Sister is transgender and insists on being called male and by a male name - what can I do as a Catholic?

[Rin]

If your sister was born a biological female then that’s what she is forever no matter what she thinks, says or feels, or how she dresses or acts, or what medication or surgery she might have.

I, and most transgender people, agree with you on this.

But you see, our brain is part of our biology too. If his brain is male, then he is not born a “biological female”. He is born biologically incongruent. It is no different from genital ambiguity - except the latter can often be observed with your bare eyes. Transgenderism, which is increasingly called “brain intersex” by specialists in neurobiology, is not as readily observable, but it is no less biological.

I wish people could get the popular concept of “sex change” out of their heads. The treatment is not about “changing” one’s gender. That is impossible, and a misunderstanding. HRT and SRS are corrective treatments, meant to align the rest of the body (and even more important, its hormonal balance) to the brain - it is an attempt to cure incongruence. It is morally and medically no different than corrective surgery in the case of genital ambiguity.

She is not a male.

You can’t know that. Your statement is based on ideology, not reason.

I agree with the others who recommend praying for her

To this we agree.

 

[cheese_sdc]

Hello! My sister Debbie is insisting that we call her by her chosen male name, “Dante,” and refer to her in male terms… What do I do in this situation?

How 'bout you call him Dante and go on with your life, and let him go on with his?