Transgendered People are People

Transgender People are People

They deserve respect and life-saving treatment

 

The self-appointed guardians of their unique brand of morality are at it again on this page and in front of the West Bend School Board, not to mention in the legislatures of states controlled by alt-right fanatics. Their targets have moved from people of color who have the temerity of fighting back to the LBGTQI community, especially those struggling with gender identity. 

 

Not having a legitimate set of goals for governance that advance our society and make the world a better place, all these “morality police” have left in the tank is the energy to spread hate and division.

 

Mark Belling’s recent column here takes out after folks who are dealing with real issues in their personal lives around a disconnect between their genitalia and what their brain tells them their body should look like. Gender Dysphoria is not some made up fantasy to enable men to compete in women’s sports or use women’s bathrooms. It is a scientifically recognized medical condition that can be successfully treated, bringing congruence to a debilitating, suicide producing mind-body disconnect. Biblical opposition to non-binary gender fluidity has no place in the discussion. It merely offers imaginary support for one’s own misguided belief system. 

 

Science tells us that humans do not fall neatly into a binary construct that makes us either male or female. Gender takes many forms in addition to the biblical Adam and Eve. Some are born with ambiguous genitalia making it impossible to assign gender at birth. 

 

Genetics does not provide the answer either. According to medical professionals like Dr. Joe McCreight, the usual XX and XY chromosomes for females and males do not always result in the usual outcome. Sometimes an XY (male) baby is born with normal external female genitals. The problem does not usually become apparent until puberty when menstruation does not start. Physical examination then will find a vagina that ends in a blank pouch, no uterus, and undescended testes. 

 

Dr. McCreight and others correctly point to studies that trace these differences to the brain as well. Men and women’s brains are different. Brain development is impacted by sex hormones. Parts of male brains grow larger than female brains as a result. Scans of transgender women’s brains (genetic/anatomic men who identify as women) show they are more like non-transgendered women than men.

 

The disconnect of Gender Dysphoria often begins in childhood and can lead to depression, distress, and suicide if left untreated. Treatment includes a thorough medical and psychological evaluation and psychotherapy. Hormones can be administered to delay puberty until decisions can be made about surgical interventions. These are reversable. Sex change operations are rarely done on children, except to deal with ambiguous genitalia. 

 

These scientific facts are well known, easy to find and can be used to erase the stigma associated with gender fluidity. They seem not to matter to Belling or to those who complain that educating our children about these and other real-world issues should not take place in public schools. 

 

Bill Schultz, who just lost his race to join the West Bend School Board, recently spoke during the public comment section of a Board meeting. He read excerpts from the 57 Bus, a book about a boy wearing a skirt who was attacked on a bus while on his way to school. Schultz demanded that the book be removed from a school reading list because it was propaganda designed to encourage kids to change their gender. His ignorance on the subject is palpable but aligns perfectly with alt-right legislators around the country who are passing legislation to deny trans people the gender affirming treatments that can help save their lives. 

 

The Montana legislature just censured and punished an openly transgendered member of its Assembly who dared to criticize a bill that would prohibit gender affirming care by telling them “blood would be on their hands” if it passed. Close to 500 anti-trans bills have been passed this year according to the American Civil Liberties Union which is actively opposing them in court. 

 

Contrary to Belling, Schultz and their rest of their lot, many non-trans people join with the trans community to defend their right to seek and receive the healthcare they need and deserve and to educate all of us on their reality. Intolerance and discrimination like theirs have no place in the discourse in a civilized society.