Letters to the Editor
mte
Published Letters: 90 Editor's Choice: 6
-
One thing that saddens me ...
[Read the article: Coat hangers and crochet hooks ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]We understand that banning abortion creates these horrors, and therefore we understand that these horrors are one more reason not to ban abortion.
But when we look at the horrors in other banned activities, e.g. the risks that prostitutes face, e.g. the risks of black-market surgery, etc. people insist that these horrors are one more reason *to* ban them.
-
It's absurd
[Read the article: Single women should be ashamed of themselves!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If I had married, somehow, I don't think I ever could have come out or started transitioning. I would have stayed miserable and I would have made another woman miserable.
-
As a bicyclist ...
[Read the article: How high gas prices could make the world a safer place]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I get pissed when drivers cut me off.
I get pissed when left-turn lights don't work for anything lighter than two tons.
And I get pissed when people expect me to move where my bike is not destined to move, or stay put where it is not designed to stay put. I need to find the right place to stop on steep slopes and some other places. I'd rather stop in the right place and inconvenience some driver than stop in the wrong place and spill, or brake in the wrong place but skid into the next lane.
-
NOT everybody is bi
[Read the article: Are all women a little bit bi?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I know I've never been attracted to men. There's this social expectation that I must be attracted to some men, but it's never been true.
-
I didn't choose
[Read the article: A new form of birth control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was born trans. I'm not quite sure what caused that, but I'm glad I'm myself, facing these challenges, and not some guy.
Altering fetal hormone levels is likely to create trouble down the line. Consider how DES often results in IS and/or TS in XY children, and breast cancer, vaginal cancer, cervical cancer, reproductive abnormalities, and infertility in XX children, as well as autoimmune diseases in both.
-
That NARTH essay is pure and simple misinformation.
[Read the article: A new form of birth control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For example, it equates old surgeries to assign IS children as male or female with present-day surgery to help TS adults. The *same research* has led to the near-complete abandonment of the former and the medical acceptance of the latter.
To sum it up, "gender" identity does not adjust to the genitalia or reflect one's upbringing.
IS children who were assigned to one sex sometimes sought reassignment. Leaving their genitalia intact makes it easier for those who don't want them "fixed" as well as easier for those who do want surgery in adulthood.
-
People can't just shave it off...
[Read the article: Before you pick up that Gillette Mach3, mister]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My skin is extremely sensitive to razor burns. My hairs often grow in awkward places and directions where they are impossible to shave. Many hairs show through from under the skin. As a woman in transition, I find those hairs a nightmare. I wish I could just tweeze. It's easier and less painful than shaving.
-
The medical consensus...
[Read the article: Ma vie en noir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/16/a08_hod_resolutions.pdf
let's see what the AMA regards as proven starting points:
"Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death;4 and
"Whereas, The World Professional Association For Transgender Health, Inc. (“WPATH”) is the leading international, interdisciplinary professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders,5 and has established internationally accepted Standards of Care 6 for providing medical treatment for people with GID, including mental health care, hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery, which are designed to promote the health and welfare of persons with GID and are recognized within the medical community to be the standard of care for treating people with GID; and
"Whereas, An established body of medical research demonstrates the effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery as forms of therapeutic treatment for many people diagnosed with GID; 7 and
"Whereas, Health experts in GID, including WPATH, have rejected the myth that such treatments are “cosmetic” or “experimental” and have recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective treatment for a serious health condition;7 and..."
-
Consensus
[Read the article: Ma vie en noir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Actually, despite the AMA's resolution, almost all insurance policies exclude transgender coverage, including treatments they'd cover for cisgender patients. I'm uninsurable because of other health problems, and most trans people are uninsured because between 59% and 80% of us are unemployed. We face systematic discrimination, and in most of the country, the discrimination's not just legal, it's subsidized.
It refers to the medical consensus. I have no obligation to dig up thirty-odd studies, many of them behind firewalls, for every transphobic troll I run into. I don't have enough hours in my day.
-
Get the facts right
[Read the article: Ma vie en noir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]SRS is a proven treatment: http://akikos-planet.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/files/j.%20Psychoso.%20Res.%20Transsexualism.pdf
"In spite of these differences between studies, the general conclusion can be drawn that SRS effectively resolves the gender dysphoria transsexuals suffer from. Depending on the methodology, number of subjects, and criteria, varying percentages of success have been noted. Early reviews report satisfactory results in 71.4% of MFs and 89.5% of FMs [84, 150–152]. In a more recent review, the numbers are 87% and 97%, respectively [153]." (the regret rate is far lower than the unsatisfactory result rate).
It does not usually involve cutting off the penis and hasn't, depending on the surgeons, involved that since the 1950s-1970s. Frankly, anyone who trots out that canard, like John Aravosis did, sounds transphobic.
As for insurance: 1. most trans people are unemployed, not do to what we wear, but due to who we are. 2. many of us who are employed aren't insured. 3. most of those who are insured are specifically excluded from coverage, despite AMA policy.
As for discrimination: 1. federal anti-discrimination laws do not cover trans people. 2. some state laws cover GLB people and exclude T people. 3. private discrimination is common. 4. governmental discrimination is common, ranging from ID trouble to police brutality to EMTs deciding we don't deserve to live. 5. Hate crimes are common.
-
@jtransphobe
[Read the article: Ma vie en noir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Actually, you just have to check the sources to see that transition, inclusive of SRS, is the only proven treatment. Congratulation! you have shown that you are immune to facts.
-
@jmcdsf
[Read the article: Ma vie en noir]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Do you really think anti-trans slurs make you sound clever?
-
I think I got better sex ed than most students (in the 90s)
[Read the article: Sex advice for Barack]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But I have to agree with Rosenkavelier. I got nothing on the one issue that matters more to me than all the other stuff combined.