Two More Pieces of the Puzzle

Finally, someone's doing some research on FtoMs.

White matter microstructure in female to male transsexuals before cross-sex hormonal treatment. A diffusion tensor imaging study. - Rametti et al, J Psychiatr Res. 2010 Jun 8.

Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Some gray and white matter regions of the brain are sexually dimorphic. The best MRI technique for identifying subtle differences in white matter is diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether white matter patterns in female to male (FtM) transsexuals before commencing cross-sex hormone treatment are more similar to that of their biological sex or to that of their gender identity.
METHOD: DTI was performed in 18 FtM transsexuals and 24 male and 19 female heterosexual controls scanned with a 3 T Trio Tim Magneton. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was performed on white matter fibers of the whole brain, which was spatially analyzed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics.
RESULTS: In controls, males have significantly higher FA values than females in the medial and posterior parts of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the forceps minor, and the corticospinal tract. Compared to control females, FtM showed higher FA values in posterior part of the right SLF, the forceps minor and corticospinal tract. Compared to control males, FtM showed only lower FA values in the corticospinal tract.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the white matter microstructure pattern in untreated FtM transsexuals is closer to the pattern of subjects who share their gender identity (males) than those who share their biological sex (females). Our results provide evidence for an inherent difference in the brain structure of FtM transsexuals.

n=18 is still too small a sample size to be entirely certain - if the experiment is considered in isolation. But now we have dozens of experiments on humans, hundreds on animals, an aggregate human test sample size in the thousands, and all showing the same pattern.

Regional cerebral blood flow changes in female to male gender identity disorder. - Tanaka et al, Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010 Apr 1;64(2):157-61.

Abstract:
AIMS: Despite a range of research on gender identity disorder (GID), at present there is no scientific consensus on whether the etiology of GID is mental or physical. In particular recent advances in the technology of neuroimaging research have led to an increased understanding of the biological basis of various mental disorders. GID also should be evaluated from this perspective. The aim of the present study was therefore to do the first trial to examine the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in GID.
METHODS: Persons considered biologically male fulfilling the GID criteria are termed male to female (MTF) and, conversely, persons considered biological female are termed female to male (FTM). We compared 11 FTM subjects and nine age- and handedness-matched female control subjects. None of the subjects was regularly taking medication and none had any kind of physical or psychiatric comorbidity. To evaluate rCBF in GID subjects and control subjects, statistical parametric mapping analysis of (99m)Tc-ethyl-cysteinate dimer single-photon emission computed tomography was used.
RESULTS: GID subjects had a significant decrease in rCBF in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and a significant increase in the right insula compared to control subjects.
CONCLUSIONS: The ACC and insula are regions that have been noted as being related to human sexual behavior and consciousness. From these findings, useful insights into the biological basis of GID were suggested.

Again, n=9 does not give me warm fuzzies. Moreover, the controls here were flawed, or rather, incomplete. A comparison was made with women, but not with other men. A better experiment would replicate existing work showing the differences between cis-sexual men and cis-sexual women, and then look at trans-sexual men before and after hormonal treatment. That way we could say something rather more precise than "trans men don't have the neurology of cis women".

But it's a start.

Other experiments have shown that in certain, specific parts of the brain, to do with emotional response, sense of smell and some other areas, that trans women are more similar to cis women than cis men. Yet others have shown that in a very few other parts, the opposite is the case. And yet others have shown that trans women tend to have parts of their neurology that correspond with neither a male nor female stereotype, nor anything between. They're just plain unusual.

So "male brain in an otherwise female body" - or the reverse - is true. True-ish, anyway. It's more complicated than that. But close enough.

And other experiments still have shown that those sexually attracted to men have specific parts of the brain tending towards one pattern, those sexually attracted to women tending towards another pattern. Regardless of whether they're straight women / gay men, or straight men / lesbian women. And regardless of whether they're cis or trans. A different, but nearby, part of the brain is involved there.

From my own perspective, I can make certain predictions of what my own brain must look like - if our theories are correct. Feminine, sometimes extremely so, in some areas. Masculine in a few. Just plain Weird in one or two.

To anyone who knows me, that last part at least would be no surprise.

I'd love to get myself tested. While I think it would be likely that my predictions would be born out, so it's just another chunk of confirmatory evidence, one more humdrum data point - if we're lucky, I'm wrong, and then we'd really learn something new. Unlikely though, from my research it appears I'm boringly vanilla normal. For a woman born looking male, who changed spontaneously..... (chuckle).

While, on the whole, I'd really rather be 100% female neurologically... the facts say otherwise. My wishes are immaterial, facts are, or are not.

But then, many standard factory model women, cis-sexual, have many of the same mildly cross-sexed neural circuits. I'm in good company. We should always treat people on their individual merits, and not sexually profile them. That's prejudice.

Curtsy to M.Italiano for bringing the Tanaka paper to my attention, while I was still looking at the one by Rametti

Missing the Point

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. From the ACL, the Australian Christian Lobby, a comment:

Bob Whidon says:
June 25, 2010 at 6:04 am

It is almost time for work, and yet I have spent so much of the time I normally spend in silent prayer totally engrossed in the stories and comments on this blog.

I must prepare myself for the day, but I must also share this last piece of my mind.

Many more posts have appeared here, and I note with some astonishment that it is suggested that there is a homosexual in the Australian Parliament.

I have noted with satisfaction how these deviants have been recently driven from their positions of power in state government.

He then goes on to say:

In my youth we had another name for these perverts, and although I don’t go in for bashings any more, I am proud to say that I have taught my sons to treat them with the disrespect that they deserve.

Yours in Christ
Bob

Yours in Christ... oh, you poor, poor man.

Matthew 23 (KJV)
23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

*SIGH*

The thing is - I know some genuine Christians. The ones who don't just preach, they live, the principles of Love God; Be Kind. Don't tar them all with the same brush, or you'll be no different from the ACL.

A Thought for those feeling defeated

Some advice to those helping others who feel like giving up:

I'd get them to go look at the stars. To impress upon them that stars died in cataclysms unimaginable to produce every atom of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in their bodies. That fusion furnaces ripped apart atoms, even subatomic particles, so that individual photons could travel hundreds, even millions of light years through the vast darkness of the Cosmos, just so they could see them, here, now, this second. To impress upon them that life, any life, any intelligence, is so rare and precious, and above all so fleeting, that every scintilla is beyond price.

Hormone Therapy for Transition

HORMONE THERAPY IN TRANSSEXUAL PATIENTS - If your Endo is clueless, this will help. That is, if you want to transition.

Misogyny Redux

Or - what happens when a Patriarchal society become Pathological.
HTTAF6 - Human Terrain Team AF-6's report on Pushtun Sexuality in Afghanistan.

The Human Terrain Team AF-6, assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion and co-located with British forces in Lashkar Gah, has been requested by these forces to provide insight on Pashtun cultural traditions regarding male sexuality for reasons of enhanced baseline cultural understanding for improved interaction as well as any IO applicability.
...
Key Observations

• A culturally-contrived homosexuality (significantly not termed as such by its practitioners) appears to affect a far greater population base then some researchers would argue is attributable to natural inclination.
• Some of its root causes lie in the severe segregation of women, the prohibitive cost of marriage within Pashtun tribal codes, and the depressed economic situation into which young Pashtun men are placed.
• Other root causes include a long-standing cultural tradition in which boys are appreciated for physical beauty and apprenticed to older men for their sexual initiation.[2] The fallout of this pattern of behavior over generations has a profound impact on Pashtun society and culture.
• Homosexuality is strictly prohibited in Islam, but cultural interpretations of Islamic teaching prevalent in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan tacitly condone it in comparison to heterosexual relationships in several contexts.
• Pashtun men are freer with companionship, affection, emotional and artistic expression, and the trust bred of familiarity with other men. They often lack the experience of these aspects of life with women.
• This usurping of the female role may contribute to the alienation of women over generations, and their eventual relegation to extreme segregation and abuse.

It seems the cycle begins in isolation from the experience of women's companionship and the replacement of such companionship with men. Significantly, in the case of Taliban madrasas, many boys spend their formative years without even the influence of motherhood in their lives.[25] Women are foreign, and categorized by religious teachers as, at best, unclean or undesirable.[26] It is then probable that the male companionship that a boy has known takes a sinister turn, in the form of the expression of pedophilia from the men that surround him. Such abuse would most likely result in a sense of outrage or anger, but anger that can not possibly be directed at the only source of companionship and emotional support a boy knows, and on which he remains dependent. This anger may very well be then directed at the foreign object—women—resulting in the misogyny typical of Pashtun Islamism. Men and boys therefore remain the object of affection and security for these boys as they grow into men themselves, and the cycle is repeated.

[2] While researchers may argue whether this can rightly be termed abusive when seen through a lens from within the culture, it is not arguable that it involves a great imbalance of power and/or authority to the disadvantage of the boy involved. (For information regarding the sexual exploitation of boys as part of Taliban and private militia indoctrination of pre-teen fighters, see the New York Times article by Craig Smith regarding “Warlords and Pedophilia” and the Reuters article “Afghan Boy Dancers Sexually Abused by Former Warlords”—both referenced in “Further Reading.”)

[25] This is often due to orphanhood or family separation because of refugee circumstances.

[26] At worst, women are categorized by such leaders as associated with evil—not unlike many Christian teachings over the years, emphasizing Eve's role in man's downfall.

While attempting to be objective, this can be very difficult for some of the women in the field. Not because of the way they are treated, but because of the way they see the children being perverted.

The noise of the children caught the attention of our American interpreter, who returned and scolded them for their behavior. He attempted to shame them by asking “is this the way you would behave at home?” The oldest boy proudly answered that it was, indicating that his mother and sisters were treated with the same violence and disdain. While the encounter with the father hurt my wrist, the encounter with his sons broke my heart -- From HTT Personal Field Notes dated 15 May 2009.

You see - it's not Gay Sex that's forbidden - that's allowed, as long as it's the rape of children. It's Gay Love that is anathema.

Commander Suzdal, you're needed.

What's in a Name?

When it comes to naval vessels - quite a lot.

Conventionally, a cruiser is the largest of warships built in quantity - other than aircraft carriers. Next in size is the destroyer, and smaller still, the frigate.

In WW II, a heavy cruiser might be 12,000 tons, a light cruiser 6,000, a destroyer 3,000, and a frigate 1,500. The cruiser was the smallest ship capable of independent operations, "cruising" the seas, rather than invariably operating as part of a larger squadron.

In the post-war world, the US Navy required some escort ships the size of cruisers. But what to call them? Cruisers - after their size - or destroyers - after their role.

But budgets were tight, and it was easier to get these cruiser-sized ships approved if they called them "Frigates". Their designation as DLG - Guided Missile equipped Destroyer Leaders (Large Destroyers) hinted at the contradiction though.

Here's a picture of the "Frigate" DLG-23, the USS Halsey



In 1975, it was more politically convenient to call them what they were, so DLG-23 became CG-23, a guided missile cruiser.

In the UK, there was a similar problem. Money could be found for destroyers - but not cruisers. So they built destroyers. Large destroyers. 10,000 ton destroyers, the County class.

Here's the "Destroyer" D19, HMS Glamorgan



What worked once worked again. A cash-strapped treasury would never finance an aircraft carrier. But a "through-deck cruiser" (whatever that was), yes, they could do that.

Of course, they used the same "R" designation for UK Aircraft Carriers, rather than the "C" for cruisers... but the bean-counters didn't notice that.

Here's the "cruiser" R07 Ark Royal



The Montrieux Convention dictates that major warships - aircraft carriers and battleships - aren't allowed to traverse the Bosphorus without prior notification to Turkey.

So... here's a tyazholyy avianesushchiy kreyser (TAKR or TAVKR) - “heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser” of the Russian Navy. A Cruiser, not a Carrier.



I think though that the Japanese have taken things to the furthest step yet. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force is violently allergic to "Aircraft Carriers". Too many associations with P.... H.... on December 7th.

They're not real keen on Cruisers for that matter, as they're for projecting power, something that is too reminiscent of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and the unfortunate occurrences between 1935 and 1945. Events not necessarily to Japan's advantage.

So behold - their new 24,000 ton "Helicopter Carrying Destroyer". Definitely not a carrier, oh no.




For reference:

The Carrier Garibaldi



The Cruiser USS Ticonderoga



The Destroyer HMS Edinburgh



The Frigate Bremen



So when it comes to ship type designations... if it swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, has plumage like a duck - it's probably a duck. But in the UK, it's a sparrow, and in Japan, a hummingbird. Officially. A Watergoing hummingbird. A Large Watergoing Hummingbird.

Chimps, Too, Wage War and Annex Rival Territory

From the New York Times.

Most days the male chimps behave a lot like frat boys, making a lot of noise or beating each other up. But once every 10 to 14 days, they do something more adult and cooperative: they wage war.

A band of males, up to 20 or so, will assemble in single file and move to the edge of their territory. They fall into unusual silence as they penetrate deep into the area controlled by the neighboring group. They tensely scan the treetops and startle at every noise. “It’s quite clear that they are looking for individuals of the other community,” Dr. Mitani says.

When the enemy is encountered, the patrol’s reaction depends on its assessment of the opposing force. If they seem to be outnumbered, members of the patrol will break file and bolt back to home territory. But if a single chimp has wandered into their path, they will attack. Enemy males will be held down, then bitten and battered to death. Females are usually let go, but their babies will be eaten.

There's nothing in this article that didn't happen fifty years ago - and doesn't still happen to some extent - in the New Guinea Highlands - though the kids are usually just slain, not eaten, and the women raped.

We share 98% of our DNA - but then, we share 50% with flatworms. So that 2% is a rather greater difference than it appears.

Nonetheless.. these are people. Not human. Subhuman. But people nonetheless, an intelligent species. And uncomfortably like us. When civilised, quite good people. But when in a situation of barbarity, ruthless, savage and cruel. And I'm not saying that those members of H.Sapiens in New Guinea are subhuman; I'm saying that Chimps, if removed from a non-technological setting, would be people too.

To see how we - both the New Guinea Highlanders and myself - are similar in many ways to Pan Troglodites, just watch this video, from 48 years ago. Note the use of technology, the watchtowers. These people are as bright as I am, possibly more so.



Things are changing though. Technology is affecting the situation, and a situation that has lasted for tens of thousands of years is now untenable. Weapons exist now that make the old methods of warfare obsolete. Weapons too terrible to use.



I think it's only a matter of time before our cousins get taught to use AK-47s. They're ignorant - but intelligent enough. And then that will be the end of them, as they may be stronger in hand-to-hand combat, but we're better at using technology. And just as ruthless in the face of a threat.

Brains, Food, Smell, and Sex

James V. Kohl: The Mind's Eyes: Human Pheromones, Neuroscience, and Male Sexual Preferences

The across-species genetic conservation of intercellular and extracellular chemical communication enables unicellular and multicellular organisms to functionally distinguish between self and non-self. Non-self olfactory/pheromonal input from the social environment elicits a vertebrate neuroendocrine response. The organization and activation of this neuroendocrine response modulates the concurrent maturation of the mammalian neuroendocrine system, the reproductive system, and the central nervous system during the development of sexual preferences that may be expressed in sexual behavior. Psychophysiological mechanisms for the development of these sexual preferences include focus on unconscious affects that are detailed in reciprocal cause and effect relationships. Olfactory/pheromonal conditioning elicits neuroendocrine effects accompanied by unconscious affects on the development of sexual preferences. Integrating these unconscious affects extends to humans a developmental model of behavior that includes the development of male sexual preferences for other males

How much of sexual orientation - and crystallisation of gender identity - is tied up with, of all things, our sense of smell? How does our olefactory environment affect the plastic regions of the brain?

OK, there's some things about this very dense and difficult to read paper that make it less useful than it could be. It's all about sex. It's all about males. It's all about gay males. The female of the species is not considered, neither are issues of sex identity. There's also this:

Rarely do sex researchers address the ongoing philosophical debate between canonical neo-Darwinism and Biblical creation. Perhaps this is because any debate between scientific theory and religion arises from distinctly different domains of cognitive thought. Does the acceptance of Darwin’s theory represent the glorification of Science pitted against religion, or is it a means by which Science and religion might be integrated? Integration of Science and religion might be achieved by recognizing that the key components of this olfactory/pheromonal model appear to be as irreducibly complex as the basic tenets of evolution and the basic tenets of religion.

Um. If you say so.

Never mind, worth adding to the references, because sense of smell is something intimately connected to the parts of the lymbic nucleus that deal with sex identity (yes, gender identity is the usual term, mine's more accurate though). And we know it's affected by hormone levels, and transsexuals show cross-sexed neuroanatomy here. So a part of the puzzle.

See also Will gender exist 100 years from now, or does it already not exist?

Money Quote

From Declaring With Clarity, When Gender Is Ambiguous - New York Times:

Q. Because of all this new research, is the accepted standard of care of intersex children changing?

A. There's no one standard now. Five years ago, a genetic male child born without a penis or a severely inadequate one almost universally would have been assigned female at birth. Today, about two-thirds of the pediatric urologists say they wouldn't go that route, which means that one-third still might. That says that we're not sure of the right way, yet.

*SIGH* And someone has to pick up the pieces. We're making progress, but 2/3 is not 3/3, and lives continue to blighted just so others can feel comfortable.

Here's the key:

Q. What conclusions do you draw from your study?

A. That sexual identity is individual, unique and intuitive and that the only person who really knows what it is is the person themselves. If we as physicians or scientists want to know about a person's sexual identity, we have to ask them.

Exactly.

One of the Great Moody Blues Classics

I'm just a wandering on the face of this earth
Meeting so many people
Who are trying to be free
And while I'm traveling I hear so many words

Language barriers broken
Now we've found the key
And if you want the wind of change
To blow about you
And you're the only other person to know, don't tell me
I'm just a singer in a rock and roll band.

He may be - but I'm a Blogger, and I want to know.

A Little Experiment

From Transgender Need Not Apply: A Report on Gender Identity Job Discrimination

We sent out carefully matched pairs of job applicants, one transgender and one not, to apply for the same jobs. Each pair was equivalent in age and ethnicity and equipped with fictionalized resumes that were evenly matched. Both testing pairs underwent extensive training on how to adopt similar interview styles and how to document their job-seeking interactions objectively. Transgender testers were instructed to explicitly inform store managers and interviewers of their transgender status whenever feasible.

Our research revealed an astonishingly high degree of employment discrimination against our transgender job applicants.

• We found a 42% net rate of discrimination against transgender job seekers. In eleven out of the 24 employers tested, the transgender job applicant received no offer, but
  the control group tester did. Only in one instance did a transgender tester receive a job offer in our first round.

In 2009, we also conducted 82 surveys with transgender and gender non-conforming individuals about their experiences in the job market, not limited to the retail sector. These surveys corroborated the pattern of discrimination documented by the matched pair testing.

• Of the 82 workers surveyed, 59% percent of transgender workers reported experiencing job discrimination.
• 49% had never been offered a job living openly as a transgender person.

Although New York City Human Rights Law explicitly prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity, discriminatory practices are still widespread.

No comment necessary - other than in places without legal protections, the situation is worse. That's all but 12 states in the USA. The effort to pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act is in the hope that the situation elsewhere will be so only 50% never, ever receive a job offer, rather than more than that.

And people wonder why so many hide their unusual medical history...

He Shoots... He Scores!

Object of the game: to chase the ball into the goal - or if it won't co-operate, have it as a snack. The Orca equivalent of Basketball. Or possibly the reputed original form of Buzkashi, which used a live animal to make it harder.

Three cheers for the ball - and another for the sportsmanship shown by the players.

Orcas are about as intelligent as the brighter dogs - but their intellect is alien. Not so alien that humans can't understand their games though. If we meet another technological species, they are likely to be even more strange. But we may have things in common, nonetheless.

Classes of Human

Here's one metric, in use by at least one Catholic Homeless Youth Shelter.

First Class : Straight, cis-sexual. Gets to sleep in a bed, and can be open about their sexuality.

Second Class : Gay, cis-sexual. Gets to sleep in a bed, but must be closeted.

Third Class : Trans-sexual. Must sleep on the floor. Not permitted to use the usual shower facilities.

Fourth Class : Intersexed. Expelled. There's no room at the Inn.

I was told when I arrived that I could only be there if I stayed with the girls, because I was legally female. I agreed because I had no other option, it was there or the street.

They roomed me with a female who said she felt uncomfortable being in the same room as me... the shelter's response was to pull me out of the room and insist that I sleep on the floor of the girls wing in front of the night staff.

I was constantly harassed by others in the shelter as well as the staff themselves. I was discovered to be physically intersexed by another shelter recipient who walked into the individual shower section I was in with the intent to start a fight.

When I was later told that even though I agreed to be there as a female that I could not use the female restrooms or showers, I was instructed to use a single person bathroom and shower on the first floor of the building. I was happy about that because I was obviously not comfortable using the multi-person restrooms and showers anyway.

When the girl who discovered I was intersexed told the staff, they made me get a "physical" at the little medical place attached next door. When it was confirmed I was indeed intersexed, I was told I had to leave the shelter because they had no place for me.

I was kicked out 2 days before my 16th birthday.

They've lost their way.

A Girl Speaks Out - And is Listened To

The Australian Family Court has one of the more enlightened and humane attitudes towards the issues of Intersex and Transsexuality in the world. It's not perfect - but it's vastly better than most places.

This is exemplified by the AFC actually listening to a child with 5ARD syndrome, and asking them what they want.

It hurts sometimes, knowing I have this condition. Sometimes I blame myself, because I feel like I am not normal. Sometimes I get angry, even though I know why and how it happened. I get a bit frustrated, because my mum always blames herself, but I keep telling her it’s not her fault. It’s just something that happened. The doctors have told me that if the gonads would remove, it would completely stop any further male development.
This is what I want.
...
When I was told what the lumps were, and that they were gonads, the first thing I thought of was that they could get rid of them. I want the gonads removed now, rather than wait until I am 18, as I want to start living my life now. I feel that once the gonads are removed, then I can get on with my life and accept my condition. I want to put the issue of the removal of the gonads behind me, and I can only do this if the gonads are removed.
…
I know that after the gonads are removed, I might have to have more surgery for my vagina. Dr [X] has told me that he does not want to go to more surgery, because it might wreck sensation. He said that I would only have surgery if all else fails. If I needed surgery to look more like a normal female, I would want to have it. I know I can never have babies, but I want to be as much like a normal woman as possible. I don’t know how I would feel if I could not have the gonads removed now. I do not want to think about them not being removed. I suppose I would just wait until I was 18, and then I would have them removed as soon as I could.

Sally's testimony, in RE: SALLY (SPECIAL MEDICAL PROCEDURE) [2010] FamCA 237

5ARD and 17BHDD syndromes often result in an apparent natural sex change. Well, the body changes, the brain does not. Gender Identity is unaffected. So the condition may cure Transsexuality when the patient has a male gender identity, or induce it when they have a female gender identity, as here.

And for some, they go with the flow, as I wrote about in my post, BiGender and The Brain. The degree of masculinisation also varies, from extreme to miniscule. Intervention without consent can be a disaster, as may lack of intervention when it's desired.

This is what it means though, in human, personal terms in one common case. A girl who, because of a relatively minor genetic whoopsie, was condemned to have her body masculinise. That is NOT a good situation to be in, to put it mildly. I know, from personal experience, but as I was a Tomboy with probably a less feminised brain than she has, it likely wasn't as bad for me. There are degrees, biology is fuzzy and messy.

1. Sally was born into a loving family in 1995. She had no health difficulties at birth and, to all intents and purposes, appeared to be a happy and healthy baby girl.

2. That remained the case until she was about 11. At that time, her mother deposes

… she told me that she’d found two lumps; one in the right side of her abdomen, and the other in her left labia. She asked me if they were “nuts” meaning testes. I immediately said no, but due to [Sally’s] concerns, I arranged for her to see our local GP. The GP examined [Sally], and said that the lumps were a normal part of the puberty process. I thought nothing of it after that.

3. Sally’s mother goes on to depose,

When she was in grade 7, she asked me why she had not started her periods, as most of her friends at school had started to get periods. I told her that girls start to have periods [at] different times, and not to be too concerned about it. [Sally’s] breast development appeared to be normal.
[Sally] had also raised the concerns regarding a deepening of her voice.
The deepening of [Sally’s] voice had happened gradually. I had never really given it any thought; as far as I was concerned, it was [Sally].

4. In early 2009, behavioural issues manifested themselves at school. Ultimately, Sally consulted a paediatrician. Initial tests revealed that Sally had XY genotype, did not have a uterus, and had gonads present in her pelvis. That initial investigation led to further specialist medical consultations, to which further reference will shortly be made.

5. Ultimately, specialist medical and psychiatric opinion aligns in recommending a surgical procedure which 141/2 year old Sally also seeks, and in which she is supported by each of her parents. That procedure is the performance of invasive and irreversible surgery; a gonadectomy, which would see removal of her gonads, and, thus, all vestiges of her, as it were, “maleness.”

6. Orders are applied for by the Hospital who would have responsibility for those doctors who would perform the mooted operation. That hospital applies for orders, relevantly, that the proposed surgery, involving the bilateral removal of her gonads, be authorised by her parents and that this authorisation operate as all such authority as is needed at law, by which to perform that operation.

The Order was approved. So what does it take to avoid putting a teenage girl through such a nightmare?

• Loving Parents.
• A Humane Legal System.
• An Absence of Superstition, and a Knowledge of Biology.

Just little things really. I can't do anything about the first - but the rest, maybe I can. And who knows, maybe a parent with a child with 5ARD or 17BHDD will read this, and see what a loving parent should do under these circumstances. Ask their child what they want. That's all.

Thesis Proven

I remarked in a previous post about the attitude of Catholicism towards the Intersexed. And the hitherto relatively rational and humane Catholic Answers Forum - http://forums.catholic.com/

My Thesis was that the Catholic Church is now starting to actively persecute the Intersexed. The reasoning behind it appears to be as follows:

There are many, many gay priests. Most are celibate, but celibate or not, there are many who are attracted to the same sex. Now, in order not to feel unbearably guilty about that, and as they're sexually frustrated, they can't help but think about it a lot, it's important that they be given some form of excuse. That there's nothing wrong per se with same-sex attraction, it's only same-sex behaviour that's wrong.

But how to casuistically find or manufacture a reason why it's not the attraction that's wrong, just the behaviour? That it is, in the words of the magisterium, "intrinsically disordered"? Tricky, that. But it's vital to do so, lest a large proportion of the priesthood - possibly even a majority - feel tortured by feelings they can't control. They can control their actions (well, most can) but not their attractions.

What's needed is something plausible - and of course Natural Law, which you can state without proof supports whatever claim you care to make, as long as it's not completely and obviously ridiculous.

Hence the notion that there is an indivisible and immutable boundary between Male and Female, that Nature supports this, and that to violate or blur this boundary is a threat to all Creation. That this is not an out-dated Metaphysics, but something very real and relevant today. Such a blurring, so contrary to nature, is a Threat to Mankind, and the Human Ecology. And same-sex sexual behaviour (but not attraction) blurs this line, so must be anathematised. There, simple, problem solved. And it all ties in nicely with the Theology of the Body too, a dogma very popular with the more conservative elements of the Church who wish to roll back Vatican II.

Except... there are side-effects. Unintended consequences. Those people who are born with bodies neither stereotypically male not stereotypically female, regardless of sexual behaviour, also blur this line. Blur? Some of us shatter it!

So we are a threat to Creation too. A threat to all Mankind. Because of what we were born as. Constantine the Great, venerated as a saint in the Eastern Rite, put intersexed infants in caskets and threw them into the river as a kind of ecological recycling program, for this very reason.

That means our existence must be denied, or at least suppressed. We're inconvenient facts, that must be kept out of the eye of the Faithful, lest they ask unanswerable questions.

Persecuting Gays is unjust - unless for a really good reason, such as preventing the "intrinsic disorder" of same-sex marriage. But persecuting us is a different matter, that's just by definition. One could even call it a matter of self-defence.

I'd welcome any evidence from anyone in the Catholic Hierarchy - as opposed to statements unsupported by concrete proof, and contrary to the facts - that I'm wrong here.

See what happened on the Forum:

---------------------------
Dear Zoe Brain,

You have received a warning at Catholic Answers Forums.

Reason:
-------
Contempt for Catholicism

Contempt for Catholicism
-------

Original Post:
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=6727529

From the Jakarta Post

The Indonesian Bishops' Council (KWI) has declared the controversial marriage of transgender Alterina Hofan illegal, kompas.com reported on Monday.

KWI secretary Benny Susetyo said the Catholic Church could not accept the marriage and suggested that Alterina should seek medication rather than changing her sex status.
Mr Hofman has 47XXY chromosomes, rather than the usual 46XX ones of females, and 46XY ones of males.

Most people with 47XXY chromosomes look male. Quite a few can father children. A few look female, and some of those have given birth.

Alterina has the rare Klinefelter’s syndrome which gives him an extra X chromosome, making him look more effeminate. After years of operations, he documented himself as a man and even married Jane Hadipoespito.

Benny said the health problem could not justify the change in sex status. “Her DNA and genetics prove she is female, therefore she can be medically cured,” the priest said.

Warnings serve as a reminder to you of the forum's rules, which you are expected to understand and follow.

All the best,
Catholic Answers Forums
--------------------------

That's all. Those words were deemed "contempt of Catholicism". Probably because the moderator, Eric Hilbert, is as biologically clueless as the Indonesian Bishops. Then, there was this:

Your account has been locked for the following reason:
Contempt for Catholicism, refuses moderator direction.

I wonder what "direction" was supposed to have been given though? Never mind.

While suspended - and thus unable to do anything against the site's rules, I finally got this little message.

Your account has been locked for the following reason:
No reason was specified.

This change will be lifted: Never

"Banned" is also now the status of every Intersexed person on the forum, and all those who posted scientific data in support, as expected if I were correct.

Thesis proven, I'd say. In which case, I have no cause for complaint, do I?

They'll get it right in the end, as they did with heliocentricism. They usually do. It might take a while though, and they do tend to end up with egg on their faces.

Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon - 1976

I was 18 at the time.... still trying to convince myself I'd be happy as a guy, but mostly too engrossed in my first year of University. Two hours travel in, well over that to get home. Those lab sessions ending at 6pm were murder, but the 9am chemistry lectures were worse. The buses cost a lot too, and I had $76.92 a month to live on.

In some ways, I think the difficulties of my life kept me from thinking about the Big Problem, so it didn't bother me.

One thing that stuck in my mind though. This particular performance, a Musicgasm that I think will be famed even in centuries to come. I'm lucky to have born witness to it - though only via video.

I so wanted to look like her, you know? But I knew I wouldn't even at age 10. "Elphin" I'm not.

Tae

From a friend's blog:

I was going to write a different post. It was a bit more cheerful. But the cheer has left.

In the process of writing it, I learned that one of my T-Daughters has passed away.

She was beaten and dumped in an alley and left for dead. To many, she was just another Native gal.

She was found and taken to a hospital, and despite some strong efforts, she’s passed away.

May she have the peace she needed.

We met at TIH. She’d come in from the street, skinny and bedraggled and yet there was a spirit in her that I envied. The moment we saw each other we formed a bond that was never broken. She was the first gal to call me mom, my first t-daughter. We helped each other, even as she fought some personal demons that I knew would lead to this, and I did my best, and my best was never good enough.

Let your God’s love embrace you, little Tae. You deserve it.

Rest, child. Rest.

No rest for us though, is there Dyss? Not while this happens. We grieve, we mourn, and then amidst tears of rage and sorrow, renew our vows never to cease, never to surrender, never to let our opponents rest a second while they allow or encourage this to happen.
And to give what help we can, especially to the young ones.

Cause the Bible Tells Me So

Catholicism vs The Intersexed

And I'm very sorry to say that it looks as if it's come to that. On one side, objective facts, observations, rationality. On the other, ignorance, superstition, dogma and inconsistency.

From the Jakarta Post:

Church says Alterina’s marriage illegal
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 06/07/2010 9:46 AM | Jakarta

The Indonesian Bishops' Council (KWI) has declared the controversial marriage of transgender Alterina Hofan illegal, kompas.com reported on Monday.

KWI secretary Benny Susetyo said the Catholic Church could not accept the marriage and suggested that Alterina should seek medication rather than changing her sex status.

“The Catholic Church bans marriage between people of the same sex,” Benny said, adding that the KWI deemed Alterina had defied her nature.

Alterina has the rare Klinefelter’s syndrome which gives him an extra X chromosome, making him look more effeminate. After years of operations, he documented himself as a man and even married Jane Hadipoespito.

Benny said the health problem could not justify the change in sex status. “Her DNA and genetics prove she is female, therefore she can be medically cured,” the priest said.

He suggested that the state should regulate the issue of same-sex marriage as it could create more social problems in the future.

Jane’s parents denounced the marriage, filing a lawsuit against Alterina for fraud because he had previously declared he was a woman on his identity card. Alterina is facing a seven-year imprisonment for the alleged fraud.

The Catholic Church has pronounced him Guilty: because he has an extra X chromosome.

My reply:

I'm starting to get a little tired of the superstitious nonsense - sorry, there's no other phrase that fits - emanating from the Catholic church on the issue of Intersex conditions.

In some places, anyone with 47XXY chromosomes is considered by the Church to be male, regardless of the biological facts. Now in Indonesia, they're considered female, again regardless of the biological facts.

Most people with 47XXY chromosomes look male. Some can father children, though that often takes technical help.

A few, a very few, look female. Some have given birth.

I've seen the most monumental claptrap written by Theologians on the subject, very much the equivalent of arguing that the Earth is flat, that it must be so according to Natural Law.

His Holiness the Pope recently made not one, but two addresses, one to the Curia, another to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps, denouncing Intersexed people as "threats to the human ecology" - Vermin by any other name - and calling proposed laws to grant them basic human rights as an "attack". Because their existence contradicts Church metaphysical dogma.

Recently, the American Catholic Bishops opposed such laws in the US, not on any religious or moral grounds, but because they would violate "privacy" and "freedom of association" - the very same words used to justify segregation, apartheid, and treating people without white skin as sub-human.

I fear the Catholic Church is setting itself up for another embarrassing clash with Science, one even worse than the Galileo affair.

This wouldn't be so bad if it was just some obscure theological and academic debate. But they're supporting the persecution of a group that already has quite enough to deal with from their congenital medical issues.

For His Holiness's words on Intersex issues, and those of the American Catholic Bishops, see this previous post.

I wrote considerably more on the issue on the Catholic Answers Forum Catholic News section. On a thread that has since been ... vaporised.

And on another thread, I've been accused of Heresy for saying that Intersex conditions exist.

First . . . within Catholicism and indeed the entire wealth of Judeo/Christian orthodox teachings over the centuries. . . in acceptance and in accordance with . . . Divine Revelation . . . there is absolutely no such state within God's creation of human kind such as . . . "neither male nor female" . . . such a teaching/understanding is a delusion and is a false teaching . . . which in Christendom is considered as "heresy"

As Heretical a belief as Heliocentricism, in fact.

Eppur Si Muove.

Prevalance of Transsexuality in Australia

A snippet from a story about a young trans woman, from The Australian:

Last year the Australian Passport Office issued 202 passports in which the stated gender was different to an earlier passport or to a birth certificate.

Some of those might be for Intersex conditions, but a reasonable approximation is 200 transsexual transitions per year. Most people - including all FtoMs who have GRS (Genital Reconstruction Surgery) have to go overseas. There would be perhaps 30 GRS procedures performed in Australia per year, the bulk of them by Dr Ceber in Melbourne.

Australia has a population of about 21 million. It has a birth rate of about 1.25%. Although population has grown significantly over the last 50 years, birth rate has declined from around 2% in 1960, so the number of births per year is pretty constant, about 200,000 per year.

The usually quoted figures for transsexuality are 1 in 30,000 for women, and 1 in 100,000 for men.

So we could expect the single trans man per year to get a new passport, and three or four women. Let's be generous, and say 5 in total.

Now, there's probably some backlog there - the previous government had a very trans-unfriendly policy, but even then, it was possible, as long as one had had SRS - Sex Reassignment Surgery, and one was unmarried. So the expected figure might be double that, to be generous, say 10.

The measured figure is 202. Strongly suggesting that the rate of transsexuality in Australia is not 1 in 30,000/100,000, but 1 in 1500/5000. This would be consistent with similar figures measured in Singapore, of 1 in 3000/10000.

There's not just a handful of us: there's thousands, of trans or intersexed people who have transitioned.