In this hypothetical situation, a doctor has told you that you have an incurable disease, one that will change you physically and completely female. They cannot stop it from happening. Your brain will not change, just your body, so you will still be a guy in your mind.

The question is, do you want a female body, with all the positive and negative issues that come with it, OR, would you want your male body back? Your buddies would treat you differently, and some might even hit on you, but as I stated, your brain hasn’t changed. Your wife or girlfriend will leave you, because they aren’t lesbians, but again, your brain has not change.

Do you want your male body, and the male privilege that comes with it, or will you say, “I have no choice. I have to live with it?” YET, with surgical intervention and hormones, you can get that male body back, with some inconveniences, like a non-functioning “you-know-what.” Outwardly and as far as everyone will be concerned, you’ll be your old self again.

This maybe a “hypothetical disease” in my example, but it is not a hypothetical situation. Transsexuals are born with a mind that screams being in a wrong body. For me, I prayed to God to turn me into a girl, at age five. That was 1956. What was the readily available information on transsexuality in 1956 so a five-year-old child could have access to it? It took God 41 years to answer my prayer. I guess that’s over-night delivery for Him.

Being a transsexual has nothing to do with who we want to see lying next to us when we get up in the morning and everything to do with who we see in the mirror. That image has to match what our brains are telling us. In my hypothetical question to you, how long would it take you to want to change the female image in the mirror to your old self again? For us, it’s as quickly as humanly possible.

I may or may not have changed your mind on the issue. That’s not so important. Reasonable people can differ.

What is important is that (some of) the information has been presented to you, and that you’re looking at it with an open mind.

I can’t and shouldn’t tell you “what to think”. And I can’t blame you one whit for not knowing this stuff, it’s *not* well-publicised, and it *does* go against “what veryone knows”.

My thanks for permitting me to express my views on your blog. There’s a lot more information out there, I had to simplify, even over-simplify, so please feel free to contact me with any questions or requests for clarification you may have.

All the very best, Zoe

People who aren’t transgendered or don’t have a transgendered relative should be banned from posting in these forums. They contribute nothing except a reiteration of society’s age old arguments and prejudices. Come on, can’t you think of something new other than the same worn out old cliched dogma?
Fact, Transexuals and gays have always been here. You aren’t going to wish us away.

Fact, It’s not a choice any more than breathing is is a choice.

Fact, You’re on the wrong side of history. Life is becoming easier for us as more and more
states enact civil rights laws for us. These civil rights laws merely codify implied “rights” that we are assumed to have already. Yes the law covers everyone, but somehow we get lost in the shuffle and the guilty party gets off with a slap on the wrist. Reference the first trial of Gwen Araujo’s killers.

Fact, There are many researchers working to find a gene or other causative factor. Just this week, From Australia, it was released a research team discovered a gene that is related to transexuality. However, this dose not appear to be a “switch”, only a related factor. Maybe next year? Once this gene, or whatever is found, all the religionist and those that say we made a “Choice” to be this way will have find a new group of “sinners” to cure.

Fact, It is in the realm of witchcraft and paganism to even suggest that religion or even reparitive therapy would even help, let alone “Cure” transexuality or homosexuality.

When you wrap your head around these facts, you’ll have come a long way towards understanding our plight.
Regards, Terry

I will read through all of your comments in detail and check out the links you’ve provided and rejoin the conversation with another comment on this post this weekend. I want to be fair and measured and thoughtful–and not knee-jerk in my thinking and responses. Thanks again for taking the time to leave a comment.

- Jim

All the best, Zoe

Another argument the religious frequently call up, against protecting the rights of people based upon sexual orientation and/or gender identity/presentation is that these are “lifestyle choices”, not inherent, immutable, inborn characteristics.

They may or may not be right that being gay or transgressing the gender binary a matter of choice, not biology – the jury is still, and is likely to remain, out on the nature/nurture controversy. However, these laws protect the religious from discrimination against them for their religious beliefs – which are indisputedly matters of choice and not immutable.

Being an “actual” conservative, I don’t want the government telling atheist me that I can’t discriminate against those who believe in these irrational mythologies – but that is what the Federal and State laws hold – If I have an apartment attached to my house, I can’t keep some fundamentalist, young earth believing, idol-worshipper from renting it – unless I find some other reason to refuse to rent to that person.

My view is this: Individuals, including people of any and all sexual preferences, are already protected by state and federal laws. Have you been discriminated against with respect to a job? Or housing? I seriously doubt it. The existing law is sufficient.

However, federal law does not, nor do most state anti-discrimination laws, proscribe discrimination based upon either sexual orientation or gender identity/presentation/expression (which means, if you happen to be a long-haired good old boy – like, say, Charlie Daniel’s, you could be preceived as queer and any bias would be lawful), so your argument that we (of the large umbrella term “queer”, for anyone who doesn’t toe the line of antiquated beliefs based upon unfounded mythos) are already protected is entirely specious.

And, yes, I and most of the many transsexual personages I know or have met have indeed been discriminated against in employment, housing, as well as many other “public accomodations”, by the vast number of those who, like yourself, are willfully ignorant of the scientific realities which refute your mythological dogma, and who despite claiming to be conservative seem unwilling to share the blessings of Liberty to those who dare disagree.

Your stated “live and let live” philosophy somehow falls flat when those whom you hold in disfavor are unable to find the employment, housing and general sense of well-being that are enjoyed by the majority – as a direct result of the efforts of those who think what another wears or who another sleeps with is any or their business – and thus are unable to share in the “blessings” of Liberty.

I haven’t been out long enough to face discrimination. I already owned my home, I work for a company which does have an anti-discrimination policy in place, and I work for a wonderful understanding manager. This doesn’t mean that transphobia doesn’t exist. Look at Gwen Araujo, and see what was done to that poor girl.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwen_Araujo

I doubt they’re looking to make business create unisex bathrooms, rather they’re going to state that transsexuals have the right to use the bathroom of their lived gender. It’s a bathroom, all that is going on in there is natural body functions in enclosed cubicles. I don’t see why a transwoman in the girls bathroom is such a big deal.

Transgendered folk have the highest suicide rate of any group in the country, because society rejects the concept of transsexuality. Going from Male to Female by choice is an abdication of the implied power of being male, which is a direct challenge to patriarchal nature of the society we live in. It’s no longer considered kosher to attack feminity by attacking women verbally or physically, and so the closest proxy those bigots have are the traitors who’ve given up male privilege in order to follow their own inner self.

Trans Bigotry is actually redirected misogyny against a group that’s too small to fight back, and usually just wants to be left alone to live life.

Whats the actual extent of the Trans acceptance they’re going to teach the kids? One story in second grade reading class? Are they going to have a full on gender studies class in Kindergarten?

You claim that we have a Gestapo – we don’t.

You think you can spot us – usually, you don’t.

You think we’re sinners – we don’t.

Did not God make man in his own image? Does God make mistakes?

Why would he put us here with a female brain and a male body if not to teach the world that the difference between the genders isn’t as great as we all seem to think it is?

Your homework Jim – Go read up on Indian Hijira’s, Native American Two-Spirits, and go to watch the clips on the National Geographic Channel’s website from the show Taboo about how the Samoan’s actually prize their Trans Folk.

Not all societies have attacked us and hated us, perhaps those other societies knew something we don’t.

- Danielle