Despite clear and easily understood press releases, explanations and statements released by eminent scientists to explain that diverse sexual orientation and gender identity is perfectly natural, and despite their attempts to simplify the explanations - some people, typically narrow minded religious fundamentalists, refuse to accept that gay people are born gay and transgender people, transgender.
Really? Is it nice to get fired because your playboy boss finally figured out you're actually into girls? Is it fun to be chased down a dark alley by a gang of rough-necks who figured out you're trans? Do they really think this is fun to us? Is being gay or transsexual THAT good?
No, they are "sinners who make a sinful lifestyle choice", or they are tragic "victims of child abuse", "examples of bad parenting" or (my personal favorite) they are "mentally ill".
They insist that although they made no conscious choice to be straight, get married and make lots of little rug rats, some people inexplicably woke up one morning and chose to be gay. Despite all the answers being clear and easily available (can you spell "plain as the nose on your face"?) they stubbornly and consistently reject facts which they CANNOT argue against in favor of rhetoric, propaganda and junk-science.
They complain about us having surgery (which we pay for by the way) and being allowed to dress as "women" (note the quotation marks!) when we "are and always will be 'men'" and insist that gay people or transsexuals who marry are "not recognised by God" and are "guaranteed" to burn in hell!
Oh yes?
First thing to ask people like that is "what makes a man?" If they say "genitals" then you ask them, "suppose you lost yours in an accident - will you stop being a man?" If they then back into a corner and say "that's different" then you can say "well, no it's not - being a man or a woman is between your ears, not your legs - but our operations just help us to live in the bodies that don't match who we are".
And if they continue the slurs, you could always tell them that just such an "accident" can be arranged and that you would be happy to facilitate. *wink*
In the meantime, coming back to my favorite little slur about transgender people and mental illness, this nice little situation is rapidly coming to a head. During this last year France declassified being transgender from the list of "treatable mental disorders", and it is not going to end there. Homosexuality was first removed from the same list of "disorders" back in 1973, so excuse me if I say "it's about fucking time!"
Heaven knows how many times I've had that little gem thrown at me, coming from people so hell-bent, fanatical and paranoid that if some wally walked past them carrying a hand-painted sign reading: "World to end at 12, details at 1", they would give away their house and contents and go look for a good spot on the nearest hilltop to watch. Yes, indeedy.
"A report, called 'Moving from Intentions to Action', has now been published and calls for change in how trans people are treated. It argues that trans people would then escape the stigma of mental illness that is frequently attached to them.
The report said: "Gender identity variance (transgenderism) should be reclassified from its current classification as a mental health disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and the World Health Organisation’s International Classification Of Diseases (ICD).
"Instead it should be classified as a medical condition. This would provide a diagnostic category in the ICD that would accommodate the needs of those gender identity variant people who require medical care for their condition, but without the stigma attached to mental disorder.""
To continue my point on the issue of mental health and the benefits of surgery, I refer to the following article: "Quality of Life for Transsexuals after Surgery December 20, 2009 Posted by Geekgirl in Gender Identity, Sex reassignment, psychology."
"A while ago, I reported a study showing that individuals who had undergone sex reassignment surgery had no regrets. Here is another study, this time from France.
"Study of quality of life for transsexuals after hormonal and surgical reassignment (Summary)
The main objective of this work is to provide a more detailed assessment of the impactof surgical reassignment on the most important aspects of daily life for these patients. Our secondary objective was to establish the influence of various factors likely to have an impact on the quality of life (QoL), such as biological gender and the subject’s personality.
A personality study was conducted using Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) so asto analyze two aspects of the personality (extraversion and neuroticism). Thirty-eight subjects who had undergone hormonal surgical reassignment were included in the study.
The results show that gender reassignment surgery improves the QoL for transsexuals in several different important areas: most are satisfied of their sexual reassignment (28/30),their social (21/30) and sexual QoL (25/30) are improved. However, there are differences between male-to-female (MtF) and female-to-male (FtM) transsexuals in terms of QoL: FtM have a better social, professional, friendly lifestyles than MtF. Finally, the results of this study did not evidence any influence by certain aspects of the personality, such as extraversion and neuroticism, on the QoL for reassigned subjects.© 2009 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS."
Quite a well-deserved slap in the face to people like Julie Bindel, a rabid rad-fem transphobe who crusades against access to surgery and other treatments for transsexuals, claiming that transsexuals "don't know what they want" and are "misled by doctors into having sex-change surgery" - and should face "reparative therapy" instead - which she figures lesbians like herself should be spared. Yeah, right.
Strange that a supposed "mental illness" can be apparently cured so successfully by a little plastic surgery and a little paper-work? Mental illness, huh? Hmm, I wonder if there is any plastic surgery available for those other folks sitting on that thar hill?
I should send these articles to that transphobic bigot, and to rub her nose in it till it either bleeds, or she gets it. Personally, I hope she's a slow reader.
______________________________________________________________
If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.
If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.
All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.
________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment