New Jersey Teacher Has Sex Change Surgery

[mlchance]

YinYangMom:

I still feel for this NJ teacher, moreso now, because it seems he isn’t going to find happiness this way either.

Exactly. Too many people have constantly failed this poor man. Imagine every time he said something to the effect of, “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body.” What did his friends and family say. Probably a lot of hateful things, but also probably a lot of, “Well, dear, that is just so sad that you’re that way.”

When he goes to the surgeons, does he get referred to genuine psychiatric counseling? Probably not. He’s patted on the back by all sorts of “compassionate” doctors and nurses who tell him everything will be all right.

I remember once watching a PBS documentary that followed a man through sex change surgery. After the surgery (when he still looked like a man in a dress), he talked at length about how wonderful his new life would be, et cetera, and never once did he sound convinced. All I could hear was the pain, doubt, and fear.

Oh, and for the record, I do not think this man should lose his job, despite the potential problems other people might have. If he teaches well, he teaches well. The issue of his “gender reassignment” shouldn’t be raised within the school at all.

– Mark L. Chance.

 

[KathleenElsie]

If the school district cared about the children’s confusion as much as they seem to care about the teachers confusion, I believe they would have transferred that teacher to another school. Problem of the children being confused solved, simple, with only the teacher being inconvenienced.

 

[Giannawannabe]

David_Paul:

CBS New York
8-2-2005

Teacher Herb McCaffrey left Mountain View Middle School in Mendham as a man and will return as Kerri McCaffrey, a woman.

The 41-year-old has undergone gender reassignment surgery.

The language arts teacher tells The Star-Ledger of Newark he’s dedicated his life to being a good influence on children.

Some parents and teachers have accepted McCaffrey’s decision. But others are concerned about whether middle school-age children should have to deal with such issues.

Parent Caren Cusano tells the newspaper she contacted McCaffrey through e-mail to applaud her choice and asked for Web sites to help explain it to her children.

Mother Anna Seavey says she has not yet told her kids.

Eighth-grader Rebecca Tishman tells the newspaper she thinks it’s fine and is sorry the teacher was confused for so long.

wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_214082036.html

I’d pull my kids out of that school so fast, it would make your head spin. I could understand completely if the rate of homeschooling in that district went up exponentially-----that ought to send a message.

 

[YinYangMom]

Giannawannabe:

I’d pull my kids out of that school so fast, it would make your head spin. I could understand completely if the rate of homeschooling in that district went up exponentially-----that ought to send a message.

And what message would that be?

 

[The_Angelus]

Yecchh. You know, these questions shouldn’t even have to be asked.

I am reminded of the Charlie Daniels song about “Back where the women are women and the men are men…”

Are there any places like that, I wonder?

 

[Mick7]

I’m not surprised by the ignorance displayed by some in the posts here (it is rather common in society as a whole). I am surprised, however, by a lack of Christian charity; but let’s leave that for another time. Here are some facts for you. I’m starting from the position of cross-dressing in the hope of establishing the complexity of the real issue.

1. From St. Eugenia to St. Joan of Ark, the Roman Catholic Church has no fewer than SIX transvestite saints (and yes, they did cross-dress).
2. The Church teaches that in itself cross-dressing is neither right nor wrong - but the reason for cross-dressing may OR MAY NOT be a sin (hence the saints).
3. Studies conducted by psychologists show that between eight and ten percent of men cross-dress and of these the majority are *heterosexual * (more women cross-dress than men, but because society employes double standards, this is never really noticed).
4. Cross dressing has been associated with brain gender by psychologists. Many men who cross-dress may have a brain that is at least 50% female, while the reason for cross-dressing may be related to an expresson of the feminine side of the personality. Often, the reason for cross-dressing among heterosxual males differs from one man to the next and has nothing in common with sex. Transsexuals (those who wish to change their gender) have brains that are 100% female (in the case of men). All males cross-dressed for the first time before the age of 11.
5. Medical science shows that the brains of males and females ARE different.
6. Among those who cross-dress are those who are transsexual and seek to change their gender. While being physically one gender, they are mentally the other. This disorder (and it is a recognised disorder) is real and applies to both men and women.
7. Perverted or sexual reasons for cross-dressing may be more likely among those who are homosexual or bi-sexual (or in the case of women, lesbian). These persons are a minority among those who cross-dress (see 3 above). However, they tend to be a lot more visible and this may lend itself to the adoption of a more narrow understanding of cross-dressing socially.
8. I am aware of a nun locally who was actually born a man. Her reason for changing her gender from male to female was due to her being convinced that she really was a woman trapped in a man’s body. She sought to serve God as a woman and now she does just that. She now paints icons of the saints for her religious order where she is confined to the cloister.

This issue is far more complex than most people here appear to understand. It is not black and white - it is not a simple matter. Cross dressing among all men begins in childhood, even as early as three years of age. It is now being linked with brain gender by psychologists (as stated above), psychologists who deal with this issue professionally on a regular basis, and there are studies that confirm the theories involved.

Rather than jump to conclusions, I do hope people will apply a little more human charity as Jesus Christ would expect. Please pray, think over the facts as they present themselves and open your heart to the Spirit of love. Do not judge by appearances, but by what is right (John 7:24)

Thanks for your patience.

Mick

 

[YinYangMom]

uhm…mick7…

what does cross-dressing have to do with anything???

Surgically changing one’s body to take on attributes of the opposite sex is way beyond cross-dressing.

 

[batteddy]

1. Cross dressing has been associated with brain gender by psychologists. Many men who cross-dress may have a brain that is at least 50% female, while the reason for cross-dressing may be related to an expresson of the feminine side of the personality. Often, the reason for cross-dressing among heterosxual males differs from one man to the next and has nothing in common with sex. Transsexuals (those who wish to change their gender) have brains that are 100% female (in the case of men). All males cross-dressed for the first time before the age of 11.

1. Medical science shows that the brains of males and females ARE different.

1. Among those who cross-dress are those who are transsexual and seek to change their gender. While being physically one gender, they are mentally the other. This disorder (and it is a recognised disorder) is real and applies to both men and women.

I question this notion of inborn brain gender.

Although I do not doubt that for hormonal and psychological and social reasons the brains of men and women will often show major differences, some developing later than others…I question the idea that just because you have a “typically female brain” that you will identify as a woman automatically if your body is entirely male physiologically.

A hypothetical thought experiment:

A male child born with an allegedly female brain is raised in a world where there are only men. What would happen? Could he still say “I’m a girl” if he was never allowed to know that such a thing as a female existed. He might say he feels “different” from all the other boys, but in the all-male environment he is being raised in, would he equate this difference as being essentially sexual, if in that world there was only one sex. Can someone be born knowing what “man” and “woman” are before they even learn that men and women exist. That is one reason why I cannot buy the “sexual disorders are biological and born that way”. How can someone be born attracted to other men, seeing is if we raised them in an environment where he was the only man, he would never even know other men exist.

As for this whole sexual reassignment of teachers in school, at my high school there is an English teacher who used to be a man and is now a woman. Our English department is filled with a lot of liberals and especially people obsessed with the normalization of various sexual deviancies.

 

[Mick7]

YinYangMom:

uhm…mick7…

what does cross-dressing have to do with anything???

Surgically changing one’s body to take on attributes of the opposite sex is way beyond cross-dressing.

Utter nonesense!

As I pointed out in my first post, psychologists believe that the REASON why men experience a desire to cross-dress is because they have a brain that is at least 50% female. This is taken a step further by those who seek to change their gender who may have a brain that is 100% female. This is about a physical reality - a recognised condition. Those who seek to change their gender begin by cross-dressing - this is how the disorder first reveals itself. The person in question feels he actually is a woman.

Please do not miss the point - there is more to this issue than many here seem to realize. It would be wrong to assume the reason why men wish to dress as women, or why they would want to change their gender (and the two are related). Conclusions should not be based on assumptions or suppositions - rather they should be based on known fact. Or do you want to be guilty of condemning someone who may not actually be guilty of anything?

Best wishes
Mick

 

[Mick7]

batteddy:

I question this notion of inborn brain gender.

Although I do not doubt that for hormonal and psychological and social reasons the brains of men and women will often show major differences, some developing later than others…I question the idea that just because you have a “typically female brain” that you will identify as a woman automatically if your body is entirely male physiologically.

A hypothetical thought experiment:

A male child born with an allegedly female brain is raised in a world where there are only men. What would happen? Could he still say “I’m a girl” if he was never allowed to know that such a thing as a female existed. He might say he feels “different” from all the other boys, but in the all-male environment he is being raised in, would he equate this difference as being essentially sexual, if in that world there was only one sex. Can someone be born knowing what “man” and “woman” are before they even learn that men and women exist. That is one reason why I cannot buy the “sexual disorders are biological and born that way”. How can someone be born attracted to other men, seeing is if we raised them in an environment where he was the only man, he would never even know other men exist.

As for this whole sexual reassignment of teachers in school, at my high school there is an English teacher who used to be a man and is now a woman. Our English department is filled with a lot of liberals and especially people obsessed with the normalization of various sexual deviancies.

Why question this idea of brain gender? This is a medical fact (that male and female brains differ - physically) and all I have done is explain what psychologists who have done the work have stated. Direct your questions at those psychologists who actually deal with the disorder.

The disorder is real - it exists and people are born with it no matter what YOU choose to believe.

I have nothing more to say on this matter. Again, let me remind you that there is more to the matter than many seem to realize.

God bless
Mick

 

[Lizzie]

Please cite your sources, Mick, because I have never read a real scientific study of such.

 

[batteddy]

I do not doubt that male and female brains are different, I just question that someone who has a male body can:

A) Know that they have a female brain simply by “feeling” it.
B) Be caused to be transexual because they have a typically female brain.

Again, what would happen if the idea of “female” was never allowed to enter their heads…would they be able to feel like women then?They might say they are different, but would they know that difference was one related to gender and sexuality, if they never were exposed to the idea that there was more than one gender?

 

[siamesecat]

Ive seen at least 5 documentaries on sex changes, because I find it so interesting. While I can understand how morally people might have a problem with it, I do believe its an actual problem. I mean, these are people who believe they are the wrong sex enough to devastate families (which im not condoning), lose friends, and undergo extremely painful and dangerous surgery. I mean, you dont do that because you want attention. I think its weird, but when I imagine how id feel if I had been born a boy with this mental personality, I know i’d feel like something wasnt right. It must be horrible to look at yourself every day and want to be able to dress up and look pretty (if youre a guy) or to be able to look tough (if youre a woman). As that transsexual golfer who is now a woman on 60 minutes said “Guys, its having your bits chopped off. Clearly, I really want to do this.” I really do believe they have this disorder that they cant help. Whether or not its moral is another thing, but I do feel really bad for these people. I dont really care if they do it or not, but if they have kids I dont think they should because its so devastating for a kid to have a dad who is a woman or vice versa. Another thing is, where is a woman who was once a man going to find a husband who is attracted knowing her past. I dont really see how it works. But it is a really bizzare thing.

 

[Karin]

But the question is not about his physical sex change but should he be allowed to still teach kids that know he is a man and now physically is a woman??

 

[Lynn-D]

Lizzie:

Please cite your sources, Mick, because I have never read a real scientific study of such.

I have not responded to those who have made some remarks usually in a not so Catholic manner to this topic but in support of Mick’s assertion perhaps others might want to see some of the research on transsexualism.

By the way crossdressing is not a lead in to transsexualism, crossdressing is transvestism or transgenderism.

Interesting research:
world-science.net/exclusives/050511_transfrm.htm

symposion.com/ijt/ijtc0405e.htm

jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/2034

 

[aspawloski4th]

before I make my statement. Id like to put out here. Im a practicing Catholic, traditionaly married, a papist Catholic, voted republican most of the time, 110 % right to life, a michael savage fan, have friendly aquaintances in the john birch society. now we know Im not a way out liberal. time for you all to listen, to say and not conveniently ecnore. As I stated in the other recent thread on the subject, we have a ultra gargantuan mega double standard here. I hear all the time “look at whats inside”. why when it come to sexual/gender identity, does that suddenly get thrown out??? Im about tired tof that double standard. and no one gives an answer. in some cases forcing someone to stay in their physical sex is encouraging suicide. what about the people born hermaphrodidic, 50/50 between both sexes? did God bring on that? with some one born that way its obviously you dont have much of a choice but to arbritarary decide which gender to bring them up as, with that said what if someone born in to that condition who was raised male feels female and change to that instead? if the people here that stated anti transsexual opinions here have the courage of their convictions Ill get some detailed answers here, and not be ecnored like in the other thread, and not simplistic answers evading my questions. whether in a forum like this, or in society questions like these will have to be answered for the “traditional side” to have credibility. I suggest those of you on that side better be formulating those answers soon. Because there are lots of people like me out there who accept no double standards. the world may not be fair, but we are supposed to strive for it.

 

[fix]

The Note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains that an individual’s physical characteristics-- which can be altered surgically-- constitute only a part of his gender identity. While the body can be changed, the sexual identity cannot, the Congregation says.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=19829

Nevertheless, individuals suffering from gender dysphoria syndrome must be treated with compassion. They need spiritual counseling which will help them realize the great love of God who loves them as individuals who have been created in His image and likeness. They need proper psychotherapy which will help them to face realistically their human situation and the world, and the consequences of their actions on themselves and their relationships with family and friends. Such counseling will also direct them to spiritual, intellectual and social pursuits to realize their self-worth and divert their preoccupation with sexual identity.catholicherald.com/saunders/05ws/ws051020.htm

How should the Catholic community respond to men and women who think that a sex change operation would solve their problem? Catholic teaching in this area is clear. It is impossible to “change” a person’s sex. Hormone treatments, cosmetic surgery and surgery to mutilate the sex organs do not change a person’s sex.

Confusion in this area has come about because people tend to defer to scientists, particularly in areas where their personal experience is limited.
culture-of-life.org/?Control=ArticleMaster&aid=316&c=2&p=1

 

[Lynn-D]

So often I read the same junk in regard to what is and what is not the facts of a ‘sex change’. The same people seem to use the same unsubstantiated research but morally appearing opinions as if facts.
First off, the brain is the main sex component. It is not what is between your legs that determines the quite complicated issue of sexuality. If the brain is female in the fetal stage then one must agree that the child to be born is female whether or not the body conforms.
Chromosomes are not the only sex indicators, gnomes are as well but somehow they are often times ignored. Dr Gooren did not and he used that to convince an Australian Court in favor of a post-op transsexual. Of course he used science just as the Dutch researchers did which some would prefer to ignore if they do not agree with it but are satisfied with their own prejudice.
McHugh had as his patients mostly transgendered men. That is what they were mentally, heterosexual fetish transvestites. Later Bailey wrote about them being autogynephilics which is nothing more than a further extension of fetishism. These people do claim themselves transgender and abhor the term transsexual which I believe makes clear claim that they know what they really are and are not. They do confuse the issue and for that I give them credit as well as blame.
The Catholic Church at one time DID change the baptismal certificates of post-op transsexuals. I know that as fact and it was not a sin then so why should it be a sin today.
Fact: there is supporting scientific evidence that the BSTc of the brain is affected in the fetal stage of development in what is called a fetal wash. This is the determinant that decides the sex of the brain and has nothing what-so-ever to do with the outer physical body. So, the brain in the fetus stage can be designed female and later the fetus as it further develops forms a male body. That is science and I will go by that rather than superstition. Or might we have another ‘hide your head in the sand’ inquisition of fear?
Lynn-D

 

[Guar_Fan]

fix:

The Note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains that an individual’s physical characteristics-- which can be altered surgically-- constitute only a part of his gender identity. While the body can be changed, the sexual identity cannot, the Congregation says

The last sentence is basically correct - gender identity can not be changed. It seems to be imprinted in utero. SRS is done to bring the genitals in line with a person’s gender.

The Church, for reasons unclear, seems to have rushed to judgement. The science of transsexualism is still young - there is much that we do not know. But we do have some facts established, and I worry that the Church is going to find itself in an embarassing situation - as it did when it condemned Galileo for teaching that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

 

[fix]

Guar Fan:

The last sentence is basically correct - gender identity can not be changed. It seems to be imprinted in utero. SRS is done to bring the genitals in line with a person’s gender.

The Church, for reasons unclear, seems to have rushed to judgement. The science of transsexualism is still young - there is much that we do not know. But we do have some facts established, and I worry that the Church is going to find itself in an embarassing situation - as it did when it condemned Galileo for teaching that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

The Church should not be embarrased by the Galileo affair as properly understood, nor will She be embarrased by upholding the moral law even in the face of political movements that wrap themselves in science.