Here is a piece that is sure to get some folks heart pumping this morning and save you from needing that second cup of coffee.
It is a view, an opinion. As in all debates I believe it is wrong to shout someone down and keep them from speaking their minds, for to do so only drives them underground and, in too many cases cause them to become even more confident they are right. It is best to know what those who have opinions that differ from ours than to go about with our fifth point of contact shoved so far up our third point of contact that we don’t know what is going on around us. Despite what some may wish and a few unfortunates actually believe, those of us who are TG do not live on Fantasy Island, isolated from reality. Deal with the world as it is and the people in it folks. This person happens to be one of those people and his opinion is embraced by more than I care to think about.
I ask that people who read this and wish to comment reframe from going ballistic and using language that causes Erin to take this piece down. Think before you comment and if you do, please be calm, measured, and coherent. Rants do little but tag the ranter as being an imprudent demagogue no different than the person who wrote the piece I reference below. As I was always taught when serving the colors, ‘Know your enemy, ‘cause odds are he knows you.’ While this individual may not fully understand us, he thinks he does and he has a powerful forum to promote his views on a story one that is now being used to frame the debate on transgender issues in the U.S.
Nancy Cole
Author of ‘Grace’, (Now available on Kindle)
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Pronouns and delusions do not trump biology
By Kevin D. Williamson
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/356501/bradley-manning...
Comments
It's poor journalism
He spends half his article commenting on people with sever body image problems who are very different in aetiology from transsexuals, but uses it to undermine the case for changing gender. Then quotes older research to back up his claims. Not a very well researched article using poor scientific method. The comments are mainly from the usual sort of bigoted uni-brows who see things in black and white, like children do, because this is usually when their last logical thought happened.
Angharad
He raises two issues
I think Williamson brings up two issues that are worth further research and consideration.
First, the specific case of Manning looks, given his situation (yes, I am using he deliberately until or unless there is a legal change - more on this follows), looks like legal wrangling. I'm sorry, but if you announce you're tg right after a high profile trial in which you're sentenced to 35 years, it's hard to take it too seriously. Personally, I am not inclined to give much, if any, sympathy. I assume this is an attempt to reduce his sentence by presenting transgenderism as a psychological problem that mitigates his crime - which makes me even less sympathetic.
Second, Williamson brings up a real issue, which is that SRS appears to be over-prescribed. Specifically, it's used for some people who appear to have body-image problems and/or suicidal tendencies. That doesn't take away from people who are truly tg, but it does mean that we need to work on targeting that treatment better. I'm not aware of the current state of diagnostic research, but assuming his stats are correct, it appears they can do more work on it. I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing that out.
In the end, I am afraid that the Manning case will wind up being a setback for TG people, insofar as he gets attention. He's as unsympathetic a character as any opponent can ask for. The higher profile his claim gets, I suspect the worse for us.
Titania
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
The Author is not TG.
Well, the Author, Kevin W., is not TG is he? Um, so what would he know about TG folk?
We'll likely never know if Manning is TG or not. Just because TG, or GID is no longer considered a disorder in the DSM, does not mean that most people do not consider it to be mighty strange.
However, due to the substantial notoriety by certain TG folk and compassionate news coverage of them, there seems to be less TG hate, if not more compassion. TG folk undergo a substantial period of genuine confusion until we get over our hysteria and work to establish our lives once again.
I can't comment further because I do not even know if I was actually TG, or GID? There were factors in my own childhood that really make diagnosis impossible; the being raised as a girl, the presence of an extremely negative male role model, the PAIS, the surgery at birth ... So, perhaps I and perhaps many others have the surgery for vastly different reasons.
It's been just over 6 years since my own surgery and the unexpected acceptance in this new life lends credence to the idea that I am a woman, positing that surgery makes me no longer TG.
As to Ms Manning, he has been under a lot of stress, though none of us will agree as to his need to be punished in the extreme. Personally, I know what stress can do to demolish a persons personality, having experienced it myself. He decided to take a stand, completely alone, against the entire Defense establishment, out of personal conviction, or out of psychological breakdown.
I doubt that anyone wants to know my opinion on the actions following 9/11.
Gwendolyn