Queereaders discussion

I find gender a fascinating topic. I remember being blown a way by Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg. It is about a transgender person who had trouble with forms that asked to check either Male or Female when neither one was right. Riddle is a series of essays, history and interviews with transgender people. It contains many sad stories and many success stories of the happiness that transitioning from one gender to another can bring. A big question is what bathroom do you use? Transgender people are now saying that no surgery should be done until the individuals are of the age to express their feelings.

"I remember them removing my penis, reducing to the size of a normal clitorus. The doctors basically lied to my parents to get them to allow the plastic surgery and administer hormones at puberty. Counseling sessions were more like brain washing, trying to convince me that I was a normal little girl."

An interesting idea is that the rate of gender dysphoria is increasing because of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment. It is happening to animals as well as people. Estrogen or estrogen like compounds are found in many plastics.

I can't say that I read the entire book but most of it. It was a great skim.

"Even though transgenders had start the Stonewall riots, we were not welcome in the fight for gay and lesbian rights."

This was one of our group reads. You can find comments from other group members here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

There was a transgendered person at the company I currently work for. When I started there 20 years ago, he had already changed his name and underwent hormone treatments and electrolysis. Since I never knew him as a man, there was no adjustment period for me. Once Rachel started to change, she was no longer accepted in the men's room even though she was pre-op. The women were in an uproar too, so a special bathroom had to be built for her. Sadly, the bathroom was vandalized a few times, forcing Rachel to use the men's room. It didn't matter that she had worked for the company over 20 years. She endured poor treatment for two more years, then quit.

Thank you for sharing this story, Nancy. Hopefully one day people will create a society where all people can be supported.
Brian