Monday, March 30, 2009

The Insanity that is the "Transgender Community."

Recently, we have seen a few more examples of the silliness that regularly erupts from the so-called "Transgender Community." The first such example is the ongoing mess about restrooms. Every chance it gets, the Religious Right trots out the "bathroom issue" and every time, transgender activists go ballistic and start raising their usual howl of protest. And everytime, the transgender activists simply ignore the fact that, in many cases, the Religious Right is raising perfectly legitimate issues.

This has happened twice in the past two weeks, with two different outcomes. In the first case, an attempt was made to put an end to a gay rights bill in Gainesville, FL by using the "bathroom issue" as a reason to do away with the current law. And, sadly, the Religious Right has a perfectly good point that was totally ignored by the transgender activists as they ranted against the effort.

Now, this could have been a perfect opportunity for the "transgender community" (which in truth is pretty much an illusion) to show some common sense, and the disarm the Religious Right. Instead, they acted in their usual silly way, and pretty much confirmed that they really don't care if men invade the womens rooms.

The way the law is currently written, prettty much any man (or woman) can enter pretty much any bathroom, and, if confronted, simply claim that, at that moment, their gender identity is at odds with their physical sex. Now, they may be a perfectly normal man (or woman) one second before they walk into the wrong bathroom, and they may be a perfectly normal man (or woman) one second after they walk out, and quite frankly, they may be a perfectly normal man (or woman) the whole time they are in the wrong bathroom, but as long as they claim that their gender identity "matches" the bathroom that they have entered, they are off the hook. They don't even have to be "crossdressed."

This is, of course, totally absurd, but it is what the law effectively allows. And it could easily be rectified by simply providing that anyone entering a restroom that does not match their physical sex has to be in the process of changing their physical sex and be undergoing the RLT. This could be shown by having a "carry letter" as used to be the normal procedure, or even by having therapists issue small ID cards that would serve the same purpose. Yes, this leaves the crossdressers and the so-called non-ops out in the cold, so to speak, but that is really where they belong.

Further, any such law should make provisions dealing with so-called "unavoidable nudity." That is, in areas where there is a very real chance of someone being seen in the nude, pre-ops would either be banned, or if it is not unreasonable, privacy would need to be provided. This would mean in areas like showers and changing rooms. Either they would need to provide individual shower stalls and changing areas (if the cost would not be too great) or pre-ops would just have to wait until after surgery to go into them.

Of course, such a law would never be acceptable to most transgender activists...which shows that their agenda is not what they claim it to be.

And it should be noted that while the amendment that would have rolled back protections in Gainesville was defeated, an attempt to pass "transgender" protections was defeated in New Hampshire.

Another area where some have shown their true silliness has been the issue of "disclosure." Or at least, the issue of "disclosure as it relates to dating." Now, some of the more extreme gender fascists want to insist that everyone be "out, loud, and proud." They shove their transgender state in people's faces. They rant against the idea of stealth, and attack anyone who prefers to live their life normally. They tend to think that disclosure should be made by all, including post-ops.

Another extreme are those who want to ignore the fact that a pre-op (or a so-called non-op) who does not disclose is, unfortunately, at risk of serious bodily harm when a sudden discovery is made. Now, let me state, up front, that I do not believe that such a discovery is EVER an excuse for someone to do anything violent to another person. If a man discovers that his date is, as some like to put it, "a girl with something extra," then he should walk away...period, end of story! That said, I am also a realist that knows that this is rarely going to happen.

The simple, sad fact is, if a pre-op does not disclose, she is risking her life. That does not mean that this is the way it should be, or that she is "asking for it," or that she "gets what she deserves." But it does mean that she needs to use some common sense. Now, I think the men who killed Gwen Arajuao should have all been convicted of murder, and that they all should have been given life sentences. But, I also wish Gwen had of avoided the entire situation to begin with. I would much prefer that she be alive.

Simply put, the victim is not to blame, but we all need to use good sense. Yes, I played with fire a few times. And I was lucky. I never got burned. But, that was pretty much dumb luck and nothing more.

The problem is, many of the more extreme "transgender activists" are telling people that they should be able to expect people to act in a certain way, when, unfortunately, that is not how people are going to act. In another words, they are encouraging pre-ops (and non-ops) to engage in risky behavior, and are in effect setting them up to become possible martyrs. Even if the laws are changed, as they should be, and the so-called trans-panic defense is banned, people will still get killed. The only thing that will change is that the law will be able to deal with them without them finding that one, lone idiot on a jury who will vote not guilty, resulting in another hung jury, and a mistrial, and some prosecutor deciding to play it safe and allow for some ridiculous plea bargain that lets them get away with murder.

In an ideal world, this would not be a problem. But when the idiot chorus starts accusing people of "blaming the victim" because they try to warn people to avoid dangerous situations, the ultimate result is going to be someone getting hurt.

Pointing out simple truths is not "blaiming the victim." It is trying, desperately, and perhaps a bit in vain, to avoid someone becoming a victim. I am sure some welcome martyrs like Gwen Arajuao. Shoot, there is a day set aside every year when they honor them (the Day of Remembrance). And for all of the noble speeches about how it would be great if we could stop having that day each year, the simple truth is, many are probably secretly glad for increased numbers.

If you want some idea of this, just go to the web page for the event and look at the rather horrid bit of drivel that old Phil Frye of Texas came up with. It is song, to be sung to the tune of "Danny Boy" that glorifies those who had the misfortune to be murdered. I must say, I am thankful I have never actually had to hear this one performed. I think the song can be summed up in the line that goes "And come next year when fall’s again up- on us, if more are killed and killed, more well may be. We’ll honor them and the places they are lying. and loudly say, 'We will re- member you'. And you will hear as we pro- claim a- bove you, and your spirits will warmer, sweeter be."

No, this is typical of transgender silliness. I am sure there are those who get all choked up from such. But really, this is the sort of idiocy that gets people killed. Those who die should be mourned, but they are not really martyrs, nor have they done anything to be honored for. They were simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in many cases doing the wrong thing.

Monday, March 9, 2009

A Cautionary Tale...

A few weeks ago, there was another story about another man who had a "sex change" and who now regrets it. This story, like some previously, came out of Australia. This is not the first such story to make the headlines, and it probably won't be the last. But this one should serve as a warning sign for both therapists, and those who might be considering such surgery.


Given the details of the story, it is not that surprising that the man has regrets. Of course, a lot of transgender activists are scrambling to try to control the damage. The idea that someone might actually make a mistake is one of the biggest secrets of the "transgender community." But this is exactly the sort of thing that happens when "transgender people" get carried away and proceed with surgery.


First off, the man, now 66, came to regret the surgery five years after having it. Now, that would seem to indicate that he was 61 when he had the surgery. Now, age alone is not an indicator of surgical outcome, but it should be considered. I mean, why did he wait so long? What was his life like before he transitioned?


One of the statements made by him seems to indicate that he did not have a childhood history of issues with his sex being contrary to his gender. That alone is the single major red flag in a case like this. It is entirely possible for someone to encounter delays before actually achieving surgery, so a person might, in rare cases actually have HBS but be relatively old at the time they finally have their body corrected. But if there was no history from childhood, then surgery is almost certainly not advisable.


Perhaps the biggest warning flag was the fact that this man did not find his genitals abhorrent. In a person with HBS that is a major symptom. Of course, this is a common refrain among transgender people, who will often say, "I don't my penis. I would not be terribly concerned if it were to suddenly disappear, but I don't hate it." That sort of statement should raise concerns for a therapist. Once it is gone, it is gone for good. After surgery is not the time to suddenly realize that you miss it.

It is also interesting that this person claims that a previous therapist advised against surgery. In a sense, it seems to come down to a question of who was the most at fault? The doctors who clearly failed to adequately evaluated this patient? Or the patient himself, who clearly failed to make these things known to his therapist.

I know, early on in my transition, I saw one therapist who seemed more interested in chalking up another patient referred for surgery than in actually helping me deal with issues I was struggling with. If I had been a bad candidate for surgery, I don't know that she would have caught it.

Another case that sent the TG activists into a tizzy became known in October of last year. Mike Penner, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times announced in April, 2007 that he was going to begin transition and would now be known as Christine Daniels. He began writing a column featured on that paper's web site about his experiences. Then, in October, with little fanfare, Christine disappeared, and Mike returned to the sports pages.

The transgender world was shocked. They rushed to make excuses for why someone might decide to not go forward with transition. And the one reason they wanted to downplay the most was that it might ust have been the right thing. They seemed to want to avoid admitting that not everyone who thinks that transition is the right path is going to succeed. That is why the Standards of Care requires a Real Life Test that lasts a minimum of one year. In many cases, one year is probably not enough. There are two many examples of people who rushed through without considering if they were doing the right thing, and who wind up with the rest of their life to regret it. I know of two for whom this is clearly the case, though neither would be likely to publically admit it. Still, it is clear that their transition has been less than successful.

It is possible that Mike Penner will go on to transition. Many people, myself included, have backed off from transition and returned later. This can be caused by a number of factors such as pressure from family, lack of proper preparation, and even a bad therapist. All three of those played a role in my case. But it can just as easily be that the person realizes that their gender really does match their body.

The bottom line is, this is not a game. A mistake can be tragic. There is no going back...which is a source of joy for those with HBS, but a nightmare for someone who is not. One's transition should not be delayed any longer than necessary, but it should also not be rushed. Therapists need to make sure that the person is not making a mistake.