Meet Susan Juliette

First picture of Thomas and newborn Susan.

 

People.com has released a new story concerning arguably the world’s most famous transgendered person, Thomas Beatie.  Now just, under a month old, Thomas’ daughter Susan has made her news debut.  I’m very curious to see what we’ll hear from this family in the future.  Click the picture to link to read the article. 

IT’S A GIRL!

Nancy and Thomas Beatie on Oprah earlier this year.

Thomas Beatie has given birth to a baby girl!  Nancy and Thomas welcomed their child earlier this week in Oregon.  Thomas, a man who was born female, decided to keep his reproductive organs because he knew he wanted to have a child one day.  Thomas and Nancy appeared earlier this year on Oprah, which has been one of the most memorable shows on television.  While on Oprah, Thomas stated, ” I see pregnancy as a process and it doesn’t define who I am.”

That being said, I know for many, this has to be somewhat confusing as many of us define womanhood by the ability to have children.  Throughout the years, I have heard women who could not bear children describe themselves as feeling like less of a woman, to which many people enthusiastically reply, “that doesn’t make you any less of a woman!”  So I ask you, what does it mean to be a woman?  Are those who can’t bear children or choose not to any less of a woman?  Is being a mother the divine purpose for all born females? 

To put this in even a broader context, what does this tell us about we feel about fatherhood?  For many years fathers have been thought as emotionally detached disciplinarians.  So, I ask, is that enough for you?  Are we satisfied that only our women can serve as nurturers and caretakers of our children?  In my opinion this is insulting to both genders, because this idea has latent messages buried deep within its language.  If we are to believe this is true then that means that first, women are simply too emotional and not strong enough to be considered effective disciplinarians and secondly, that men are unable to be caring and empathetic caretakers.  I can only hope that if this is how the majority presently feels about gender roles and parenting that we are making steps to progress toward a median where both men and women can be considered empathetic, nurturing, responsible and dutiful parents and maybe with the birth of the Beaties little girl we are taking a very important step on the path to true gender equity.

“God Made You Special”: Transgendered Youth

Last night I stumbled upon a very provocative episode of 20/20, a special about transgendered youth.  Led by Barbara Walters this report examined the lives of a transgendered youth, their parents and communities.  This was a in-depth and revealing look at one of society’s minorities, people who believe they were born into the wrong body.  Of course this is an oversimplification of the matter, but I must admit, even as someone who knows a little bit about gender issues, I was amazed at the level that these young people were to express themselves.  It is amazing what kids are able to say, if we just choose to listen to them.

Living in a society where gender and sexual identity are so contentious, I was completely floored by the warmth and care that the parents of these children had.  As a whole, we are still trying to come to terms with the “coming out” of what we call sexual minorities and now we have the opportunity to witness the “coming out” of another section of the population, those with gender identity disorder.

From what I recall, most of these children had been under the care of a mental health professional and had been diagnosed with gender identity disorder, which is both a blessing and a curse.  This diagnosis no doubt gives us (society and mental health practitioners) the ability to categorize thoughts and behavior which can help us better understand what these children are experiencing, but as any intelligent scholar of psychology will tell you, our diagnoses in the DSM are reflective of our culture.  It wasn’t long ago when homosexuality was removed as a diagnosable psychiatric condition.

I don’t believe I have ever witnessed such and amazing display of unconditional love in our mainstream media.  I remember one set of parents who specifically allowed their young male child to dress and act as feminine gender specific.  They accepted her for who she was and then helped introduce her real self to the public.  It was a process no doubt, but this couple gave what most of us fail at giving others, unconditional love.  One one hand these parents were mourning the loss of their little boy and also accepting the beautiful young girl who had been a part of their family all along. 

We all know that every child gets teased and we know how hard it us to come up through the ranks of junior high and high school, yet these families are brave and courageous enough to allow their children to be who they truly are.  And, you could certainly say, “well she was born a male, isn’t that who she is?”  To which I would respond, are all our behaviors and attitudes solely determined by our genitalia?  Have you ever felt what it is like to have someone else dictate who you are?  Have you felt that loss of power?  That loss of control?  Taking these things into consideration, I think we can then begin to realize how important self-identity really is.