Not signed in (Sign In)

WorldWeird: [Sink] Transgender man is pregnant.

Bottom of Page

1 to 20 of 48

  1. <
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. >
    •  
      CommentAuthorMonk.Eastman
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008 edited
     (1552.1)
    Linked from boingboing

    Here's the meat and potatoes:

    To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don’t appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.
    Thomas Beattie is pregnant.
    I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100 federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.
    •  
      CommentAuthormojojoseph
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.2)
    Wow, this is just....this is just fantastic.

    And I learnt something, I was not aware that sterilisation was not a requirement for gender reassignment surgery.
  3.  (1552.3)
    The hideous discrimination this man and is partner faced is something I've seen up close. I dated a MTF transgendered woman who was completely "passable" (a really hideous term I'm only using to make a point) a fact which, when people learned about her transition, led to honest to god outrage. I had people tell me they felt "betrayed" and couldn't deal with her because it "freaked them out". Honestly, every friend I lost or family member who stopped talking to me was no great loss. If the history of someone's genitals really matter more than the person they are before you, then you're surplus.

    All that said, I do wonder about the medical aspects of this pregnancy. Which makes the ugly discrimination he faced from doctors all the more vile. Even with a normalized hormone levels, the years since transitioning have likely had profound effects on his reproductive system. It's fascinating and utterly, totally human.
  4.  (1552.4)
    I am so disappointed when I see things like this. We live in world where science and technology are taking off at an alarming rate, but when it comes to someone's sexuality/sexual orientation...it's like we're back in the stone age.

    I believe in free love, baby.

    /hippie

    As far as doctor descrimination goes, I can't even being to imagine how that couple feels. I have had doctors refuse to treat me, however, because I have body piercings. (Which is completely ridiculous because I hardly have that many.) When I asked them why, most of them just said they "couldn't," but one told me he wouldn't treat me because I put all these "unsanitary holes" in my body and I probably infected myself. Needless to say, I was shocked.
    •  
      CommentAuthormojojoseph
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.5)
    Can't read the article as I'm in work and they block blogging sites, certain news sites, and anything about the body it seems actually. So as such, haven't been able to read more on this other than the basics and the comments.

    I have a few friends who are transgender and they go through an awful lot of trouble with general public, and even people close to them. However, they have all been very lucky with doctors, or at least so they've told me. But I would imagine that in a lot of cases the crap these people would have to go through is immense.

    This particular case, they're desire to have a child and for the male partner to carry it etc etc, I find that truly beautiful, and a wonderfully human story.
  6.  (1552.6)
    i read about this this morning, i think it's wonderful news.

    i do wonder what the hormone levels of a man will be doing to the child though, and to the guy aswell...
    •  
      CommentAuthornoblelion
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.7)
    The article said that he quit taking most of the hormone therapies after becoming pregnant. I can't imagine that such high levels of testosterone would do good things to a developing fetus....

    And whatever happened to the Hippocratic oath? Then again, I'm a social worker, and I've met some fairly bigoted people in the social work profession, which is supposed to be all about cultural tolerance and competence.

    Doesn't excuse how despicable those doctors are for being so hateful... That kind of blatantly ignorant hatred and fear makes me sick to my stomach...
  8.  (1552.8)
    I'm surprised there is no action being taken against the doctors. Not for the couple to sue, but to call into question their professionalism and, as has been pointed out, their faithfulness to the Oath. Thinking about it, maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
    Best of luck to them I say. I still have a shot at being the first pregnant man I reckon.
  9.  (1552.9)
    Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.


    Perfectly said. I wish him and his wife well.
    •  
      CommentAuthorHayama
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.10)
    Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.


    I don't want to have a child, so I guess that means I'm not human.
    •  
      CommentAuthorEgon
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008 edited
     (1552.11)
    @Hayama - It's worse than you thought. Most living organisms desire "children."

    As for the effects of male hormones during pregnancy, anybody who's seen the award winning documentry, Junior, knows what to expect.
  12.  (1552.12)
    St. Bernard:

    The Hippocratic oath is getting chipped away by the right in the US allowing, via ridiculous legislation, pharmacists not to dispense contraception or allowing doctors to opt out of medical procedures if it goes against their "morality", i.e. abortions, family planning.

    My girlfriend's father is a doctor and he doesn't do obstetrics, a preference of insurance from what i understand, but if a patient came to him and needed help with their baby he'd do everything in his power to help, even if that meant getting them to another physician. Moral judgement is the last thing someone needs when they're in a medical situation.
  13.  (1552.13)
    Wooo!
    •  
      CommentAuthorJay Kay
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.14)
    Wow. That's crazy. :O
  15.  (1552.15)
    Now what does it say on the birth certificate? and will the kid call him mommy or daddy?
    •  
      CommentAuthorlizbt
    • CommentTimeMar 25th 2008
     (1552.16)
    and will the kid call him mommy or daddy?


    Seriously? The kid will call him whatever they want to. Daddy or Thomas or whatever they like. Just because you carry a child doesn't automatically make you "Mommy". What about adopted children, surrogates, etc?
  17.  (1552.17)
    @Rootfireember

    Probably Daddy, or Dad, or Pops, or Father, or Pa. He is a male. His reproductive organs and chromosomes not reflecting that is sort of immaterial. He identifies as a male, and has gone through the rigorous process of becoming one.
    • CommentAuthorKosmopolit
    • CommentTimeMar 26th 2008
     (1552.18)
    Of course, the usual bigoted douches will say that this proves he was "really" a woman all along and that "her" God-given maternal instinct took over.
  19.  (1552.19)
    So....C-section then. Yeeowch.
  20.  (1552.20)
    @Brendan

    Maybe not. It's not clear (to me) in this case whether or not he decided to have his genitalia changed. It's entirely possible he still has a functioning vagina.

1 to 20 of 48

  1. <
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. >