Led by the child who simply knew
The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor's care.

By Bella English |  Globe Staff 
December 11, 2011

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/12/11/led-child-who-simply-knew/SsH1U9Pn9JKArTiumZdxaL/story.html

Jonas and Wyatt Maines were born identical twins, but from the start each had a distinct personality.

Jonas was all boy. He loved Spiderman, action figures, pirates, and swords.

Wyatt favored pink tutus and beads. At 4, he insisted on a Barbie birthday cake and had a thing for mermaids. On Halloween, Jonas was Buzz Lightyear. Wyatt wanted to be a princess; his mother compromised on a prince costume.

Once, when Wyatt appeared in a sequin shirt and his mother's heels, his father said: "You don't want to wear that.''

"Yes, I do,'' Wyatt replied.

Julie found this article the other day and copied me when she emailed it to some friends.  This morning I just got around to reading it.  It was a very emotional read for me. 

This is such a positive example of how the medical, psychological and local communities can impact the lives of transgender kids and their families.  From the doctor who wouldn't discuss it to Dr. Norman Spack in Boston; from the community that was initially accepting then turned after some grandparent used religious reasons why the child should be isolated and the school that went along with it, to finding an accepting community.

Nicole and her family have been through a lot.  How lucky she is for having the parents and brother she does, for having been born at a time when there is some knowledge and acceptance, for there being programs to help trans kids and prevent the damage birth hormones can do.  But I think it has been her unwavering attitude and courage that have been so important in her becoming who she is.

For those of us who had to silently deal with this alone, I wonder what life would be like today if we had the same chance in our youth.

I am crying happy tears after reading this story.

Huggs

Emily

Twin Boys, One Transgender, Become Brother and Sister
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
ABC News
December 13, 2011

Identical 14-year-old twins, Nicole and Jonas Maines, started out life as Wyatt and Jonas. Nicole is transgender.

Read the Full Story

Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2000 Oct;34(5):862-4.
Transsexualism in female monozygotic twins: a case report.
Sadeghi M, Fakhrai A.
SourceRoozbeh Psychiatric Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. sadeghimajid@yahoo.com

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A case report is presented of a gender identity disorder involving a pair of female monozygotic twins who requested sex reassignment. As far as we know, this case is the first in psychiatric literature and supports a genetic aetiology of this disorder.

CLINICAL PICTURE: The patients were two 18-year-old female monozygotic twins who had showed symptoms of transsexualism since early childhood. They had no other physical or psychiatric disorder except borderline mental functioning.

TREATMENT: The patients were referred for sex reassignment.

OUTCOME: They were lost to follow up after initial evaluation.

CONCLUSION: In addition to other possible (yet not confirmed) causes of transsexualism, a genetic basis for this disorder is suggested by this case.

Int J Eat Disord. 2004 Mar;35(2):239-43.
Gender identity disorder and anorexia nervosa in male monozygotic twins.
Hepp U, Milos G, Braun-Scharm H.
SourceDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Urs.Hepp@usz.ch

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Male identical twins with gender identity disorder (GID) in childhood and anorexia nervosa (AN) are presented. Etiologic aspects and the relationship among gender identity, sexual orientation, body dissatisfaction, and AN are discussed.

METHOD: Case reports and a review of the literature are reported.

RESULTS: In childhood, both twins showed an atypical gender behavior. Whereas one of the twins later developed a transsexual gender identity and asked for sex reassignment, the other developed a male identity but his appearance and clothing are effeminate. According to their biologic sex, they are concordant in regard to their homosexual orientation. In adolescence, both developed AN. Monozygotism was proved by DNA analysis.

DISCUSSION: GID in childhood could be at least partly hereditary, whereas the development of the later phenotype of the gender identification is more determined by environmental factors. GID might be a risk factor for the development of AN.

Copyright 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 35: 239-243, 2004.

LifeSiteNews.com


'We can do wonders if we get them early': young twin boy undergoes sex change into 'Nicole'

by Kathleen Gilbert | Wed Dec 14, 2011 15:57 EST


http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/we-can-do-wonders-if-we-get-them-early-young-twin-boy-undergoes-sex-change/


Wyatt with his twin brother Jonas now.


BOSTON, December 14, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A front-page story on the Boston Globe's Sunday edition highlighted the work of a prestigious Massachusetts hospital which blocked and altered the development of one young boy's body to match his self-identification as a girl.

Wyatt Maines, now 14 years old, is the identical twin of brother Jonas - but thanks to powerful hormone blocking drugs, he is now five inches shorter and several pounds lighter than Jonas, sports more feminine features, and goes by the name "Nicole." "The thought of being a boy makes me cringe,'' said Maines. "I just couldn't do it.''

edge San Francisco


Right-Wing Websites Blast Paper's Coverage of Teen's Sex Change


by Jason St. Amand |Web Producer / Staff Writer | Friday Dec 16, 2011


http://www.edgesanfrancisco.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=127932


MassResistance, a Massachusetts anti-gay group, is up in arms about a story that was published in the Boston Globe last weekend and recently posted a reaction to the piece. The article told the harrowing story about 14-year-old twin boys, Jonas and Wyatt Maines. Although born as identical twins, Wyatt wanted to be a girl.

"The ultra-radical nature of the cultural revolution is coming into full view," MassResistance writes in a Dec. 12 post. "With the Massachusetts 'transgender rights' bill passed, the next frontier is public acceptance of sex-changes for children. Is this America's future?"

Wow. The article from MassResistance seems to be trying to make up for content, with information overload.

Hopefully, it won't bore too many of I take it upon myself to add a few comments.

QuoteShockingly, the parents didn't have to go to some far-away European country do this. These ghastly "procedures" are being done to children by the elite medical establishment right in Boston.

Just had to highlight this one. As  a European, I just love this. It's not often I'm left feeling proud of being European, we seem to do nothing but fight with each other. But this leaves me feeling proud as a peacock. (Or it is a peahen?).

QuoteThe parents have made the decision that their son's problems are not psychological but medical: he's in the "wrong" body.

I don't know if they, or anyone else has ever said that, but it is wrong. The problem is most certainly psychological. The treatment is medical.

QuoteMedically speaking, actual ->-bleeped-<- is a fiction with no basis in reality.

Sorry, but no matter the qualification of whoever made that statement, be it the top Dr in the US, backed by a team of over paid lawyers, that is utterly untrue.

If it has been quoted from any Dr, no matter how qualified he claims to be, I would have little fear in publicly calling him dishonest.

Boston Globe, letters to the editor:

Parents ought to be aware of options in treating gender identity disorder
http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-25/letters/30554007_1_transgender-disorder-sexual-reassignment-surgery
John Fountain
December 25

YOUR COVERAGE of a transgender child's treatment at Dr. Norman Spack's clinic was absorbing, but parents of kids who exhibit transgender behaviors need more comprehensive coverage ( "Led by the child who simply knew,'' Page A1). An excellent starting point is the 2008 "Report of the Task Force on Gender Identity and Gender Variance,'' which is available at the American Psychological Association website.


No single approach for gender variance
http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-31/letters/30572739_1_gender-identity-gender-variance-gender-variant-children
Scott Leibowitz
Laura Edwards-Leeper
December 31

IN HIS letter to the editor, John Fountain erroneously assumes that one treatment approach is universally applied to all gender variant children at Children's Hospital's Gender Management Service ( "Parents ought to be aware of options in treating gender identity disorder,'' Dec. 25). The Gender Management Service team provides comprehensive, individualized treatment that involves careful consideration of all factors in a child or adolescent's life.

QuoteBoston.com Surely, parents of these kids should consider finding a treatment that opposes the disorder itself before they settle for one that struggles to live with it. Outgrowing the early transgender tendencies would be a vastly better outcome than living with them and perhaps resorting to sexual reassignment surgery.

Umm, Why?

QuoteThe presumption that "outgrowing the transgender tendencies'' is a better outcome reflects a biased view that doesn't take into account a broader understanding of the many complexities within the evolving academic field of childhood and adolescent gender variance.

Not to mention that such a presumptive approach presumes that it is a problem. The problem, surely is the gender roles themselves. That little boys, especially, have to behave like little boys.

An illustration of this. It is quite common to tolerate little girls being tom-boys, much more so than boys being jane girls. (Sorry for this term. It was the one, used somewhat derogatorily when I was growing up. Cissy, frankly, doesn't feel appropriate).

Yet transgender gfemales seem to report a mixed experience. Some say they were tom-boys, while others say they were, (and even, sometimes, remain), very girly.

Similar mixed experiences are reported by gmales.

But we haven't, as a society, examined why we seek to impose gender values and norms which may be acceptable to some are intensely difficult for others. 

Personal tastes are surely a matter for the individual. Some may like liver, others not. Some may like sport, TV, violence, religion, nature.

Everyone is entitled to self expression without justification.