The Sun: Gender swap boy age 9

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Yet again our noble seeker of sleaze finds more misery to expose.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2645444/Gender-swa...

Comments

Not surprised

You see, people will have bitten, with a whole range of views, so the sun will be thinking that 'this is a popular topic, lets do another one', at least this one is slightly more informed and balanced than the last one. My thoughts are with the poor child and my comments about the other case stand.

Take care - Jay

That which does not kill me only serves to delay the inevitable. My blog => http://jaynemorose.wordpress.com/ <= note new address

I used to dream

...of going to school as a girl. It would have caused chaos, that's for sure, but I wanted to do it so much more than I didn't want to do it. I couldn't of course since no-one at that time knew what I hid in my heart of hearts, and no-one at that time even knew what transgender meant (60's).

My natural instinct then (as now) was to hide, and coming out in such a way would have made so much publicity that it probably would have destroyed me mentally. Even now I have great difficulty coming to terms with the idea that I don't have to hide myself any more.

So I just put up with being the weird kid, the geek, crap at all sports and not interested in any, wearing strange clothes and not having many friends. Strangely, I had no problem with the girls, but they saw mostly the stereotype and that made it awkward as well.

Bitter, moi? Not entirely, times are what they are. Miserable? Oh, yes, I had plenty of that, but some good times too.

I'm just glad for those of today who have much better information and more choices than I did, even if there are still problems.

Penny

It is not that they fear you.

They have a way to look at the world. Boys grow up into men. Men date women. Girls grow up into women. Women date men. They are mostly products of the 70s-80s, and they have an idea that ererything should be simple, straightforward, and invariable. Now, TS are boys that grow into women, girls that grow into men. You take ground from under their feet. And they don't like it. They don't understand you, and consider it a headache to try to. And what people do not understand, they fear.

Faraway

Faraway


On rights of free advertisement:
Big Closet Top Shelf

Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Fear...

Puddintane's picture

I believe fear is the right word. People who cross societal boundaries are often feared, if not always admired, because their presence on the other side of that boundary is an existential challenge to the internal reality of the viewer. With sexual transgressions, in particular, there is often a frisson of desire present to frighten one.

We see this play out in the real world all the time, the televangelist who rails against "immorality" caught in bed with two hookers; the anti-gay crusader who turns out to have been boinking a male model; the celibate embodiment of care and chastity who indecently assaults children.

There's a saying in the gay community that the most vehement denunciations come from the individuals most tempted by the behaviours they decry.

Cheers,

Puddin'

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

fear and desire

laika's picture

There was an experiment to this effect. They told the subjects wearing a bonerometer on their pricks that they were testing the difference in response between gay and straight men when looking at gay porn. When really the entire test group was made up of avowedly straight men, and they were testing the difference between those who expressed disgust and disapproval with the gay "lifestyle" and those who said they were fine with it. Guess which group got the hard-ons? Wish I had more info on that experiment, but the results confirmed what a lot of us have suspected about these phobes! Transphobes would be harder to test, less a matter of arousal than identity---their secret hidden selves---but if there was a way I bet the results would be similar.
~~~hugs, Laika

The Experiment

Puddintane's picture

Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1996 Aug;105(3):440-5. Adams HE, Wright LW Jr, Lohr BA.

Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-3013, USA.

Abstract:

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.

Cheers,

Puddin'

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Irresponsible Journalism

jengrl's picture

I hope the family files a lawsuit against the Sun for their irresponsible journalism and their shameless attempt to make money from this child's pain. The parents of the other kids in the class need to educate themselves about the reality of and the acceptance of people who are different. The one mother acted like it was a contagious disease and her son would somehow catch it. The school counselors should have a special meeting with the parents of the kids and begin to set them straight on what is fact and what is fiction. After that, they need to go home and explain to their children that sometimes kids are born with a birth defect that makes them feel like they are trapped in a body opposite of what they are. I know that it is wishful thinking, but that is what needs to be done in this case and others like it.

PICT0013_1_0.jpg

'scuse?

Andrea Lena's picture

Wouldn't "The Sun" and "journalism" be mutually exclusive terms? It will take time, and although this happens too many times, the fact that it doesn't happen all the time give us hope things will change. Sadly, especially in this case, the only things that seem to be contagious are disrespect and ignorance.
"She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones." Che Dio ti benedica! 'drea

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

School Counsellors?

I may well be wrong—since it is a long time ago that I was at school—but school counsellors are a rare breed in schools in the UK, particularly in primary schools which cater for kids up to 11. Our village primary school has 50-60 pupils, with a headmistress and one other teacher. That's all, except for the local vicar who goes there once a week for assembly (it is a Church of England school). I suppose if some sort of counselling was thought to be needed they would have to search outside for help.

If I have got my knickers in a twist over this, no doubt someone will tell me I am an idiot—but tell me nicely please. :)

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

School Counsellors

Not in my experience growing up, nor in that of my two sons, have I ever heard of such a thing in the UK. I didn't know that such a position existed until I started reading stories here.

I have since watched "Wallander" on TV - swedish police detective, and I learned that they have them in Sweden in one of the episodes. So they may be common elsewhere, I don't know. (In the Wallander episode, the Counsellor was the bad guy. Obviously.)

Penny

In Despair

Having read the article whilst at my fathers today, I turned to the editorial. Under a title of ‘A crass act’ it states
"No child can know his or her sexuality at nine.”

I despair at the level of ignorance and stupidity inherent in that statement. We are talking about gender for God’s sake, not sexuality.
It ends with the sentence “But it demands more intelligent handling than we have seen” Are they referring to their own ‘crass’ handling of this story.

How the writer of this piece can look at them selves in the mirror is beyond my comprehension.
In despair
Anne

Fear of fear

Newspapers are only interested in one thing - selling more newspapers. 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story' is as true today as ever it was, hence the reference to 'sex change boy'. Not only is this deliberately hurtful and disciminatory, it is also incorrect.

The 'average person' is taught from an early age that certain behaviour is normal. Modern media thrives on a diet of fear, which is self-perpetuating and sells newspapers.

It is also long past time that gender, sex and sexual orientation were properly explained; the woman who seemed to think that her child could 'catch' transsexualism needs to be sent back to school. One wonders, though, just how secure some people are in their own identity?

Irrespective of this, the schools, and the education authorites in each case, should be soundly thrashed for failing to handle the issues in a sensitive manner.

School counsellor in the UK? That'll be the day!

Susie

Lack Of School Counselors Is One Of The Problems

jengrl's picture

The school is dealing with an issue they don't know much about. I guess they are working from the perspective that every child deserves an education. This is an admirable and noble thing. The problem is that they are flying blind without having someone on staff who can address these false assumptions that parents are making about this situation. If they had a counselor on staff then they could educate everyone involved and make sure they know what is true and what isn't.Here in the U.S, every school I ever attended had a counselor.

PICT0013_1_0.jpg

Grrrrr

So today the Sun have discovered another young soul to highlight who is going under going the same transition.... And in their column they once again try to slate the parents for allowing such a thing, when in truth the editor of the sun basically knows diddly squat about gender disorientation.

This so called editor is trying to think for the entire Transgender movements with his unmoralistic normal adult male mind, by saying no child as young as 9 can have their sexuality decided for them???? WHAT??????????????

This just about sums up the entire predjudice against anything that does not conform to their so called normal world.

It has nothing to do with sexuality it is not sexual feelings that run through a young childs mind when they KNOW they are in the wrong body..... I knew when I was 4...

And as for the mother who was worried for her child suddenly turning round to her and asking if he can be a girl... Jeez what an un-educated woman (was probably a bully at school herself), well her concens are just a mirror of the same stupid thoughts that the editor is trying to put forward ..... Thoughts made by an adult who once again wants to perceive the problem as a sexual one.... Not a young child who knows that something is wrong with their genetic makeup...