| 2nd Grade Boy Returns to School as Transgender |
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| by Tom McGregor | Mon, Feb 11, 2008, 04:57 PM |
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Channel 9 News of Colorado reports that, “Wong says the staff at one of The transgender student had attended this same school previously as a “boy,” but had left to attend classes in another district. Most likely, his fellow students will recognize the student and be somewhat surprised at the boy’s new wardrobe preferences. The school district’s spokesperson says that mental health professionals will make themselves available to students or parents if they have any concerns at all. Family therapist Larry Curry told 9 News that he suggests parents do not worry too much, because the boy’s behavior “is not contagious.” It makes one wonder what is happening to our culture when a 2nd grade boy decides he has to dress up as a girl and his public school chooses to accommodate his feelings. To read the entire article from Channel 9 News, link here:
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Comments (21)
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written by Grrr , February 11, 2008 Tom, our culture is fine. If a guy wants to put on a dress, it's none of my business. I think we are pretty much hard-wired by age 6 or 7 so this seems to indicate progress. I don't think a school system acting out toward a child is ever appropriate were gender identification or sexual oreintation come into question. Get over your ick factor, it's icky.
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written by Nathan , February 11, 2008 I believe the term transgendered refers to a person who has undergone sexual reassignment. This child appears to be a transvestite. Poor kid needs to read DallasBlog more often, then he might decide that he's better off loving chicks, Jesus and low taxes.
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written by Byron George , February 12, 2008 Mental health professionals should be available for the boy/girl. Sick
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written by Mia , February 12, 2008 I think the Dallas Blog needs a science editor. That way, the writers who misunderstand science and/or biology (and write really bad opinions) can be stopped before their viewpoints are published. Just a suggestion.
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written by Laughable , February 12, 2008 If the kid wants to put on a dress big deal. It's the cost of the "counseling" for his naturally freaked out peers that annoys me. Taxpayer money put to good use! Hah.
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written by Denise Holliday , February 12, 2008 http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/conway.html Reader might like to learn the facts and the difference between Transgender, Transsexual and Crossdresser or Transvestite. Individual Gender identity is fixed at birth but gender overall is not polarized. Most Trans people are seen to be different and they also see the world differently before they are three years of age. Just because you do not understand it, does not mean it is wrong. Denise Holliday http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/winpapernews PFLAG Canada Gender Line, Toll free in Canada 1-888-822-9494
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written by Becky , February 12, 2008 This all sounds perverted. So the school will make available "mental health professionals" to counsel parents and students if required all at tax payers expense. Why not make this child go to a special needs school?
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written by Amy , February 12, 2008 a transvestite, to clarify, is someone (typically a straight male) who dresses in clothing of the opposite sex for sexual gratification. I'm fairly certain the 2nd grader is not a transvestite. also, transsexual is the term to describe someone who plans to undergo or has undergone sexual reassignment. some transsexuals don't identity as transsexual post operation; instead they identity with the gender they identity (no longer trans) because their transition is complete. transgendered is the blanket term to reflect anyone who acts, behaviors, etc. in a manner that is different than usually portrayed by a member of that sex. such members include: cross-dressers, transsexuals, transvestites, gender benders, drag king/queen, and others who show their gender in their own way, not "society's standard". a butch female (straight or else wise) also an effeminate man (straight or else wise) would also be members of the transgender community. however, it is a matter of identity. most butch females and effeminate men wouldn't consider themselves transgendered. therefore, it's not just a definition, but depends mostly on self-identity.
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written by Confused , February 12, 2008 This is a child in the second grade in elementary school, not an adult. I cannot understand how the child can be labeled according to an adult definition. What's also confusing here is that our laws do not give such broad and far reaching individual rights to children to choose for themselves at such a young age. Those rights typically belong to the parents (and such is an ever challenging debate of whose interests prevail at what age of the child). Also, how can this young child choose to dress in opposite gender clothes and have that right protected by the public school but children in many public schools are restricted on what they can wear - for their very protection? Having so many standards and no real sense of what is society's (or the public school's) role here makes this a very confused issue. Anyone care to shed some light?
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written by Dallasite1 , February 12, 2008 Becky has a good point. The only person who needs "mental health professionals" is this very confused boy. There is nothing sane about a person who desires to disfigure their body via a sex-change operation.
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written by Dallasite1 , February 12, 2008 Gee Denise, that's great that a gay activist organization has decided for the rest of society what is acceptable and unacceptable. Creating a timeline of the formation of homosexual behavior out of thin air may be perfectly acceptable within your community. I have not seen any peer-reviewed, unbiased research to support your claims though. Nor will I, most likely, since all such research is vehemently denounced by the gay community as homophobic. This young boy is going to be a massive distraction to his school. The school is attempting to make him feel normal, while trying to make those not suffering from borderline personality disorder, the majority of the population, feel the opposite. They are forcing his insanity upon the community, and truly allowing the patients to run the asylum.
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written by Holy Roller , February 13, 2008 Dallasite1, there is plenty of research around. We can't put it all on a silver platter for you. So if you seek it, then you will find it. Or continue to pick and choose, like most ignorant people do.
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written by Byron George , February 13, 2008 CPS should take this child from the parents. If they are goofy enough to allow their second grader to wear a dress, then they don't deserve to raise him. Get him the help he needs.
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written by Denise Holliday , February 13, 2008 Dear Dallasite1 80% of cross-dresser are heterosexual males. Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate issues and the site I referred you too is about Gender identiry. The person who owns that site is Lynn Conway who in her early twenties developed the chip that today runs your desktop. The child you think so foolish likely has a stronger sense of self and personal gender identity than many ever have at anytime in their lives. We do not survive because of the help we get, but despite the help we don't get. I was less than five when I experienced public displeasure for the first time. I understood who I was then and I never changed despite the worlds best efforts. Smile. This child and others like her are showing more personal courage at their age than many adults are ever required to show. http://transgriot.blogspot.com...ntary.html Denise Holliday
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written by Dallasite1 , February 13, 2008 Denise, Pulling more statistics from your posterior does not help your argument, no matter how many times you do it. The desire to disfigure your body to such extremes is caused by mental illness. The age at which your mental illness took hold is frankly, irrelevant. What is relevant is the cause of the disease. Be it genetic, or a learned behavior, is unknown, mostly due to the gay community's fear of research that I mentioned above. Regardless, you keep trying to force that illness upon the community while telling them that it is perfectly normal. I believe the term sociopath might come into mind here.
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written by TEA , February 14, 2008 Dallasite1 You seem to have your mind made up, but I might say you are half right. Transsexualism has been firmly established for the past 60 years or so and most definitely is not a mental illness, whether you choose to believe that or not. There are tens and tens of thousands of post operative transsexuals in the US alone, almost all of them mainstreamed and going about their life with no other wish than to just be left alone. They want no special rights or legislation. You more likely than not deal, or have dealt, with some of these ladies and men while never knowing you have done so. On the other hand, what most of the world sees are the "transgendered"...the "out and proud" gay men and women crossdressers who hide under the "transgender" umbrella...with no desire to ever have gender reassignment surgery, but of whom insist they are female (or male), who wish to invade women's (and men's)spaces, and are hell bent on deconstructing gender entirely. THESE are the ones of whom you should oppose. They are nothing more than homosexuals who like to play dress up. They are very politically active, insisting on special legislation to protect THEIR rights, while having no objection whatsoever in infringing on yours. Understand one thing...transsexual is NOT transgender.
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written by Amy , February 14, 2008 Umm TEA, don't start talking less you know what your talking about. The only thing I'm going to say is that: 1) transsexuals are a "subset" of transgender (i.e. someone who is a transsexual is also transgender by definition, but not necessarily by self-identity) 2) Cross dressers are typically straight men. 3) "Invade" is a presumptuous term where no proof has been given to assert that an "invasion" occurs. Now then, I'm going to give other forms of "disfiguring one's body" (as discussed by Dallasite1) 1) Ear piercings 2) Tattoos 3) Body piercings However, I don't believe any of these people who would "disfigure their body" are considered insane, so why the double standard? Also, what defines gender clothing? (in response to Confused's post) Granted in America it is "cross dressing" for a guy to wear a skirt. However, a similar article of clothing (a kilt) is Scottish male clothing. Once again, why the double standard? Also, if one states that they are a female, is it not female attire they should wear? If one reads the DSM concerning transsexuals, the "cure" isn't therapy, it's transition. Thus, the APA recognizes this not as an "illness", but as an unwanted state and the correct state being post- transition. What further research does one need? Also, what's wrong with playing dress up? Children do it; adults do it too. Whether it be the friends I know who cosplay as their favorite character at an anime con, or whether it be some couples that "role play". These scenarios are not seen as "insane". Thus, once again, why the double standard? The child isn't wearing clothing in an inappropriate manner; instead, they are wearing "clothing different than some may expect", but that makes the child comfortable. Thus, it would seem that you are the insane one, because you're having the problem. I mean seriously, you're being bothered by the actions of some second grader that you don't even know. People are dying right now as I type this message; focus your attention on them if you want to meddle into a life you don't even know.
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written by Dallasite1 , February 15, 2008 TEA: There are over 300,000 chronic homeless in this country, over 70% are severely mentally ill. Why is this relevant? To show that sheer numbers are meaningless. The fact that there are “tens and tens of thousands of post operative transsexuals in the US” is not a reason to accept this as anything other than the mental disorder that it is. Amy: Ear piercing, tattoos, and body piercing, when taken to the extreme, can most certainly be a sign of a personality disorder. Most people can tell the difference between a small tattoo that is a typical sign of trying to differentiate oneself, and full body tattoos with horns surgically implanted in one’s head, but I’m sure that there are those of you that would attempt to find a moral equation. Gender clothing is established by society in general. He isn’t trying to play “dress up”, and he most certainly isn’t trying just wear “clothing different than some may expect”. He is trying to get attention, period. If a counselor were to sit down and visit with this boy, he would most likely find a troubled young man with no sense of self worth, and no social identity, two things that are of the utmost importance to school age children. He has found that playing “dress up” to this extreme gives him that identity, albeit a very negative one in most people’s eyes. Many socially inadequate children dress to fit in to alternative social groups (“goth” is an example), and sometimes to not fit into any social group, though usually it occurs later in their school years. If this is a normal 7-8 year old 2nd grader, he is a long way from puberty, and his sexuality is not really in question at this point. I am very curious as to what is so wrong with this boy’s home life that he would feed off of such negative attention.
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written by Jenn B. , February 15, 2008 TEA, Please don't "defend" this child's gender identity status by espousing your homophobic, trans-elitist opinions. With friends like you, this child doesn't need any enemies. Dallasite 1: You don't know what you're talking about. I'm an expert in this field and your ignorant generalizations about contributing factors to consistent and persistent childhood gender identity expression are so far off base, you may be AWOL from the entire planet. Believe me, the kind of negative attention a child gets for being transgender would bring someone like you to your knees crying like a baby. It is NOT for the faint-hearted and it is NOT in any way pleasurable. Counselors have sat down with this child and come to the conclusion, confirmed by the child herself and her parents, that this course of action is in the best interests of the child and in support of her gender identity. How dare you call a child you don't even know "socially inadequate"? Finally, "sexuality" has NOTHING to do with gender identity. You knew you're gender LONG before you became attracted to whichever gender(s) you are attracted to. "Sexuality" and "Gender Identity" are completely different things. Can you grasp that fact? If not, then I presume that you believe that a male who loses their genitalia to cancer or in combat would no longer identify as MALE and would no longer be heterosexual, assuming they were to begin with. I'll trust this child's judgment, maturity and sense of self ANY DAY over yours. Grow up. Jenn Burleton Executive Director TransActive Education & Advocacy
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written by Confused , February 16, 2008 Someone should take a look at another recent news report of a 15 year old male in California who shot and fatally wounded a male cross dressing 14 year old at their school. Children and gender identity is a far bigger and more complicated societal issue than those on this blog have been willing to address, especially when protecting one child's right to expression causes a breakdown in another child. This is what happened, there is no moral statement being made here on either child. Growing children are fragile and already frought with dealing with esteem issues, especially in teen years, gender identity and sexuality are anything but well formed or stable. And, since no one has addressed my queries from earlier about CHILDREN, here are my questions again. This story is about a child in the second grade in elementary school, not an adult. I cannot understand how a child can be labeled according to an adult definition. What's also confusing here is that our laws do not give such broad and far reaching individual rights to children to choose for themselves at such a young age. Those rights typically belong to the parents (and such is an ever challenging debate of whose interests prevail at what age of the child). Also, how can this young child choose to dress in opposite gender clothes and have that right protected by the public school but children in many public schools are restricted on what they can wear - for their very protection? Having so many standards and no real sense of what is society's (or the public school's) role here makes this a very confused issue. Anyone care to shed some light? Write comment
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At an elementary school in Highlands Ranch, 
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