As a transguy myself, I have to say that while I don't judge what Beatie is doing, I also don't understand it. I see being a parent as completely compatible with my male identity, but getting pregnant just doesn't jive. Maybe Beatie is just much more comfortable with himself than I am. Still, as the author of the article said, the couple in question seem like parents a lot of people would like to have. I respect Beatie's decision, even if it makes me cringe (in part because of the unwanted scrutiny that it places on so-called 'normal' trans folk).

What I find most disturbing is that it becomes an excuse for all the wackos to come out of the woodworks... people talking about sex and gender as though they had any idea what they were talking about. People who don't understand that "man" and "woman" are sociological, not biological, indicators, and that "male" and "female" are biological and not sociological indicators. People who don't understand that even a man who wants to get pregnant is still a perfectly normal and decent human being, not a stick puppet for your twisted amusement.

This man is a human being, by all accounts an articulate, intelligent, and productive member of society, a husband, and a father. Why can't people just treat him with the respect and dignity that he, as a human being, deserves?

I resent your accusation of my (or the other posters named) being "hateful". I expressed no hatred towards anyone, nor did I use the word "hate" in any of my comments.

The result of labeling anyone who disagrees with you as "hateful" is to shut down any kind of discussion or debate, and instead an insistence on mind-numbing, "everyone must agree" political correctness.

The fact that someone disagrees with your position IS NOT any indication that they are filled with hatred. I treat all human beings, even those with whom I strongly disagree, with basic courtesy and respect. If someone like Thomas Beattie lived in my neighborhood, I would treat them like any other human being, respect their privacy and in fact, would defend their right to live in peace -- even though I disagree with what they is doing.

Furthermore, if anyone was harassing Beattie or her family, defacing their home, calling names or keeping them from going about their business, I would be among the first to demand that they be left alone or protected by the law if necessary.

However to insist that everybody has to agree with Beattie or support what she is doing is WRONG. It's obvious that you, Brynn, are doing nothing more than defending your own lifestyle choices, and wish to shut down any kind of conversation or debate in favor of forcing your own opinion on EVERYONE. And I'm sorry, that's just wrong and it's undemocratic.

You should be ashamed of YOUR OWN closemindedness. It's interesting how those who want the rest of us to embrace their lifestyles, no matter how bizarre or how they conflict with long-standing traditions or even biology...how these same people who insist on acceptance are so very ready to deny it to everybody else.

As usual on this topic, you are so wrong in so many ways. You are no different than the homophobe who says that to be gay is to be a freak, but then when someone calls you on your phobia, you defend yourself by saying that you would never deny that freak their rights, and that it is as much your right to think and say that they are a freak as it is their right to exist. I'm sorry, but if you can't see how wrong you are, there's nothing can be done for you.

Your opinion is no more than your own knee-jerk intuition, and not backed up by any kind of knowledge. Anyone who knows anything about gender studies, for example, knows the difference between "male" and "man" and "female" and "woman." Hell, Antonin Scalia knows that difference, and he is hardly a scion for gender nonconforming people. You, however, express your own ignorance when you say that Beatie is a "woman." "Woman" is a gender role, not a biological indicator. No one disputes that Beatie is a born biological female, but he has courageously chosen to defy our narrow-minded, binary societal perception of gender by embracing the gender that he feels is correct for him.

P.S. Being trans is not a lifestyle, you idiot. The highest goal most trans people hope to achieve is to blend into normal society, not to be circus freaks. Trans folk simply want to be seen as what they are and who they are... trans people are doctors and lawyers, mothers and fathers, ministers and teachers, and for them, being trans is not something they do actively, it is simply a part of their identity.

The fact that you seem to confuse antiquated notions of homosexuality (re the "tolerate my stupid opinion or I won't tolerate your very existence" attitude and your insistence that being trans is a "lifestyle") with transgender issues betrays the fact that you know nothing at all about the topic. If you were smart, you would shut up and listen to trans people and their life experiences, maybe do a little research, and in any case get off your damned high horse and stop pretending to be the good liberal shunned by the freakazoid trannies.

Only the last three paragraphs are mine, the ones preceding them are Laurel's.

http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/bioc1/came4a.jpg

Are you telling us that this guy isn't a man, and you'd have to be a lesbian or straight man to be attracted to him?

You people have a funny sense of humor sometimes....