Transman in Oregon is pregnant; Brains of Thousands of Idiots Explode At Once

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A transman who chose not to remove his female sex organs decided to bear a child after his wife has a hysterectomy. There are rumors that this may be a politically motivated hoax, which I agree is possible. However, for the sake of this entry let's pretend we know for sure that it's true.

I try not to talk too much about things I have no direct experience with; I'll never fully understand what it's like to live as a trans-identified person and therefore don't think it's any of my business to pass any kind of judgment, good or bad, on their way of life- I just try to keep myself educated. However, the comments I've been reading in response to this story got me so hot and bothered that I just had to say SOMETHING.

Here are some doozies:

"This person is not and will never be a man. So-called transgendered people remain the sex they were born but through surgery, hormones, etc. are made to PHYSICALLY RESEMBLE someone of the opposite sex."

"THAT PERSON IS A WOMAN!! If it truly wanted to be a man "he" would have removed all traces of his womanhood. How were they allowed to get married? Now that it is pregnant wont that enull(sic) the marriage? I feel sorry for the baby."

"Does "she" sit when "she" pees? Does she use the girls or boys restroom? If a man was to walk in the restroom and see her in there, they would be stunned. Is she wearing maternity clothes? Maybe she should contact Ralph Lauren to come out with a maternity line for men. Why hasn't this been done before? MAYBE BECAUSE MEN CAN NOT CARRY BABIES. DUH!!!"

"The fact is she was born female and legally is a girl. She is just making excuses to be a lesbian. If the birth certificate says she is a female then that is what "SHE" is. Why can't she just admit she is a lesbian? Probably because she is ashamed."

Okay, so I DO get where ignorance comes in to play here (although I've never, ever understood the human urge to destroy things they don't understand). If you've never known a transperson or felt the need to educate yourself, it's easy to be confused since the media in general never seems to know what it's talking about either. "Transgender" itself is an umbrella term that can mean many things. Not all trans-identified people have sex changes; this is because not all trans-identified people WANT to change their bodies. I liked this definition I found: "Transgendered person: an individual who is assigned a gender, usually at birth and based on their genitals, but who feels that this is a false or incomplete description of themselves."

As far as the terms that "Transgender" covers, so far as I understand (and please correct me if I'm wrong, as I have no personal life experience with or formal education on trans issues) this is how it goes down:

Transman: Man who was born with biologically female sex organs but with the gender identify of a man. May be attracted to any sex or none at all.
Transwoman: Woman who was born with biologically male sex organs but with the gender identity of a woman. May be attracted to any sex or none at all.
Transsexual: Individual who wishes to change their body to conform it's appearance to the gender they identify with. Once this person completes their transition, they may or may not choose to refer to themselves as simply male or female. May be attracted to any sex or none at all.
Androgyne: An individual who does not identify with either gender, may consider themselves to be above gender, of no gender, part of a third gender, or between genders. May be attracted to any sex or none at all.
Genderqueer/Intergender: Similar to androgyny, an individual with gender identity concerns/issues which bypass the typical two gender spectrum of male & female only. May consider themselves to be of many genders, and attracted to any sex or none at all.

Complicated, right? Wouldn't it be nice if "gender" existed fluidly or not at all, and everyone could just be who they want to be, and fuck whoever they want to fuck, without so much struggle? How truly important is gender classification to human life anyway?

A TRANSGENDERED PERSON IS NOT AN "ASHAMED" HOMOSEXUAL, for crying out loud. People are so wrapped up in the details (mainly penises and vaginas, which are as much of a crap shoot at birth as hair and eye color) that they're missing the big pictures of what it means to be a transman: HE IS A MAN WITH FEMALE ORGANS; NOT A LESBIAN. It would be impossible for him to be a lesbian, since he isn't a woman. Another example: I identify as a woman and have found myself on more than one occasion attracted to transmen. Although I don't consider myself "straight," my interest in transmen would not make me a lesbian if I did, you dig?

Secondly, no one should legally be disallowed to marry. This shouldn't even be a gay/trans issue; it's a simple legal one. Religion did NOT invent marriage. You can be married outside of a church as easily as you can inside of one. You can be married by putting your signature on a piece of paper at the courthouse on a Tuesday afternoon after work on your way to get the dry cleaning. I'm sorry if that ruins anyone's idealized view of marriage, but that's just the way it is. Marriage is, for all intents and purposes, a legal contract. Not "allowing" an individual to enter into a legal contract with another for ANY reason outlined in the The Civil Rights Act (race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, or physical or mental handicap) is illegal, period.

Is it honestly so difficult for human beings to just put themselves in each other's shoes? Yes, the general public might think it's strange to see a man having a baby, but why do we *need* everything in our scope to be so rigidly defined and enforced? Isn't it possible that we could all live perfectly fulfilling lives side by side if we could just LET GO of that need to control everything, and stop trying to force every person we see into some rigid, man-made classification of "normal" and "abnormal?" Nothing in life is black and white, just being alive every day is proof of that. Trying to pretend that it is has historically only brought humanity violence, strife, set backs, and pain.

A child raised by loving, caring individuals, regardless of their personal identities, will be a well balanced child. If your concern for the child's well being is based on how they'll be treated OUTSIDE of their home, how about doing your part by teaching yourself and your OWN children tolerance and acceptance? That would be a good first step, don't you think? Personally, I'll be doing everything in my power to make SURE that my child is exposed to as many different, varied expressions of humanity as possible, if for no other reason but to ensure him that there's no such thing as "abnormal." The only thing that matters about who he chooses to be someday is that he both loves and feels loved.