Transsexualism, why is it so dispised

[pathia]

a leading scientist at John Hopkins who pioneered transgender treatments admitted that after years of collecting data that the operations often failed to fix the depression and inner problems of those who underwent the surgery. Furthermore surgery and hormone therapy cannot change your genetic makeup, and souls have a gender which cannot be changed either.

He pioneered shutting it down, nothing more. I know nothing of the program directly, because it was long before my time, but I did live in the area where it used to be. I know some older transsexuals who lost friends in the after math of that, it was their only treatment option at the time and they ended their lives, because once that was gone, they felt they had run out of options.

 

[pathia]

PICK UP YOUR CROSS!

This is what you do! We were never promised paradise on earth. God loves us so much that he allowed his only begotten son to be tortured and crucified for our sins. By picking up our cross and following him we place our burdens and sacrifices on the platen next to him during the Great Amen!

This is what you do, This is what Christ told us to do, This is what the Church teaches us, as a Catholic you should know this. We all have our burdens some more than others. I will never be able to phathom what you go through on a daily basis. I neither loathe or even dislike for that matter and my quess is that what you construe as hatred and loathing from CAF members is nothing more than correction and sympathy.

Acceptance of what the church teaches as sin is never going to happen because the church does not have the authority to change the basic tenets of sin. YOu ask us what to do, and your best bet in all walks of life is to live as a Catholic man following the teachings of the church because they come from our Lord and saviour.

Peace!

Pick up a cross? OK, lets go back in time. I’m homeless, I get kicked out of a homeless shelter, a catholic shelter, for being who I am, despite being celibate. Exactly what do I do to ‘pick up my cross’ when my fellow flock members send me off onto the street and won’t even look me in the eye?

I am not angry at folks on this forum, I am angry at the people in reality. Things are much different with catholics not on this forum it seems. I get nothing but scorn, ignorance, disgust and damnation thrown at me.

 

[aspawloski4th]

PICK UP YOUR CROSS!

YOu ask us what to do, and your best bet in all walks of life is to live as a Catholic man .

Peace!

Iv’e tried that for years and found the man part of that to be impossible and and a sham. Quite frankly to be honest. I’m tired of putting effort into the impossible, because it is fruitless, and I’m tired of pretending and feeling out of sorts. I want to just be the natural me and get on with life. I just want to be myself, and not get the ton of flack heaped on me for it. I do not think thats much to want or ask, but to some here that almost seems to be utterly evil.

 

[hyflyer64]

Kinda off topic here but this nonsense has to be corrected.

The sin was not the eating of meat but the disobedience. This disicpline was changed to a degree removing the discipline and thereby removing the sin of disobedience. This sin is still around just not connected to that discipline. I hope that helps clear up this misunderstanding of yours in regard to sin changing.

Now as for the reason you give here for the cause of this disipline is nothing short of a lie which has been told enough times that people end up either believe it, or using it to shore up some argunment against the church, or both. Regardless this bunk is not true and no where can you find a legit source of any type of proof.

As with anything just because some people believe something is true does not make it so! That is why as Catholics we have the church to help and guide us through this earthly journey as the Church millitant to be with the church exalted.

With out the Church and her sacrements all of which were instituted by Christ this world would be completely lost.

Peace!

Live and learn. Obviously the fisherman thing is an “urban legend”. I should have done my homework.

Still, we have people here posting that it is a SIN for us to take hormones and undergo SRS.
I will qoute again;
" An analysis of the moral licitness of “sex-change” operations. It concludes that the procedure could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases if a medical probability exists that it will “cure” the patient’s internal turmoil"
Does not this statement make it clear that it is NOT A SIN, for a trueTS person, to undergo SRS???
And something that I am going to persue… why did the Vatican send out this document in secret???
I can venture a guess

 

[hyflyer64]

TRANSSEXUALISM, WHY IS IT DISPISED??

I’d like to try and aswer that question.
Hatred for minorities has been around forever. As a minority, you’re different from mainstream society. The difference can be race, religion, lifestyle, physical appearance. It doesn’t matter. If you’re different, you can be singled out at any time and become the recipient of anyones abuse. Why?? Because people are stupid and bigoted and ignorant and it makes them feel superior when they can debase someone else.
People of color still suffer but not as they did in the past. Gay people are accepted more than they used to be. And we are making ground.
However, as someone pointed out on another thread, the part of the country you live in, makes a big difference as to the level of acceptance. The more educated and younger the population, the higher the acceptance level appears to be. Even then, one has to be careful. The bigotry can be laying just below the surface. During the day you’re fine but at night you have to be real careful. Even in areas where there is great acceptance, there are individuals that with too much alcohol, turn into complete monsters. The movie “Soldiers Girl” is a prime example.
And how many times have we seen some minister’s or priest’s, condemnation from the pulpit insight the population to resort to criminal acts!!??
It happens all the time. It has and always will. At least until reasonable people, no matter what faith or lack of faith, stand up and denounce those that use their position to influence others in a manner that can result in tragedy for another.

So, I’m thinking that maybe we should be asking not the “WHY”, but what is there that we, here in CAF, can do to make a difference?? Or is there even any thing that we do want to do??
I know that I do. I’m not here because I’m “suffering”. I do not consider myself TS. That is behind me. I’m here because I felt that I needed to do something for my “sisters” that are still on this journey, who are Catholic, and try to enlighten those that have little to no knowledge about this subject.
I hope to possibly change the attitude of some of those that feel we are going straight to hell. They seem to think that that is what we deserve. Well in fact that is what the majority of all people deserve, but GOD gave us his Son and even at the moment of our death, if we ask HIM for HIS mercy and forgiveness, HE will grant it. We may have to do some atonement in Purgatory for a while, but we will be with HIM in eternity. Of that I have no doubt.

I’ve been thinking on this a bit more and feel that there is another element that plays into this. It was expressed when someone posted that “the Tabloids and media” had blah, blah, blah.
Unfortunately a lot of people will accept as thruth things, coming from these sources, that are in sync with there general feelings.
The tabloids and media are into making money and have absolutely no problem doing that by pedling sleaze. No matter if it’s outright fabrication or distortion of facts. They look for the “shock” factor and use it to their monetary gain.
Transgender is a term used to discribe many overlapping categories. These include cross-dresser (CD); transvestite (TV); androgynes; genderqueer; people who live cross-gender; drag kings; and drag queens; and, frequently, transsexual (TS).

( Now if you are here to honestly debate and/or discuss TS, please get familiar with the terms. You will find a good discription for all of these in Wikipedia. Search word “transgender”. )

The problem is that people tend to use the term “transexual” when refering to “transgender”, and the majority of the junk you see in the tabloids and on the media relates to “transgender”.
I can’t quote everything on Wikipedia but they have an exceptional section on “Transgender vs Transexual” and I hope that you all read it.
“The word transsexual unlike the word transgender has a precise medical definition.[49] It was defined by Harry Benjamin in his seminal book “The Transsexual Phenomenon”. [49] In particular he defined transsexuals on a scale called the “Benjamin Scale”, which defines a few different levels of intensity of transsexualism.[49] Listed as “Transsexual (Nonsurgical)”, “True Transsexual (moderate intensity)”, and “True Transsexual (high intensity)”.”

I believe that those of us posting, that identify as TS, are primarily “trueTransexuals”. For me it was “high intensity”. Continuing to live with male genitalia was no longer tolorable.
I believe that the Vatican’s “extreme cases” applies to “True Transexuals”.

Rachel

 

[RedGecko]

" An analysis of the moral licitness of “sex-change” operations. It concludes that the procedure could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases if a medical probability exists that it will “cure” the patient’s internal turmoil"
Does not this statement make it clear that it is NOT A SIN, for a trueTS person, to undergo SRS???

For people such as…um, myself… who have trouble following along, the quote seems to be taken from a news article which was published by the Catholic News Service, six years ago. I could only find a republished version of the article on a transgender news site. A search of Catholic News Service was unfruitful. Does anyone know of a direct link to the article?

 

[hyflyer64]

For people such as…um, myself… who have trouble following along, the quote seems to be taken from a news article which was published by the Catholic News Service, six years ago. I could only find a republished version of the article on a transgender news site. A search of Catholic News Service was unfruitful. Does anyone know of a direct link to the article?

When I started on my journey, I had a link to the original but that was on another computer and I also have not been able to find anything except for this article from “03”.
These guys are scary
traditioninaction.org/bev/034bev02-01-2003.htm
They would have back to Latin Mass.

Rachel

 

[aspawloski4th]

I have found it not far from amazing in this thread where people would say " we don’t hte transsexuals" and in the next breath utter disgust with us by implying that our suffering isn’t much or important something we should just grit our teeth and bare. they have even patroniuzed the suffering of others to minimize ours, how shameful. Iv’e been told to “pickup my cross”. No one would tell somebody with a migraine not to take medication to relieve themselve of it, but in my case it is some kind of high virtue that I try to pretend to be male, while doing so make me less functional and is killing me inside. Last year at this time it got so bad I had to be talked down from a panick attack and committing suicide, it was a transsexual who talked me down. I’m in the beginning or transition now and things are improving little by little. Those who feel uncomfortable around transsexuals are going to think about how they are going to handle being around us in the future. Transsexuals don’t hide from the puiblic anymore and shouldn’t have to. whether it’s the work place or Heaven forbid MASS! We are going to be a part of society like anyone else. Once I have the resourses together I do have a significant number of people interested in starting a transsexual right to life organization. We are people like everyone else, we ask to be treated that way. If we don’t start to see improvements asking will eventually become demanding.

 

[Elizabeth502]

I have found it not far from amazing in this thread where people would say " we don’t hte transsexuals" and in the next breath utter disgust with us by implying that our suffering isn’t much or important something we should just grit our teeth and bare. they have even patroniuzed the suffering of others to minimize ours, how shameful. Iv’e been told to “pickup my cross”.

Again, you have not demonstrated where this is occurs on this thread.

One reason that you are bound to be frustrated with responses, and why some of us have been frustrated by some of the statements, is that there are at least 3 themes here:

(1) the practical personal plight of transsexuals
(2) the societal plight of transsexuals
(3) transsexualism as it applies to Catholic moral teaching

But really, that’s not all. The 4th theme – the subtext that keeps appearing – is what is called in moral and philosophical terms, The Problem of Suffering. (How can God “let” some people suffer without relief; why do some people suffer seemingly “more” than others – although I would careful about such judgments; and what about the suffering of innocents – such as people born with a condition or disease, etc.)

#(1) can best be addressed by medicine and by psychologists & psychiatrists, in person, with professionals;

#(2) can best be addressed in support groups, outreach groups, and other social avenues, activist groups – also in person, with like-minded folks who share that cause or similar causes;

#(3) can best be addressed by approaching specialists in Catholic morality, live and in print.

#(4) – the overarching subtext of this thread – can only be addressed in prayer and through other spiritual resources.

That’s why I continue to say that CAF posters are not your best resource. That has nothing to do with “hate.”

 

[aspawloski4th]

Again, you have not demonstrated where this is occurs on this thread.

One reason that you are bound to be frustrated with responses, and why some of us have been frustrated by some of the statements, is that there are at least 3 themes here:

(1) the practical personal plight of transsexuals
(2) the societal plight of transsexuals
(3) transsexualism as it applies to Catholic moral teaching

But really, that’s not all. The 4th theme – the subtext that keeps appearing – is what is called in moral and philosophical terms, The Problem of Suffering. (How can God “let” some people suffer without relief; why do some people suffer seemingly “more” than others – although I would careful about such judgments; and what about the suffering of innocents – such as people born with a condition or disease, etc.)

#(1) can best be addressed by medicine and by psychologists & psychiatrists, in person, with professionals;

#(2) can best be addressed in support groups, outreach groups, and other social avenues, activist groups – also in person, with like-minded folks who share that cause or similar causes;

#(3) can best be addressed by approaching specialists in Catholic morality, live and in print.

#(4) – the overarching subtext of this thread – can only be addressed in prayer and through other spiritual resources.

That’s why I continue to say that CAF posters are not your best resource. That has nothing to do with “hate.”

I trust that you don’t hate , maybe annoyed, but not hate. But you speak for you and not everyone who disagrees with me.Is it possible that you and I could not be enemies and agree to disagree?

 

[hyflyer64]

That’s why I continue to say that CAF posters are not your best resource. That has nothing to do with “hate.”

Elizabeth,

I think that you may be absolutely correct. This is not our best resource and I really don’t know what would or will be. However, we have managed to reach out to a couple people and at least have them reassess their point of view. I’ve already posted why I think TS people are “dispised”. My question was what can we, CAF, do about it?? Or do we even want to do anything about it??
Have enough “facts” been presented in support of The Church’s position re:“in extreme cases” SRS is morally acceptable?? (This is for “True Transexuals”).
I believe that if we can change people’s mind set from “OH… that’s a SIN!!”, to ‘this is something that is between that person and God and that SRS is presently their only option to lead a more or less normal life’, here on CAF, then we’ve accomplished something.
As I’ve stated in another post, and for those of you who have a true Christian attitude, SIN is not black and white. There are a lot of grey areas.
And forgive me but when I see the Vatican stating that “in extreme cases” this is morally acceptable, I think that they are thinking, ’ there might be something to this intersex thing but if we go down that road, we’ll be opening a can of worms. Heaven forbid that a natal woman change gender and attempt to become a priest’!!!
All True Transexuals are an “extreme case”. SRS is morally acceptable. PERIOD!!!
Stop condemning, stop pontificating, stop expressing your biased opinions and look at how The Church is viewing this syndrome.
We are not wanting to advocate this for your children, your husbands, your wives, or any one. This syndrome is horrible. But it exists and it’s not something that we choose and it’s not something that comes about due to our lifestyle. It just happens.
If you can direct us to a more appropriate platform, I would appreciate it.

Rachel

 

[Elizabeth502]

Elizabeth,

Stop condemning, stop pontificating, stop expressing your biased opinions and look at how The Church is viewing this syndrome.
We are not wanting to advocate this for your children, your husbands, your wives, or any one. This syndrome is horrible. But it exists and it’s not something that we choose and it’s not something that comes about due to our lifestyle. It just happens.
If you can direct us to a more appropriate platform, I would appreciate it.

Rachel

Who is the second person plural (imperative) you are addressing?
I have no idea who is “pontificating” unless it’s the pope. (Is he?)
But what I do know is that despised is spelled with only one “i,” please.

As to the more appropriate platforms, I listed them all. CAF does not fit the criteria for any of the four – with the exception of perhaps #4, and that one in the Prayer Intentions and Spirituality subforums. Only as it has been presented (especially on this thread), my opinion is that the topic does not belong in the social justice subforum. Obviously I must be in the minority.

Having used littleflower.org on many, many a desperate occasion myself, I am not one to turn up my nose at cyber sources for prayers. However, I do note that when someone comes to me in person and says, “I’ll pray for you,” I have no doubt that I have just seen the face of Christ, and I believe. Nothing is quite as powerful as that in-the-flesh connection. I was very upset once, in church, crying praying alone. A good friend saw me, and immediately knelt beside me to pray silently with me. What a powerful impact that had upon me. Likewise, when I myself later saw an acquaintance in a different church, equally upset, crying, praying, I came and knelt beside her-- remembering what that had done for me.

 

[pathia]

#(1) can best be addressed by medicine and by psychologists & psychiatrists, in person, with professionals;

It’s a requirement of the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care to be treated by professionals. All of us have this covered.

#(2) can best be addressed in support groups, outreach groups, and other social avenues, activist groups – also in person, with like-minded folks who share that cause or similar causes;

There is a large section of the gay and lesbian population that wants to dump transsexuals off the bus of the ‘gay agenda’. Most of the large national organizations have little to no care for us. That leaves us with a group that is socially suppressed and numbering about 1/10000 to 1/30000 of the population trying to get things done politically and financially. Those are pretty grim numbers. Especially when you consider over 50% of the transsexual population makes below the poverty line in income.

#(3) can best be addressed by approaching specialists in Catholic morality, live and in print.

No such thing. I have gone straight all the way to the NCBC (National Catholic Bioethics Center). Even they had no answers for me.

#(4) – the overarching subtext of this thread – can only be addressed in prayer and through other spiritual resources.

That’s why I continue to say that CAF posters are not your best resource. That has nothing to do with “hate.”

I have yet to find a single parish where I am welcome. I can last at one for a few weeks, maybe a month or two, before the rumor mill starts churning and people will stop sitting next to me and shuffling their children away from me as if I were some sort of pedophile.

 

[hyflyer64]

Who is the second person plural (imperative) you are addressing?
I have no idea who is “pontificating” unless it’s the pope. (Is he?)
But what I do know is that despised is spelled with only one “i,” please.

As to the more appropriate platforms, I listed them all. CAF does not fit the criteria for any of the four – with the exception of perhaps #4, and that one in the Prayer Intentions and Spirituality subforums. Only as it has been presented (especially on this thread), my opinion is that the topic does not belong in the social justice subforum. Obviously I must be in the minority.

Having used littleflower.org on many, many a desperate occasion myself, I am not one to turn up my nose at cyber sources for prayers. However, I do note that when someone comes to me in person and says, “I’ll pray for you,” I have no doubt that I have just seen the face of Christ, and I believe. Nothing is quite as powerful as that in-the-flesh connection. I was very upset once, in church, crying praying alone. A good friend saw me, and immediately knelt beside me to pray silently with me. What a powerful impact that had upon me. Likewise, when I myself later saw an acquaintance in a different church, equally upset, crying, praying, I came and knelt beside her-- remembering what that had done for me.

Elizabeth,
First I apologize for the typo
As far as “pontificating”, I’m refering to all those who have posted on the subject of TS, on this thread and others, as if they were speaking for the church when in fact they were expressing a generalized opinion.
After a bit of thought, what better place to discuss this subject than on a “social justice subforum”. I don’t think that any of us are naive enough to think that we are going to change The Churche’s position on this. Not in our life time. However, the Vatican has stated that “extreme cases” morally justify our course of treatment.
Please don’t lump us in with the general TG community.

I would think that you and others who post on CAF regularly, have no problem expressing your views with others in your parish. This is where “social justice” comes in. If “you” ( as apposed to “us” ) are expressing “your opinions” and not facts, then “you” are creating an injustice.
Have you ever played the game where a group of people gather and one person wispers a statement to another and that person to another and on and on and then you compare the original to what the last person states?? Usually the statement is totally distorted
Start with ‘it should be condemned’ and it ends up ‘it is condemned and they are all going straight to hell.’
Now take an issue where the majority of people have an opinion based on “tabloids” and sensationalized headlines and tv programs. “You” add your opinion and they see it as reinforcing what they read or saw.

“Social justice”, and Christ’s message of love from the Father, requires you to set the record straight. To point out that there are “extreme cases” and that we are full members, in good standing, in The Church.
If “you” are in a position where people do look to “you” for some level of guidance, I would think that “your” opinion should be kept to youselves.!?

Gosh, I hope this makes sense!?

Rachel

 

[hyflyer64]

I just got home from church. There was a large group of women sitting in the front pews. It was thier last day of an “Emmaus” retreat.
As well as I “pass” in public, some women will pick up on the fact that I’m a bit different ( difficult to overcome the influence of 50+ years of testosterone ) and I realized that I would not be able to participate in something like that.
My parish has a very large Hispanic population. The Pastors name is Morales. To say that I expect a conservative attitude is putting mildly.
During the Eucharistic celebration I thought of Pathia and of how terrible it must be to be shunned by the very people who should open thier arms to her as Christ thought us.
My eyes teared up at the injustice of it all.
How do you bear that cross??
I realized that if I volenteer at my church, as I’ve thought of doing, and my past comes up, I could wind up being ostracized as Pathia has.

Tomorrow, I’m going to make an appointment to sit and talk with a priest at my church. Maybe he will be open minded and can help me discern what He wants me to do with my life. I see an overwelming need for my Catholic TS sisters re:the church.

A friend belongs to a non-denominational church where she is fully accepted and is called on to participate in functions and lectures and to play a significant part in the church.
An impossibility for a mainstream conservative church.

It’s often been said that it’s easier being gay than TS.

 

[aspawloski4th]

With me at the very beginnings of transition, I’m Stephanie only part of the time. Onaccount me not being fully transitioned one can tell what my physical sex is even when I presnet as a woman. When I go to Mass if it is going to be as Stephanie it has to be the local Dominican center whch is a blessing. Being my realself wouldn’t fly at my home parish. Even though the pastor likely wouldn’t mind, there is an age old blue collar attitude that permiates the parish, as well as anyother parish near me. Even though almost no one knows about my situation, because of my hair beng grown I still have gotten a little static over that. my hair is almost shoulder length and is shaped a little like a bob. And the beats goes on…

 

[Zoe_Brain]

Tomorrow, I’m going to make an appointment to sit and talk with a priest at my church. Maybe he will be open minded and can help me discern what He wants me to do with my life.

Good luck with that. I expect summary rejection, and summary ejection. Not 100% certain, but over 99%. More go to the extent of using bell, book and candle than the opposite, and I’m being literal here.

May your priest be one of the exceptions. They exist, I know that. Apart from such non-mainstream churches as the “liberal Catholic Church”, I’ve not seen any though. It’s an odd experience to have someone say to you Retro Me Satanas! and be asperged with Holy Water to drive you from Holy ground.

It’s just ignorance. Not malice. They just don’t know, they think they do, but they’re fearful and out of their depth. Priests are only human, and even for those who have a true vocation, it can’t be easy for them.

You know that I’ve actually had to shore up the faith of several of them when they’ve talked to me? I’ve not done that since transition, but before it used to happen all the time. I’d be the one designated to entertain the priest at the wake, and so many times they just needed to unburden themselves.

The irony is that I lack faith myself. But I know what was right for them, even if not for me. It would have been a sin according to my own tenets not to help restore their faith.

But I digress. Good luck, just please don’t hold your expectations too high. Hope is always justified, but expectations are not always fulfilled.

 

[Zoe_Brain]

There is a large section of the gay and lesbian population that wants to dump transsexuals off the bus of the ‘gay agenda’. Most of the large national organizations have little to no care for us. That leaves us with a group that is socially suppressed and numbering about 1/10000 to 1/30000 of the population trying to get things done politically and financially. Those are pretty grim numbers. Especially when you consider over 50% of the transsexual population makes below the poverty line in income.

I don’t want to get into a game of “more persecuted than thou”, but most people on this forum have no idea of the depth of the problem.

For example, 20 states have employment protection based on sexual orientation. You can’t just fire someone for being Gay. But only 13 of these extend that protection to transsexuals.

New Hampshire just passed a vote overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. They’ve had employment protection for gays for over 10 years now. But on the same day, they voted even more overwhelmingly against extending any protection to transsexuals. So it’s perfectly legal to fire someone just for being TS, or refuse them service at a restaurant, or prevent them from using an elevator or a public restroom.

Wisconsin has had employment protection for gays since 1993. They have elected an openly lesbian senator, Tammy Baldwin. But Wisconsin is the home of the Inmate Sex Change Prevention Act, which legally mandates that transsexual prisoners not be given necessary medical treatment.It costs the taxpayers some money, because the cost of dealing with the resultant medical problems exceeds any savings.

Earlier, Kevin Kallas, a psychiatrist and mental health director for Wisconsin’s prisons, testified he opposed the law banning hormones.

Besides in federal prisons, hormones are given in all of the Midwestern states surveyed by the Department of Corrections, he said. Kallas called hormones a “medically necessary” treatment in some, though not all, cases.

Kallas said patients who are taken off hormones typically need counseling, drugs and hospital stays instead, suicide treatments that are more expensive than the hormones, which cost $675 to $1,600 a year. Kallas said he did not know of any other medical treatment that the state Legislature has banned in prisons.

See the scope of the problem? Then there’s this development, only a few days ago.

As the state’s insurer of last resort, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan is required to cover those who cannot otherwise obtain coverage. The insurer said the decision to discontinue coverage of sex-reassignment surgery was based on market analysis that showed their competitors do not offer the procedure.

When the decision was approved by the state in February, officials acknowledged it was “unfortunate,” according to the Michigan Messenger. They noted, however, that the law does not regard sex-reassignment surgery as a necessary part of medical care. Professional groups such as the American Medical Association uphold the surgery as necessary.

It is. People die without it. The cost, by the way, is 2c per insured person per month in the short-term, and in the long term, a negative cost, as they don’t have to pay for the psychiatric care for the suicide attempts. It’s bad enough to be told your life isn’t worth 2c a month: worse to be told that people will pay extra to cause you to die.

Southern Comfort is a 2001 documentary film about the final year in the life of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual. Eads, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, was turned down for treatment by two dozen doctors out of fear that treating such a patient would hurt their reputation. By the time Eads received treatment, the cancer was too advanced to save his life.

The film begins in the spring. Eads falls in love with Lola, a male-to-female transsexual woman. He spends those remaining warm days in the company of his “chosen family:” Max, Cass, and “the rest”. That summer, his mother and father drive ten hours to visit Robert, who is still their daughter in their eyes. Later that year, Eads makes his last appearance at the Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, a prominent transgender gathering. Already feeling ill, he addresses a crowd of 500 and takes Lola to what is for them a prom that never was. Also appearing in the film are Eads’ friends Tom and Debbie King. They were responsible for saving Robert’s life as he collapsed in a pool of his own blood while staying with them.

After Eads’ death, his ashes were spread across the family farm around a lone Christmas tree which was to symbolize Robert’s many changes and blossoms in life.

Are you beginning to get an inkling of the scope of the problem now? These are not “exceptional cases”. This is the norm, and the great surprise is when it doesn’t happen.

 

[Zoe_Brain]

I’ll quote an extract from an article in my blog

I was blessed with a miraculous cure for my transsexuality, and that was a relief I can’t express adequately in words. Like being released from Hell. But I’ve had an even greater blessing. One that’s causing me to seriously question my agnosticism, when a mere inexplicable medical phenomenon could not.

From D. in Colorado, the place where the first two Republican senators came from:

As many of you may remember, It was a 11 months ago yesterday that I was brutally beaten and left for dead for what, being me. I’ve gone down along road with many twist and turns, and a lot of frustration and hard work to get to where I am today. I still haven’t hit what the medical profession calls maximum medical improvement. (I guess that’s good) I still have more work ahead, but considering I almost didn’t make it and last May they were starting the paper work for permanent disability without quality life. I’ve been able to officially retire the following therapist, physical, occupational, speech and barring any hiccups my neurologist (hurray no more MRI’s or Cat scans). Yesterday, I went to my primary care who finally released me to return to work full time gradually increasing my hours over the next 2-4 weeks. Unfortunately they did still keep some medical restrictions in place to hopefully protect me, but I know I’ve come along way!

No need to respond, I just needed to express my feelings, but thanks anyway for reading.

Once again remember in this fast pace world that we live in today, please take the time to STOP, look around, smell the roses, and see the beauty life has to offer. Take your negatives and turn them into positives. Remember you only live once, and you never know if you'll wake up tomorrow and have the chance to again!

Thanks for all the support! Remember to always be aware of your surroundings. I love you all, and thanks again for your love and support!

And from C.

As some already know, or may not know, I was literally "Murdered" just after my 21st birthday, in 1988...I was slipped in and out of death many times before I was stabilized...
The EMS crew had written me off on arrival to the hospital... I was fully comatose...
Without going into all the gory details again here, I am still not completely healed. I never will be. The attackers thought they had butchered me...but, modern medical science managed to pull me from the grip of death...but not with out life long side effects.

I was unable to do much of anything for 18 months after I was spared from the embalmers table...

Take every moment of life's breath as a precious gift. and if you are like us, the ones who pay a horrible price for being who and what we are, every step towards recovery is a major win.

I will pray very hard for you, that you too can recover and mend.
I will pray that your inner spirit, can find the way to somehow go on, and not suffer the nightmares of reliving it endlessly.

For me, it took forgiveness. Why they decided to do what they did to me, I don't know. I never found out who it was...but, I had to forgive it in my mind. I had to let it go...in order to go forward with my life.

Your survival and subsequent living of life fully later, is going to be the real victory.

None of us should have to endure this kind of pain...just because we are " special souls ".

I’ve been placed in the company of such women. People who have every reason to curse God, the Fates, the Universe, and their oppressors. People who should by all rights be bitter and twisted from the decades of misery induced by transsexuality, and the persecution they get when they have the temerity to get treatment for it. And what do I find? Love. Forgiveness. Life. Hope.

Remaining Agnostic in the face of that is increasingly difficult.

I know this is outside most people’s experience here. That they cannot credit that in this day and age, in the USA of 2009, these things don’t just happen rarely, but happen usually, commonly, all the time, to one segment of the population. That we have a special “Transgender Day of Remembrance” every year, a quite, unpublicised day, very private, where we remember our dead. The list this year was 17 pages long. At the private ceremony in a park in Canberra, after dusk, we lit candles for each of the slain this year. I read out the names, but when I got to the children, some as young as 10… I broke down.

So if we are a little less than sympathetic to someone telling us to “pick up our Cross”, please forgive us. It’s difficult to do that when you’re nailed to it.

And the question this whole thread asks is, simply, “Why?”.

 

[magdelaine]

After reading more, both in these posts and elsewhere, I’m beginning to think that TG being associated with homoactivism is NOT a good thing.

Homoactivists want to undermine and reorder society; saying “accept us and our perversions or else!”. Intersexed and transgendered folks seem to want and need something entirely different.

I think that there needs to be some serious education in this area; to split the association of TG away from sexual and social deviance, if possible. We are all sinners! and yet, I think the fear and non-acceptance that you have experienced at various parishes and church communities is a result of folks mistakenly associating your condition with the scandal of living in openly and defiantly in sin. You’re no different than the rest of us sinners, but what you are is visible and so folks can jump to conclusions.

I don’t know if what I’ve written makes any sense here, but I really feel that there would be a different attitude if folks knew more.