billyd1 (imported) wrote: Tue Jul 01, 2003 6:56 pm I've watched several programs in this series and non of the people with re-assigned genders seem to be happy with outcome. The surgeons seem to think an imperfectly formed male or someone of ambiguous sex should be made surgically into a female. Most are still imperfect and would rather have not been surgically altered.
In the little boys case, his mother was a nurse and she signed the consent form for no more than a biopsy. She was somewhat suspicious of the doc to start with. She'll probably have a piece of his hiney and I hope his license.
The mistake here is the thinking that everybody should fit into a mold of being either 100% female or 100% male. Society willingly accepts other obvious physical disabilities in people and even requires accomodations to make life easier for them.
The individual's genitals are normally seen only by those closest to the individual with the abnormality. The question here shouldn't be whether the child has normal or ambiguous appearing genitalia but whether the genitalia adequately eliminate urine and other bodily fluids that are produced.
I know, society requires that the child's birth certificate must classify the child as either female or male. Let the doctor and the parents decide which to list on the birth certificate based on the doctor's examination of the external genitalia and the internal sex organs.
If during puberty or adolesence the child becomes unable to adequately eliminate fluids which may be produced, corrective surgery will have to be performed based on both the medical facts and the child's (and parents) desires. Otherwise, any decision and corrective surgery should be deferred until the individual is old enough to make an informed decision for her/himself.
The doctors and parents should not be allowed to play GOD when a life-threatening condition does not exist.