can't really answer the rest of your comments, because, like your above statement, your post contains many contradictory statements. Just ask if you'd like me to point them out for you.

You should not take everything personally.

Quote from: Echo Eve on July 18, 2015, 02:08:42 AM

Is it common for someone working in mental health to refer to others as being "nutty as fruit cakes"?

Actually yes! *giggles* :)

I considered the possibility that my gender dysphoria was purely social, so I moved to two different countries twice, but I am still transgender.

Much like Carrie Liz, my dysphoria was as much physical, as it was social. I briefly considered physical transition without social transition, because the latter was so much more terrifying.

I completely agree with Abysha, in that I did consider everything the Cummings have said, and ruled them out for a myriad reasons. If their message was that being genderqueer or fluid is a worthwhile alternative to full transition, they wouldn't be drawing as much flack.

I understand why they're saying what they're saying, but they're ignoring an overwhelming body of scientific evidence that shows gender dysphoria is far more complicated and nuanced that their own experiences.

I belief they're seeking to validate their choices by invalidating the experiences of others who have transitioned successfully.

Lastly, the problem with calling gender dysphoria a "psychological" issue, is that the public's understanding of that term is loaded with negative associations, that have nothing to do with its clinical definition. When Joe Public hears "psychological condition", all he really hears is "psycho", which doesn't help a community that has already suffered immense discrimination and social violence.

An important ethical consideration in the field of psychology, is how controversial findings are presented or worded due to possible social repercussions. This is because psychologists are well aware of their field's less-than-stellar history of ethics, and this is a conscious effort to remember those mistakes so that they aren't repeated.

This is why "gender identity disorder" is now known as "gender dysphoria".

I majored in psychology, which I realize isn't a M(A) or PhD, but I do speak with some academic experience.

I will remind everyone about the terms of service and to remain civil. No personal attacks, no swearing. I understand this is an emotionally charged issue but that's no justification for ignoring the TOS. Next report on this thread, next TOS violation it will be locked so please just keep it civil.

Well, that escalated quickly..

Every day I strip down and get ready for a shower I look in the mirror and I smile now. That's all that matters.. nobody can take that away from me. I'm happy and free.

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on July 18, 2015, 04:45:29 AM
Actually yes! *giggles* :)

I have heard a psychologist under oath as a witness open his professional testimony with, "He's nuts."       

Quote from: Jessica Merriman on July 18, 2015, 04:45:29 AM
Actually yes! *giggles* :)

True, in mental health if you can't laugh, you cry.

The article gets more and more frustrating as it progresses.

"We all have this duality — it's part of human nature; a male and female energy, something that I believe is very normal, but society doesn't allow that."

I would argue that the #1 most popular mistake within the gender/sexuality discussion is assuming that the way which every individual experiences gender or sexuality is the same as one's own. I think that it may be true that we all posses characteristics or qualities from each side of the binary, but it is simply unsound to conclude that gender identity is the result of such.

Furthermore, by the end of the article it is still difficult for me to understand how settling upon a "gender-variant" identity equates to acceptance of one's born physical body, since Cummings and Lopez seem to be trying to make the argument that gender is dependent on birth-sex.

An ultimately ignorant standpoint.


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If you watch some of Mark's interviews and discussions on youtube. You will see he is a very educated person with regards to transgender information that's out there.

While I definitely do not agree with some of what he preaches or says I do agree with a few major points.

One in particular is let children be children and don't administer puberty blockers on children as there is a huge risk. He also does call out some transgender figures even some popular ones on their exhibitionist and sometimes aggressive behavior and how it causes much of the general public to have a negative impression of the community.

Puberty blockers cause nothing irreversible but can make a world of difference in a young persons transition. If they decide to to transition the blockers are stopped and normal puberty resumes.

Quote from: NCAmazon on August 10, 2015, 08:56:55 PM
If you watch some of Mark's interviews and discussions on youtube. You will see he is a very educated person with regards to transgender information that's out there.

While I definitely do not agree with some of what he preaches or says I do agree with a few major points.

One in particular is let children be children and don't administer puberty blockers on children as there is a huge risk. He also does call out some transgender figures even some popular ones on their exhibitionist and sometimes aggressive behavior and how it causes much of the general public to have a negative impression of the community.

Quote from: NCAmazon on August 10, 2015, 08:56:55 PM
If you watch some of Mark's interviews and discussions on youtube. You will see he is a very educated person with regards to transgender information that's out there.

While I definitely do not agree with some of what he preaches or says I do agree with a few major points.

One in particular is let children be children and don't administer puberty blockers on children as there is a huge risk. He also does call out some transgender figures even some popular ones on their exhibitionist and sometimes aggressive behavior and how it causes much of the general public to have a negative impression of the community.

...so now your son managed to make it to 18 without suicide and can decide for himself, only now he's 6'2" with a big frame and size 14 feet and needs 60k of ffs he can't afford with his burger flipping job that's all teens can get. Well, that or sex work.

Yeah, no. Bother to actually educate yourself on the SOC for youth transitioning and you'll no longer push that anti-trans line. How about let's give these kids the chance to avoid what we went through?

As for people being public that don't necessarily need to, that's pretty obvious. Some folks need to be realistic about both themselves and their communicative skill sets and possibly stick to the written word instead of going on TV and panels.