Group Neon poses the following questions:
Do you believe that parents should be able to change the sexual structure of their children (such as in the case of Reimer) solely based on their behavior in their youth? Or do you believe that they should wait and let their child decide what they want?
Since this is a yes/no question which will perhaps lead to limited conversation and repetition of answers, please feel free to go other directions and discuss other ideas this week's readings brought up for you.
I do not believe that parents should be able to change the sexual structure of their children solely based on their behavior in their youth. The parents should wait and let their child decide what they want. Many children, as pointed out in the article, grew out of this behavior. And instead of being transgender, some children grew up to be gay or lesbian. For example, from Dr. Green’s study of forty-four boys who “exhibited extreme feminine behaviors,” only one became a transsexual. Therefore, if the parents choose to change the sexual structure of their children, they are risking changing the child’s entire life just because he or she may be acting differently than most kids.
ReplyDeleteThe parents should wait and let their child decide what they want because it is ultimately their decision. Choosing to change the sexual structure of a person is a life-changing decision and therefore should be decided by the person whose sexual structure is going to be changed. As in the case with Reimer, the parent’s choice was wrong and this choice eventually led to his suicide. While some believe that letting the child decide is too big of a decision for a child to make, it still does not mean that that child’s entire life is to be decided by his or her parents.
To Victoria G, I agree it is the child's decision, but the text also describes how "parents have to begin making medical decisions for their children when the children are quite young" for the best outcomes. The children may not know what's best for them and it is also the parents' job to figure out what is best for their child. Especially using Zucker's studies, the trauma from a family situation may be the problem and a better outcome may result from professional help and the parents' decision.
ReplyDeleteThe parents should help the child to decide what action will make the child the happiest, which must also take into account the social surroundings.
On the other hand, the child should be the one to determine what happens to their body, as long as they're old enough to decide. However, that is a very grey line.
The parents should work closely with their child to determine exactly what to do, because this is a very delicate situation which could lead to a very permanent outcome and/or social consequences/rejection.
I thought this was a very interesting passage that informed me a lot about transgender children. I understand where both sides are coming from on whether or not to change the sexual structure of children.I also feel that all situations are different so there is not just a yes or no answer. For example, if a child is cutting their wirst when they see breast development i feel it may not be a bad idea. But if your child is acting a little feminine or masculant i dont think you should automatically give them these blockers. So i just feel that is a case to case basis, many of these people had things in common but all situations were still different and had an affect. Whether it was geographic location, lifestyle, ethnicity, etc, all cases had a different effect on the child. There for i feel they should handle every case seperately and ultimately leave the decision up to the family.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really hard topic for me to have an opinion on. I feel that in situations like this, it's really hard to say what is right or wrong when it hasn't personally happened to you. In this case, I think the parents should be supportive of whatever the child desires and feels is best for them. Something that does alarm me though is the fact that children would have to make a life-changing decision at such a young age. Their brain is not fully developed and I couldn't imagine making a decision so young that would impact myself every day for the rest of my life. That's a really hard responsibility to take on.
ReplyDeleteAgain, it is hard for me to make a decision but I think if this happened to my child I would wait until they were older and in their teens before they decided what they wanted to do. As they were growing up, I would protect them the best I could and make sure they'd have the most "normal" life possible without being pushy. I would also suggest seeing a therapist if that's what was necessary. As a parent, being supportive is the best thing to do and take it day by day.
Like Jordan J, I believe that there is not necessarily one right answer to the question of how to determine the medical future of all possible transgender children. Each case has its own characteristics and as such deserves a personal answer. I don't think that every child identifying with the opposite gender should automatically be given puberty blockers and a sex-change operation but at the same time every possible transgender child should not be therapeutically trained out of being transgender as Dr. Zucker believes.
ReplyDeleteThe medical decisions concerning gender should not be only made by the parent; the child and parent need to have a long discussion about the future, preferably with therapy both individually and as a family. While it is difficult to talk with a young child about gender identities and have it make sense the parent needs to try. Obviously the child knows more about gender than society thinks because they realize that they do not identify with their natal gender. Therefore, it is the child's opinion that matters most even if it is the opinion of a young child.
Parents should not be able to change their child's gender based off their behavior as a very young child. I'll define very young as younger then 10. I don't think anything permanent should be done to kids that young. I would think that the way to go about it would be therapy to help them accept themselves first, then if the kid doesn't respond to that and is adamant about wanting the blockers at the start of puberty then I would say let them do it. Both of these are solutions that the kid could later undo as an adult if they so choose. Any more permanent procedures is taking away the kid's right to make their own informed decision, which you can't do as a elementary school aged child.
ReplyDeleteThis was a hard topic to form an opinion on as, like Nikki said, I haven't encountered this in my life. It was also kind of interesting to see my opinion changing as I got farther in the reading. I would have been totally pro-blockers if I had stopped reading at the end of the part that talked about them, but after hearing about the therapy I view it as more of a last resort or at the least not the first thing one tries for their child. Just goes to show that you really need get all the information you can before trying to form an opinion.
I will primarily answer the question by agreeing with Victoria G. I know that the reading claims that children must start blockers by puberty in order for the gender change to be the most effective, but they run the risk of only "offer[ing] a superficial fix" (561). It is possible to switch genders at a later age, and while it is more difficult, it is more important to fix therapeutic problems than superficial ones--the sad story of David Reimer proves this.
ReplyDeleteI would also quickly like to voice the discomfort I felt while reading this article. Throughout the piece, the tone of the author, Hanna Rosin, varied between an attempt to be impartial and an attempt to voice her own opinion. I say this because she starts out with the story of Brandon Simms, transitioning into different areas of transgender children by stating that an encounter between Brandon and another child discussing this issue as something that "normalize[s] the face of transgender America" (550). It is not until seven pages into the reading that she addresses how changing genders can be negative with the story of David Reimer. She later discusses the work of Dr. Zucker and children who successfully stayed their own genders. It just seemed to me that Rosin was writing a persuasive piece, but at the last moment tried to make it neutral and did not succeed. She should have either written a piece in favor of changing the gender of children, or been better at balancing her argument.
With something like this, it's impossible to stay neutral on one story or the next, so I would give the author a little break. Essentially, what I picked up from this is that it should be looked at as a "medical condition." This means that someone who has this condition should fit in as equally as someone who has autism. If someone has autism, they live differently than most other people live.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, gender blocks are wrong. One, you never know if the gender condition will last. Also, and it may sound redundant, look at the story of David Reimer. His case was different, but it shows that when children are treated like science experiments, like Reimer was, things may happen. I don't think gender change should be legal at all. Immediately it sounds like a cruel statement, but consider this: Some diseases or birth abnormalities can't be eliminated with our modern technology. Some can, but those are because it benefits the health of the person. If this is a disease, or, "mental condition," and if changing it doesn't benefit the health of the person, then are we just changing the gender for aesthetics? Sure they don't fit in to society well now, but african americans had a significantly harder time fitting in. Gender blocks don't sound safe, as it relates to long-term effects, and if it is not benefitting the health of the individual, it shouldn't be allowed.
I am aware that is easy for me to say all of this living the typical American male lifestyle, but think of it like this. I picture myself as a big husky man with bulging muscles who can read quickly, play every sport well, and play guitar fabulously. In reality I am a relatively thin guy (boy or man, still undecided) who reads terribly slow, sucks at every sport, and am a mediocre musician. I have my strengths, but what I'm saying is that I shouldn't get a surgery just because I want all those things. It's not a perfect analogy, but it is a similar situation. Just because Brandon Simms wants to be a girl doesn't mean he should be a girl. There are reasons, one of them being biological, that he was born male. Just as there are reasons that I was born male, or that I developed the way I did.
I hope it made sense. As you can see it's late. The good news is that probably none of my classmates will read this.
This is a difficult question to answer because both parties have valid positions yet argue different points. Parents may want to change the sexual orientation of their children based upon their behavior at youth. At the same time, they may want to wait to let their child decide, because children this young can't always be trusted to make a decision as life-changing as this one. While parents usually just want the best for their kids, performing an operation too early can be disastrous, which is why many argue that they should wait for the child to grow older and make a decision for themselves. In short, parents may decide to change the gender of their child based upon their behavior in youth, but they should seriously consider giving their child a say in one of the most important decisions of their life.
ReplyDeleteOn the matter of whether or not an operation should be legal or acceptable, I would like to dispute Brandon's statement that an operation isn't benefiting an individual, simply making them more aesthetically pleasing. He makes a good comparison about his own traits and how he doesn't have surgery to fix them, which is a valid point. However, the individuals pursuing sex changes aren't looking to improve their lives beyond other people's. They are trying to bring the quality of their life on par with that of everyone else's. What a lot of people can't understand is what these transgender children experience. I know that I don't. Its not the same as not being good enough at something you like or not being as pretty as you want to be. It is a crisis of identity for these children, a lack of the basic fundamentals that make humans what they are. Sex change operations are trying to fix this, not simply improve their lives to make them feel better about themselves. They are trying give people the chance to be who they really are, which is the major difference between a sex change an aesthetic surgery; aesthetics try to make you a different person but a sex change allows you to be who you truly are. And yes Brandon your classmates do read the blog posts :).
I believe that parents should not be able to change the sexual structure of their children based only on their behavior as youths but should wait and let their children decide for themselves. For instance, when Dr. Richard Green did an experiment to test forty boys who were considered feminine and see how many became transsexuals, about seventy five percent were gay or bisexual while only “one became a transsexual”. According to Dr. Green it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between “pre-gay and pre-transsexual” at such a young age and if the parents make these decisions of change for a child then it could potentially ruin the rest of their lives. Can you imagine what kind of life a child would lead if forced to live the life of someone he/she wasn’t due to the mistake of their parents? In addition, according to tests done in the Netherlands of children originally diagnosed with “gender identity disorder, only 20 to 25 percent still want to switch gender at adolescence”. If parents are allowed to make such life altering changes, then children may get stuck as something which they are truly not based only on their actions as a child. For example, as a young girl, Chris hated being a girl and “insisted on …playing with only with the boys” and she even admitted that “she wanted to kill herself” and that she had never felt like a girl. Yet, only a short time later, Chris joined a softball team, made some female friends and began to act like a girl. If Chris’ parents had decided at the age of eleven to change her sex, her entire life would have been abnormal and she would not have been happy. Although the “blockers are entirely reversible”, there has been no case of a child who stopped taking the blockers after starting, as studied by the Dutch. This implies that either they are very good at determining who is actually transsexual or it proves that once the switch is made it is nearly impossible to mentally switch. Sometimes waiting to allow the child to decide can be hard because it is difficult to talk to a child only eight years old about something as important as reproduction but it is important to remember that as much as parents love their children and want to do what is best for them, it is ultimately the child’s decision.
ReplyDeleteI believe the parents are put in a crucial situation to determine their child’s future. Whatever decision they make can impact their life entirely. Not all parents know exactly what the right decision for their children is but I believe they should change their sexual structure at an early age. I don’t believe they should base it on solely on the behavior of their child but on medical research of what could be the best outcome. It is better to make the decision early on allowing the child to adapt to their new body and adapt to the lifestyle. It is also better to be upfront with the child and let them know what is going on so in the future they are not surprised. In case their child starts feeling as if they should have been a different gender at least they know why and later on as an adult they can get operated once again to the gender they please to be.
ReplyDeleteIt does not matter whether the parents choose to make the decision early on or later, the child will still go through some major hardships. They will be confused and tormented by all these feelings without having a clue as to why. That is why the parents need to take charge and make the choice. That way the parents can be right by their sides guiding them and not leaving them desperately in need of help. Imagine as a young teen that yet has not had a selected gender. Imagine what must be going through their head. They have no idea what to think of their emotions and that is what parents need to take action before it happens.
I totally think that parents have no right to decide the sexual structure for their children. Their kids are born a certain sex, just because as children, when they have little knowledge of sex and sexual orientation, doesn’t mean they won’t turn out differently as adults or even teenagers. And as it so happens I have an example… One of my best friends from the old country (Minnesota) grew up dressing in dresses, heels and let his sister do up some makeup. His mother never thought that he was having a crisis of sexuality or anything like that. She never contemplated shooting him with hormones to change his sexuality, I don’t think. But now he is a straight male that doesn’t dress up, in front of people, anymore and is comfortable with him. It was a phase. Kids go through phases.
ReplyDeleteLike most people, I agree that the parent shouldn't change the sexual orientation of their children before the child can understand the implications it will have. Many parents, at the first sign of transgender symptoms want to "help" thir child by switching their sex immediately but I would argue that, as Richard Green's study showed, this may not be what the child actually wants. Most of the children displaying these transgender behaviors actually turned out to be gay, not transgender and only a small portion would actually wanted to change their sex. As it is too early with children to tell who will be pre-gay and pre-transgender, changing the child's sex at first sign will more likely than not be worse for the child and may lead to, in Reimer's case, suicide.
ReplyDeleteI believe that parents should wait and let the child determine if he or she wants to change their sexual orientation. Parents should be able to change their childs genger because it is not natural and could have possible side effects on the child's life. A California Law forbids parents to change their childs orientation and I support it. It should be up to the child, at the age of 18, to choose if he or she wants to change their gender.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree with parents making the decision for their child regarding their physical gender based on their behavior during youth. As Dr. Richard Green's research displays, "We can't tell a pre-gay from a pre-transsexual at 8." Therefore, it is not appropriate to make the decision to, as Eric Vilain states "play God" and make the gender change at such an early age. Only 1 of the 44 children in Green's study resulted in being transgender instead of gay or straight. It is incorrect to assume that feminine behavior in a male (or masculine behavior in a female) will result in a transgender lifestyle and a parent should not make the premature decision to adjust the child's physical anatomy accordingly.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the author did a good job with the difficult task of leaving personal bias out of this article. There was arguments and scholarly research to support both stances for and against flexibility with possible transgender children's behavior. Kevin Hart (yes I'm quoting a comedian here) said in one of his comedy routines "One of my biggest fears as a parent is my son growing up to be gay... Keep in mind I'm not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people...but me being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay I will." This quote shows exactly the kind of mindset that can be very easily taken by any person, especially a parent, when discussing the issue of feminine behavior in a child.
This is a very tough question to be answered, i feel like no matter what there will be personal bias opinions about this topic. Very interesting, I always ask myself this question. What if my child was gay? As a future parent, and observing son i feel like parents have a duty to guide their children. Not necessarily tell them what to do but guide and point them at the right path. This is kind of contradicting the question and my personal answer already. Just like Ryan Campbell, i am a heterosexual and if my child was gay i would do anything in my will to prevent this from happening. Now this varies with different people, because i asked my girlfriend about this too. And she said if her kid was gay she would be behind them and support them no matter what. So i feel this question is very hard to answer, everyone has their personal point of views. I myself live in NYC Chelsea area where a few blocks away would be a gay neighborhood. Now im not homophobic but you have to think about your child.. This also plays a role in cultural and ethnic backgrounds too. If i were to present my kid to my mother, *childs grandparents* and if i told them that their grand children was gay they would not accept him/her at all. In the asian culture there is a rule that the girl or guy will always be heterosexual by taking the partners hand and asking for marriage. It is tradition, but this topic is different, We live in America. The country of free will, There is always change happening around the world and this is just a new movement with questions to be answered, Everyone in this world needs reassurance. Personally my answer contradicts what i think of others, i can accept change in the world, but i will not have it for my kid to be gay.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly difficult to comment on a topic as complicated as this after only reading one article from a English textbook about it. There are various sides to this debate/problem/condition/issue. And that's why I feel there are various solutions or ways to deal with the issue. I agree with a previous comment that looking at the issue at a case by case basis is probably the most effective way to approach it. But in general I believe after reading the 20 or so pages about it that essentially, no parents shouldn't be able to change the sexual structure of their children solely based on their behavior in their youth. I sided with much of geneticist Eric Vilain's argument,"I consider the child as my patient, not the parents...We don't know the long-term effects of making these decisions for the child. We're playing God here," and subsequent examples of the children from Toronto under Zucker's clinics led me to believe in the theory of "family noise." Also, if there are going to be hardships to the child no matter what the parents decide, it seems wise not to waste money on surgical procedures and puberty blockers.
ReplyDeleteIt also struck me how easily transsexualism became all mixed up with homosexuality. If dug deeper, this is one of the roots of the problem; "Truek believes lingering homophobia is partly responsible for this," and this made perfect sense to me. Parents, who would rather see their children be straight, perhaps decided to change the child's sex altogether. It's much more clearly delineated in the text.
I honestly still don't have a particular stance on this issue and perhaps never will unless I experience it first hand or indirectly. So I don't up to what age the parents should wait to take the decision, again it should be approached on a case by case basis. All I know is that parents, relatives, schools, and other stakeholders should try and do anything possible, preferably not surgery and instead just talking with the child, letting go of prejudice or preconceived notions, accepting what makes the child happy and supporting him/her.
First of all, I believe it was wrong for David Reimer's parents to surgically alter the sexual structure of David at a young age, before they even knew what his sexual orientation or his sexual interests would be. Because as Dr. Milton Diamond was quoted in Hanna Rosin's "A Boy's Life," "the biggest sex organ is not between the legs but between the ears." Simply because David had the sex organ of a girl and was raised to act like a girl did not mean that his brain was telling him to be a girl. His parent's decision early on in his life eventually led to his suicide. Ultimately, it is one's mind that decide's one gender, no matter their surroundings or sexual structure. A perfect example of this the story of Brandon who, although had then sexual structure of a male, was convinced he was a female and wanted to be one. So, answering the blog question, I would say no, I do not think parents have the right to change the sexual structure of their child. It is not up to them to decide.
ReplyDeleteReimer's case is proof enough that parents should never make a decision about a child's sexuality without first observing the child's behavior and learning the child's preferences. It is an infamous case of unethical experimentation which negatively impacted the life of a man and his family.
ReplyDeleteWith regard to transgender children, I believe first and foremost that more research must be done to confirm whatever assertions experts are making on the subject. The sample sizes in every experiment cited were minuscule and cannot be said to be representative of the entire population of transgender individuals to any significant degree. Also, many of these experiments were likely influenced heavily by experimenter bias and were likely not double blind (the subjects for the experiment likely knew what results the experimenter was trying to prove).
That said, from my albeit limited experience with transgender individuals, I believe that transsexualism is impossible to overcome by therapeutic methods (as demonstrated by the alleged success story of Dr. (?) Zucker who still could not entirely overcome his predisposition to behave in a feminine way). When children continue to defy efforts by their parents, a psychologist, teachers, pastors, and the rest of their community to change their perceived gender, one must assume that something beyond the resolve of a five-year-old is at work. Furthermore, the absolute relief universally expressed in transsexuals as soon as they adopt their preferred gender is in my eyes an indicator of improved psychological health. It seems to be worth allowing even if there are extreme methods by which a person can be re-socialized.
The individual his/herself must be satisfied with the eventual decision. If not, they will be internally conflicted for the rest of their lives. If psychological functionality is the goal, the choice ought to be in the hands of the individual to the extent that time constraints on the procedures to be performed allow.
I have mixed feelings about this topic and it is hard for me to answer the question. I personally have nothing against gays, people dressing up as the opposite sex, or those that get a sex change. That is their decision. Do I still feel uncomfortable about the whole idea? Of course I do. Although, I do believe parents should not be able to change the sexual structure of their kid. In the Reimer case, he was unhappy being a girl. He was alienated and depressed. Finally when his parents told him he was a boy he was relieved, but it was already too late. The psychological effects had already taken effect. One day, he shot himself in a parking lot. The stress and confusion as a child must have been too much for him which is why I do not believe parents should have that kind of responsibility.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent, I would be fearful if my child was gender confused. I would never make that decision for my kid. I cannot determine what sex my kid should be or what he should wear. I could let him make the decision to cross dress or get a sex change, but I feel that for the rest of his life he will be looked at differently and be mocked for who he is. I would never want my kid to go through their entire life being made fun of because of their sexual structure. I realize that trying to change them is cruel, but I rather them like themselves for who they are. In the long run, it will save them from being hurt because they could end up like Reimer.
In conclusion, it is the kid’s decision on who they want to be. I do believe they should wait until they are older because it may just be a phase they are going through. I personally would not allow my kid to change who they are because they should be happy for who they are and what they have.
I think that as individuals, no one is going to agree that any person should decide another's fate. Obviously, as a parent, the goal is to protect your child-- from bullying, misfortune, or any sadness in general. But, even leaving behind any ethical debate, changing a child's gender at youth is wrong. On pg. 558 where the excerpt talks about Dr. Richard Green's study, it says that "Three-fourths of the forty-four boys [that Green followed] turned out to be gay..." and "Only one became a transsexual."
ReplyDeleteI consider this a leading argument in this debate because most parents want to see their child happy. And if a transgender child is really just gay, surgery may end up postponing current stress for the child's future. To be honest, I am not sure what else to say on the subject without just stating my opinion because the only background knowledge I have on this topic is from an Oprah episode that aired many years ago. But I think that people should just let their kid grow up and decide for their own. I know that I have radically changed as a person over only a few years. So, I can only imagine the change that could occur from childhood to age sixteen or so. Yes, this is a hard position to put a parent in because they want to end their child's suffering, but how can a parent act on solution if they haven't identified the real problem? Overall, I think more research should be done on the subject so that parents and transgenders can have more information about their situation, and, hopefully, they can then make the best decisions based on action, emotion, AND fact.
This is a hard question to answer because as we all know children do not have the best judgement, but leaving this decision to be made when a child is mature enough could take a very long time. The problem with that is that we also know children are very vulnerable and waiting could possibly lead to psychological trauma from growing up in turmoil and confusion along with probable bullying. Personally though I do believe the parents should wait for the child to decide. Something life altering needs to be thought over and decided upon by the person whose life is being altered. Also, as has been seen, there are cases where therapy and growing up change the child's behavior and surgery is no longer necessary.
ReplyDeleteThe Reimer case is incredibly unethical in numerous ways. Parents should not decide what their offspring should or shouldn't be. David Reimer's parents and David himself were faced with a difficult challenge when he was born. By deciding to experiment on him and castrate him completely in his infancy, they made their son's life much more challenging both psychologically and physically. They kept painful secrets from him. All parents undergo the difficulty of deciding how to keep their children safe. The Reimers had a very controversial task, but withholding information about David's identity, letting him become an experiment was much worse. David was born into difficulty, there will always be difficulty in childrens lives-it's part of being human and learning to grow as a person. Concerning gender, parents should not be able to decide who or what their child is going to be. They are the parents so they are entitled to raise their kids into the types of people they WANT their offspring to become, but how much their children take from their upbringing depends on the child. There should always be free will, but free will is not something you come out of the womb with. It happens as you learn.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'd like to begin by saying that I do not believe in telling people what they can and cannot do as individuals. With that being said the answer to today's blog is yes I believe that parents should be able to choose the gender of their child, however, I would personally advise against it. The risk that come along with making that kind of decision are life threatening to the woman and the child, which is why I would strongly hope that no parent would try to do something like this. Nonetheless, I consider this situation to be a matter of choice; you can either chose to gamble and mess with the natural way of life or you can allow life to come naturally. The same goes for the topic of abortion, which is what I relate this topic to; making decisions is everybody's human right and taking that away would be unjust. It is not anyone's place to make any decisions for someone else based off of their own moral values; such statements are written in our constitution. Despite how we feel as people, individuals, we must keep this in mind.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Reimer's case is an act of severe misjudgment and is unethical as well as inhumane. As a little boy, Reimer did not fully understand what was happening to him, and thus had no say in the procedure that was done. What's more, Money seemed to not consider the ethical implications of the experiment at all, instead focusing solely on furthering his research. As a result, a boy's life was plagued by confusion and virtually ruined. In contrast, Brandon's case is quite different. In his situation, Brandon was quite clear in the sexual orientation he desired, that of a female. His mother Tina involved herself in hopes of understanding his situation better. In this case, the parents had full right to intervene because they had proper knowledge of what Brandon preferred. Brandon himself was also at an age where he could voice his own opinions and concerns.
ReplyDeleteAs many have said in their comments already, making life decisions should always take into account the point of view of who's life it is. That is not to say that all other opinions should be ignored. Parents' jobs are to do what is best for their children, and thus their advice and wisdom is of high esteem. However, they cannot control their children's lives completely. Balance is important, and it is in achieving that balance that the dilemma partially lies.
Parents should not be even thinking about their children's sexual orientation at a young age. Kids are going to act like kids at a young age, just because they act a bit masculine or feminine doesn't mean they are going to turn out gay or lesbian. Once they get older they would know if they are gay or not. I personally don't know any gay or lesbian person well enough to understand when or how a someone decides to be gay/lesbian. But I am pretty sure they are not going to stop liking the same sex just because their parents disapproves.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think sex changes should be illegal till the person is 18 years old. I mean why is there an age limit on tattoos and piercings? Obviously because the child isn't old enough to make those kinds of decisions yet. If anything, a sex-change is a huge decision that should be chosen at a responsible age. As it was stated in the excerpt, "The parents aren't the patients, the children are." So if the person still finds him/her-self still wanting to be of the opposite sex, then it was at their discretion, not their parents. Confusing sexual orientation and preference of gender are two completely different things. A feminine boy doesn't always have the desire to be a woman. So if the parents choose for their child at such a young age, then it's pretty much forcing transgender life on them. This just doesn't seem ethical.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very touchy subject that has a complicated answer. To answer the question, yes I believe that it is ok for parents to change the sexual structure of their child based on their behavior as a youth; would I ever do it to my future daughter/son—no way.
ReplyDeleteParents should have complete control over their child in the early development. I believe that loving parents always have the best interest of their child in mind and if they decide that their son/daughter should have a sex change operation, that’s their decision to make and no one else’s. This is something that I personally would not do for my child however—regardless of their behavior. Something like a sex change operation is permanent and can never be reversed. Waiting until my child is old enough to make that decision for his/her self would prevent situations like the Reimer’s from occurring. I would never want to allow for the “possibility” of a forced life in a body my child does not want. The down side of this decision is that gender-confused individuals have a hard time going through school because of the constant bulling and reticule from other students. I still believe this is a better alternative than changing the gender of your child who might resent you for it later. After all, parents ARE capable of misinterpreting their child’s behavior.
In my opinion i believe parents should do nothing to alter their children's behaviors. Every person man or women is unique and their soul has no face nor body to show a depiction of who that person is really like. I have heard many stories how some people are born in to the wrong body, they look like a boy but really their soul is of women who is incarcerated in the wrong body. My point being is that parents shouldn't do nothing if not asked for it. if the boy wants to dance over football, let him dance. Who knows maybe he become a famous dancer because he is really passionate about it, you have a less chance of having a great football play since he never really enjoyed playing the sport. You guys get me? You can be changing things that have no reason to change, like in "A Boys Life" the mother of Jazz said "he didn't ask to be born this way" in similarly to us we weren't born to our desires, we were just created uniquely.
ReplyDeleteI feel it very disappointing how society became. Imagine if we lived in a world where normal was not accepted and different was accepted. I think it would have been a close to a perfect world, without social hegemony society would be mixed up not separated from each other. Transgendered children should be normal as the sky is blue. As parents we should only really just guide our children to the right path to success not criticize and change anything from them, but back them up with anything and i mean anything.
The concept of gender identity is very complex, and I don’t think it’s as cut in stone as people believe it to be. How can you distinguish as a child the difference between feminine qualities and full blown transgenderism? The thought about asking a child to decide the rest of their life in one moment before puberty seems insane. How often have you changed your mind about what you wanted to be when you grow up? Even in the last year, I feel like I myself have changed my mind at least three times. Gender identity is even more complex because it is much harder to reverse. Why are people putting so much pressure on children? They should be free to express themselves. The human mind is constantly developing and people’s views constantly change with them. People should be free to express their own sexuality and identity. I think it’s almost cruel that gender identity concerns can still be concerned a psychological disorder. How can these people help who they are? Is this any different than when people originally thought that they could just give homosexuals therapy and “cure” them of this disease? Healthy expression of the gender of your own choosing is the healthiest thing you can do. Obviously, when David Reimer did not have the opportunity to choose his own identity, he was extremely unhappy and it led to his ultimate demise. Given the opportunity to choose, people have their own happiness in their hands.
ReplyDeleteOn another tangent, it seems ridiculous that it has taken so much time for the Transgender community to be recognized for what it is. After all, LGBT includes transgender as a group who should be protected just the same as themselves. However, even as more and more people become familiar and comfortable with the “gay community,” they cannot wrap their heads around those who are transgender. Even further, many people are having trouble accepting the Q (genderqueer) and A (asexual) that are now added (LGBTQA). I think that sadly enough, it will be some time before these people are as generally as accepted as the gay community (tentatively speaking of course).
Ultimately, I think parents should let nature take its course. The high suicide and depression rates in the gay/lesbian/transgender community probably stem from trying to conform to the beliefs and expectations placed upon them during their youth. Childhood is a phase of experimentation and self-discovery, no matter what gender or sexual orientation we identify with. I felt a lot of empathy for the parents as well after this reading, as I would be quite confused on how to raise a gender-confused child myself. On one hand they want to encourage self-expression, on the other they're only trying to protect their child from any backlash they might receive from society. At the end of the day, a parent’s only job is to provide a loving and supportive environment for their child.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that parents should be able to choose the sexual structure of their children. I also think that children shouldn't be given the option to alter their sexual structure either. I don't believe that people should feel like they have to alter their bodies in order to fit into society. Society should change to fit its people. If people felt comfortable with who they are and weren't made uncomfortable by society's pressure of fulfilling specific gender roles, then there would be no need for any surgeries or hormone blockers. No one would be judged for who they are and everyone would be happy. But, I guess what I just described would be the perfect world so that wasn't a very logical answer.. I strongly agree that people should be able to choose what makes them happy but at the same time I equally believe that bodily alteration to achieve personal acceptance/ acceptance from society is not the way to go. It is extremely tough for me to say what is right in this situation. When it comes down to it though, I suppose I would have to go with do what makes you happy. The idea of changing yourself physically/sexually in order to be remotely happy with yourself will never sit well with me but who am I to say what the right thing is to do? But on that note, it Should be the child's decision if one were ever to make that decision.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I just watched a male to female sex change operation on youtube because I was interested in how they accomplished it.. now I'm not usually squeamish, but I almost died watching it. It probably ranks as one of the top 5 worst decisions I've ever made in my life and I curse the internet for it. Some things can't be unseen. I wouldn't wish this operation on my worst enemies and the fact that people think they need it in order to be happy is sad and makes me feel as if we've failed as a society in accepting people for who they are.
In my opinion I do not think parents should have the right to change their children’s sexual structure at such a young age as the parents did in the David Reimer case. If the circumstances are not life threatening then it is not necessary for parents to make a decision that will change their child’s future, which in their mind could be positive or negative. But i do believe that if a child has had the characteristics of the opposite gender they were born with and at a reasonable age that the child understands what is going on they should have the right to consider changing their gender without pressure from their parents. Gender change may seem overwhelming, scary and confusing to parents, but in the long run it will benefit their children in a positive way if done sooner, because then they can live the life they want sooner rather than later in life. Which is why parents should let their children make their own decisions instead of making them go to therapy and convincing them that they are born who they are supposed to be. When a child says they want a gender change, they should bring them to a doctor so they understand the effects, not wanting to change their mind, because if they have considered such a dramatic change, then they have clearly been thinking about it and have had these feelings for a good amount of time. The child should be the one to decide any changes made to their body and future, it should never be a parents decision or something brought up to question the children about.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a partent should make such a life changing decision for a child. As it said in the reading, how is a ten or fourteen year old suppost to realize how not being able to have kids will affect them. You can't base such a permanent decision on a child happiness. I think that puberty blocking drugs is a great option for children struggling with their gender identity. It gives them more time to mature and truly decide what will make them the most happy. Even once the child becomes an adult and still decides to go through with a gender change the puberty blocking drugs will still have helped save the child from mor surgeries. For example Matt a trans-man on page 556, can go shirtless with out having had any chest surgery. I loved what the mother from Seattle did. She sat down with her daughter and mapped out what her life would be like if she wanted to become a boy. She then called all the parents at her school explaining the situation. I feel that supporting the child one fo the most important part. In the reading it says that being a transgender will bring the child attention no matter what and its important for them to have someone to turne to. I was horrified reading about the story of the twins where the parents just decided to raise one of them as a girl. It lead to the child growing up with frustration, confusion, and ended with suicide. I think the parents should support the child but shouldn't have any surgeries until he/she is and adult and can make that decision completely on their own.
ReplyDeleteI quite honestly cannot even begin to understand how a parent would think he/she has such control over their child as to make a decision in which they would change the sex of their child. I know parents just simply want to do what’s best for their child, but these types of decisions should never be left up to another individual. Such a life altering decision should only be left up to the individual and only once they're of the proper age to understand the pros and cons of the situation. Really, we just need to let the kids be kids. Everyone is unique in their own way and it's actually quite sad that anyone should have to feel the need to conform to societies views. I wish everyone could be happy and content with who they are (or who their kids are) both on the inside and out, and without any social pressures to change. However I’ll probably be dreaming this to my grave because we all know this is far from a perfect world and to tackle such a problem of this magnitude would be impossible.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why the parent wants to take control of the child sexual gender, but in a way i think its all up to the child. Parents should not force their children to do the things they don't want to. I also understand that back then parents had a bigger impact in a child's choice. But in the 21st century things have changed and for the best. Choosing your sexual preference is a difficult thing to do but it should also come with in. As a parent they should support in any decision but not take action on it. They should have an open mind to any decision that the child chooses. In the reading is said something about drugs and i found that very interesting. It was beneficial for someone at a difficult age who does know who they want to be. Thats was something that really caught my attention.
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