Letters to the Editor

Boys Who Are Girls Who Are Boys

Props from Down Under: Congratulations on a thorough article ["Girl/Boy Interrupted," July 11]. I am an attorney in Australia involved in human rights for children with transsexualism. I presently appear in proceedings dealing with these issues. I have no doubt that the treatment pioneered by the Dutch team is therapeutic and necessary to avoid the concerns of children about undergoing lifelong suffering. The London clinic is famous for its stubborn refusal to put the needs of these young people before its own pedantic belief in the effectiveness of its own psychotherapy.

Both Phase 1 (blockers) and Phase 2 (acquisition of secondary sexual characteristics) procedures are available here; but presently only with Family Court approval.

I do not think the DSM-IV disorder diagnosis assists these children, or any adult for that matter. It's worth a story to show how that generalized diagnosis (which replaced the specific "transsexualism" category appearing in the DSM-III) can include even "tomboys" and is alleged to have been introduced so that psychiatrists could continue to treat homosexual children after it became illegal to treat homosexual adults once homosexuality was removed from the DSM as a mental disorder. The same should be done now for all intersexual conditions, including transsexualism. It is clearly nothing more or less than a natural variation in human sexual formation and appears as such in other beings.

Rachael Wallbank
Newcastle, New South Wales
Australia

First, do no harm:As a child who grew up gender-different and not knowing what was wrong, I underwent an enormous amount of suffering until I transitioned in my late 30s. I have been post-transitioned nearly 10 years now with no regrets. What some parents are doing by supporting their gender-different children is very courageous and says a lot about their concern for their children. This also stops the enormous amount of suffering gender-different children endure if not treated.

Individuals like Ken Zucker are part of the "old boy" shrink network of Ray Blanchard, Michael Bailey, Paul McHugh, John Money, and others who have caused so much suffering among those who are born gender-different. They have been responsible for setting up many of the current medical protocols and treatment plans that apply to gender-different individuals, making it difficult for gender-different individuals to get proper medical treatment and health insurance for gender-related procedures (hormones, surgery, etc.).

This is the same group of individuals who believe gender-different children should be forced into the gender they were physically born with. They also believe intersex infants must be surgically corrected so that they can develop into their expected gender roles. They cannot seem to understand incongruence can exist among gender identity, sexual orientation, and genitalia. Gender-different children are a fact and reality; at the rate these children are progressing, gender-different individuals who transition later in life will be a rarity. More and more doctors are taking gender-different youth seriously and are beginning to treat them medically as required (therapy, hormones, hormone blockers, and surgery). One day the time will come when individuals like Zucker and others will be known for their incorrect treatment and theories regarding gender-different individuals. To this day, they are sticking to their beliefs and not listening or seriously considering successful treatment of gender-different youth and individuals. They appear to be too economically vested and arrogant in their beliefs to hear otherwise.

[Name withheld]
Via SFWeekly.com

Corrections: The Reps, Etc., film listings on July 4 misnamed the director of Uncommon Knowledge. Eliza Hemenway directed the film. Also, the photo accompanying the July 4 restaurant review was misattributed. The photograph was taken by Jen Siska. SF Weekly regrets the errors.