Psychiatrist sheds light on transsexualism

Published March 15, 2015
FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/16/psychiatrist-sheds-light-on-transsexualism/

Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York City-based psychiatrist with extensive experience in the field of gender, talked to FoxNews.com about a condition that affects less than one percent of Americans, transsexualism.

"[It] is a purely medical description of a person who undergoes some medical or surgical treatment to change them from the gender they were born into the gender they wish to be," Drescher said.

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News outlet has opportunity to educate the masses and massively fails.

I kind of perked up this morning while reading the news and enjoying breakfast with my pooch.  There was actually an article on Fox News simply marked as "What Is Transsexualism".  My first thought was 'WoW.  Fox is really coming around!' but my dreams were quickly shattered.  They have a LONG way to go.  The article is 'eh' at best and they really lost me quoting a psychologist "with extensive experience in the field of gender".  If the best they can do it come up with an expert who says,

Quote"[It] is a purely medical description of a person who undergoes some medical or surgical treatment to change them from the gender they were born into the gender they wish to be," (Dr. Jack) Drescher said.  *emphasis added*

then they have lost me.  I thumbed through the rest, hoping for redemption and it never came.  I am glad that I do NOT rely on one source for my news but at the same time I am saddened that many do.

Edited to comply with news format guidelines

This shows how the way a story is reported can change the impression received by the reader. This article emphasizes the subjective nature of our condition and the extend to which there is not unanimity among doctors on whether we need to transition, and de-emphasizes the terrible toll this condition can take on people.

In my opinion, this is the most insidious type of anti-trans propaganda.

It's misinformation intended to cast doubt on our cause that masquerades as a factual piece. This is the reason why the Blanchards and the McHughs of the world achieve so much success and why laws like the ones being proposed in Texas and Florida gain traction.

Reading that article makes me want to take a long shower.

  Wished to be? Huh? Why did I try to supress these thoughts for most of my 62 years? First Ablow and now him on Faux News.

Joelene

Oh, yeah. Like we WANT to be like this. Sure. Why is it that so many of us recognize the tremendous drive to be different when we are small children? It certainly can not be called a learned behavior. Where would we learn it from? Well, I suppose I could make a sarcastic comment about a certain church, but I shall refrain.... oh but that would be gay right? On the other hand the clergy do tend to love their drag outfits.

In the field of science, data is data. WE human beings who are transgendered can be counted. The mere fact that we EXIST means that there are underlying medical reasons we still do not fully understand. Just because you don't believe in the plague does not mean that it does not exist. There is a reason for it and we discovered that reason. Someday, hopefully in my lifetime, I'd like to see some good solid medical reasons behind the sheer number of us.

I know that I'll never persuade many people. That's why I don't tell them. Why should I? It's none of their business. I greatly admire those who go on the internet and post real pictures of themselves and videos. Oh wait, that is my selfie to the left I took just two weeks ago. Okay, I'll not admire myself. But I do admire the conviction and pure guts of all of the people who are willing to put themselves out in the public eye and say, "I am transgender." For most of us, this means we may never have a relationship because we are public. Think about that Fox when you say "they're trying to fool us."

Chin up!
Cindi

This is Fox News. The same "news" organization that claims global warming is a hoax because winter still exists.  What's sad is that too many people get their "news" from Fox.  They are insidious.  They don't report.  They have an agenda and the only information that goes out supports that narrative. 

I definitely agree with ChiGirl

The news media is nothing but a bunch of ratings, there really isn't any real news displayed whatsoever. Being in the Army I would know much more things going on in the real world than what the news media was actually spewing out to the country. It's really quite disgusting how our news stations twist and turn things to appeal to the sheeple of the United States.

It's really unfortunate that Dr. Drescher used the phrase "wish to be," but I think it's a mistake to take that quote out of context. Otherwise, it's a pretty decent piece, especially for Fox News.

Drescher is one of the good guys -- as far as I'm concerned, he's a genuine ally. He's part of the APA panel that removed "Gender Identity Disorder" from the DSM-V in favor of "Gender Dysphoria," and he's a member of the World Health Organization's Working Group on the Classification of Sexual Disorders and Sexual Health. He's received awards for his service from GLBT organizations, and he serves with GLAAD as one of their official media resources.

With all that, I can pretty much forgive him for being a psychoanalyst.

Those of you who object to his phrasing in the above quotation might want to contact him and let him know (politely!) how you feel, and why. You can contact him at jadres@psychoanalysis.net -- I just did. Feel free to PM me if you'd like the text of my email as a starting point for your own.

Tysillio, please don't think I make a career out of disagreeing with you on the forums. I usually love what you have to say. But I have serious problems with some of the things in this article.

"Children with gender dysphoria make it very apparent that they wish to stray away from gender norms". Confusing gender expression with gender identity. Makes it sound like it's about playing with dolls. It's not. Many trans kids do not want to wear clothes and use toys of the other gender.

"Studies show that these children tend to identify as homosexual later in life, though some do identify as transsexual." Huh? Is this really backed up with research? Even if it is, bound to confuse people who are generally fuzzy about the difference between sexual orientation and sexual identity.

"...but whether it is actually a mental illness is up for debate." Misleading, outdated, and stigmatizing.

Suzi, I'm not the least bit offended -- polite disagreement is one of the best things going, and there's not nearly enough of it these days. I also appreciate your posts, which are thoughtful and intelligent.

I agree with the points you make about some of the rest of Dr. Drescher's remarks, but I think it's important to look at the overall context. He's talking to Fox News -- not an organization known for its objectivity or for the critical thinking of its audience. To me, he's phrasing what he says in a way that's calculated to be heard: that is, not to trigger his listeners into rejecting what he has to say. He may be oversimplifying things -- there are certainly nuances he passes by -- but there's only so much information one can get across in a short interview, and if one wants to educate people, one has to start where they actually are, which means not giving them more information than they can take in. We're not the audience he's addressing.

And, yeah, this -- "Studies show that these children tend to identify as homosexual later in life, though some do identify as transsexual" -- is accurate. The research on this is summed up in the section on assessment and treatment of children in the WPATH Standards of Care:

"An important difference between gender dysphoric children and adolescents is in the proportion for whom dysphoria persists into adulthood. Gender dysphoria during childhood does not inevitably continue into adulthood. Rather, in follow-up studies of prepubertal children (mainly boys) who were referred to clinics for assessment of gender dysphoria, the dysphoria persisted into adulthood for only 6%–23% of children (Cohen-Kettenis, 2001; Zucker & Bradley, 1995). Boys in these studies were more likely to identify as gay in adulthood than as transgender (Green, 1987; Money & Russo, 1979; Zucker & Bradley, 1995; Zuger, 1984). Newer studies, also including girls, showed a 12%–27% persistence rate of gender dysphoria into adulthood (Drummond, Bradley, Peterson-Badali, & Zucker, 2008; Wallien & Cohen-Kettenis, 2008)."

Update:

I just received a "Delayed delivery, server didn't respond" notification about the email I sent him. After a bit more poking around, I found the address listed on his own website:  jackdreschermd@gmail.com. I'm hoping that's current, and resending.