Recently, I wrote and posted a blog article designed to illustrate what I believed, and still believe, to be the absurdities of the claims of transgendered people, who essentially argue that God mistakenly placed their brains in bodies belonging to the wrong gender. Some transgendered people are willing to try to learn to live with that discrepancy (sometimes because they have little choice, since they can't afford to pay the high costs associated with sex "reassignment", which is seldom if ever covered by insurance companies, which correctly regard it as cosmetic and medically unnecessary surgery). Others argue that it is the duty of surgeons to correct God's whopper of a mistake by surgically altering their bodies so that they have what they believe to be the correct genitalia, more or less.
(I say "more or less", because I've never heard of a person getting a sex change from male to female and then successfully getting pregnant and bringing the baby to term. Also, I seem to recall hearing or reading that men who get sex change operations retain their "Adam's apples" because that part of a person's anatomy is not subject to easy surgical revision. If you see a person dressed like a woman, with big breasts and an Adam's apple, you can be fairly sure that when that person was first born, the birth announcement said, "It's a boy!")
Anytime one writes about a controversial subject, one has to expect criticism. In response to the aforementioned blog post, a person named "Joe" wrote to me and said, "Your ignorance knows no bounds."
Wow! I have boundless ignorance. That means that my ignorance is pretty much limitless or infinite. And here I thought that only God had traits which could be described as infinite.
If my ignorance had no bounds, then that would pretty much mean that I knew absolutely nothing, and maybe even less than nothing, wouldn't it? So here's a question: If I know absolutely nothing, how did I manage to turn on my computer, log into Blogger and then write and post an article which was apparently so aggravating that Joe felt that it cried for a rebuttal? It's a wonder that an infinitely ignorant person such as myself could even finish writing a single sentence.
There's a word for such exaggeration. The word is hyperbole. Since Joe is prone to hyperbole, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when he went on to say that "modern science" had proven that transgendered people did in fact have brains belonging to the opposite gender.
I would like to meet this "Modern Science" and ask him some questions. But of course, I can't. There is no single entity named "Modern Science". There are modern scientists, for sure, but they have been known to disagree with one another from time to time. I would be willing to bet that there are at least a few people who could be described as modern scientists even though they strongly disagree with the premise behind the idea that transgendered people are what they claim to be.
Presumably, when Joe says that my opinions are at odds with the views of "modern science," he's not talking about the American Psychiatric Association, which still lists Gender Identity Disorder in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Of course, there's pressure from liberals for the APA to legitimize yet another sexual aberration by removing that listing, but it hasn't happened yet. So unless Joe is prepared to argue that psychiatrists aren't scientists, it's more than a little bit specious for him to argue that my views on transgendered people contradict the views of "modern science".
Reading the Wikipedia article under the heading of "Transgender", I find that I am inclined to marvel at the incredible variety of sexual variations which currently can be found in our population. We now have transsexuals, cross-dressers, transvestites, androgynes, genderqueers, drag queens, drag kings, transvestic fetishists, homosexuals, bisexuals, pansexuals and asexuals. The list seems to go on and on and on. I'm surprised that there isn't a special category for people who prefer sex toys to people.
I'd rather just simplify matters and call them what they all are: Perverts.
Now, that might sound hateful to you, but it's not. I myself went through a brief period of time, shortly after puberty, when I experimented with cross-dressing. There was some guilt associated with the activity of dressing in women's clothing, but I didn't really understand my own motivations at the time, and there was a period of time in which I felt powerless to control my own behavior and thoughts.
Fortunately, I became a Christian. The dysfunctional behavior did not cease immediately, but I began to realize over a period of time that what I was doing was morally wrong. So I asked God to help me to conquer my compulsions.
You know what? God did help me! Through a combination of prayer and self-denial, I eventually got to the point in my life where I not only didn't do what I'd done in the past, but I didn't even have any desire to do so. I looked back on that period of my life and I wondered how I could ever have done anything so ridiculous. I eventually came to realize that my sexual dysfunction had been a symptom of my overall unhappiness with my life, and my lack of gratitude to God. I didn't need any therapist in order to reach those conclusions. The Holy Spirit was my therapist.
Years later, I read an article (in the Boston Globe) by a so-called "expert" in human sexuality named Beth Winship. Her column was entitled "Ask Beth". In response to a reader's question, Winship claimed that one might as well abandon the idea of changing the behavior of cross-dressers, because they could never change.
Having had some personal experiences of my own along those lines, I took umbrage at that claim. I wrote to her and told her so. She wrote back to me and assured me that all the "experts" agreed with her. Essentially, in her mind, I didn't exist. The "experts" said that what I had done could not be done, and that was all there was to it. It reminded me of an old saying: "I know what I believe, so don't confuse me with the evidence."
Do you see why I'm a little bit skeptical when I hear similar claims with regard to the idea that gay people can't change? When a person is motivated more by ideology than by a genuine desire to learn the truth, contrary evidence is simply ignored, as it was in my case.
In general, there seems to be a trend among some people towards a view of people which negates the existence of free will. In the minds of some people, we are not human beings capable of controlling our thoughts or actions. We are sex machines, programmed to act in ways we can neither control nor fully understand.
Such people often talk about freedom, but the reality is that they believe that people are slaves to their genetic programming. How sad and pathetic!
Showing posts with label transgendered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transgendered. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Slandering The Almighty
The following story was inspired by a story I recently read on the Web courtesy of MSNBC.
John and Larry were next door neighbors. Over a period of time, they'd become very good friends. Larry was a bit eccentric in some respects, but John thought he had gotten used to Larry's strange ways.
Nevertheless, John was shocked one day when he looked out his front window. Larry was standing next to the curb. His pants were unzipped, and he was peeing on the fire hydrant.
John walked outside the house and approached Larry. "Larry, what do you think you're doing?"
"Peeing on the fire hydrant, John," said Larry.
"I can see that," said John. "Why are you peeing on the hydrant, Larry?"
"I'm not going to live in denial any longer," said Larry.
"Denial? Denial of what?" asked John.
"My inner dog," said Larry.
"Your WHAT?" asked John.
"My inner dog, "repeated Larry.
It was then that John noticed that Larry was wearing a leather dog collar and a dog tag. Larry finished his business and zipped up his pants. Then he said, "Turn around, John."
"Turn around? What for?" asked John.
"So I can greet you properly and thereby fulfill my doggie instincts," said Larry. "I want to sniff your behind."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Larry," cried John. "This silly charade has gone on long enough, and if you sniff my behind, I will most assuredly kick yours."
"Arf," yelled Larry. "Arf, arf, arf, arf, arf!"
"Stop that," commanded John. "You're not a dog, you're a man."
"Wrong," said Larry. "I just look like a man to you. But I now know what I never realized before. God made a mistake. He took my brain and put it into the body of a human being, but really, I'm a dog."
"What a ridiculous claim," said John.
"Ridiculous? Then explain why I've always liked to play frisbee. Explain why I hate vegetables. Explain why I always used to love to hang my head out of the car window when dad was driving the car."
"You are not a dog," said John. "Repeat after me: I am not a dog, I am not a dog, I am not a dog."
"Am so," said Larry.
"Tell me this," said John. "Why have you never claimed to be a dog before now? I know you've always liked dogs, but you've never claimed to be a dog."
"I discovered my true self when I went to a recent meeting for transspeciesed individuals such as myself," said Larry. "It was liberating. I'd always tried to deny it before, but I finally embraced my inner dog, and it was wonderful. Want a Milk Bone? Try it, you'll like it."
"No thanks," said John. "I think I'll stick to steak."
"Steak's good, too," said Larry. "But it won't make your teeth shiny white."
"Larry," said John, "have you ever heard of toothpaste and toothbrushes?"
"Dog," said Larry. "Remember, I must respect my inner dog."
"Larry, have you looked in a mirror lately?" asked John. "Does the image in the mirror look like a dog to you?"
"Of course not," said Larry. "Don't be silly."
"Well," said John, "if you don't look like a dog, then what makes you think that you are a dog?"
"Well, John, it all started when you got to talking to me about your girlfriend Mary. You know, the woman who used to be a man before she got that sex change operation. Mary claimed that when she was a guy named Marty, she felt out of place and confused. She just knew that deep inside she was meant to be a woman, not a man. So she found a surgeon who agreed with her and the next thing she knew, she had altered her anatomy so that it would conform with her vision of her true self."
"So what does that have to do with this situation?" asked John.
"Well, I figure that if God is such an incompetent creator that he would put a woman's brain inside of a man's body, what's to stop him from putting a dog's brain inside of a man's body? Arf, arf," said Larry.
"I see what you mean," said John.
"Want to come and watch the game?" asked Larry.
"I'll bring the Milk Bones," said John.
The Moral of The Story:
John and Larry were next door neighbors. Over a period of time, they'd become very good friends. Larry was a bit eccentric in some respects, but John thought he had gotten used to Larry's strange ways.
Nevertheless, John was shocked one day when he looked out his front window. Larry was standing next to the curb. His pants were unzipped, and he was peeing on the fire hydrant.
John walked outside the house and approached Larry. "Larry, what do you think you're doing?"
"Peeing on the fire hydrant, John," said Larry.
"I can see that," said John. "Why are you peeing on the hydrant, Larry?"
"I'm not going to live in denial any longer," said Larry.
"Denial? Denial of what?" asked John.
"My inner dog," said Larry.
"Your WHAT?" asked John.
"My inner dog, "repeated Larry.
It was then that John noticed that Larry was wearing a leather dog collar and a dog tag. Larry finished his business and zipped up his pants. Then he said, "Turn around, John."
"Turn around? What for?" asked John.
"So I can greet you properly and thereby fulfill my doggie instincts," said Larry. "I want to sniff your behind."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Larry," cried John. "This silly charade has gone on long enough, and if you sniff my behind, I will most assuredly kick yours."
"Arf," yelled Larry. "Arf, arf, arf, arf, arf!"
"Stop that," commanded John. "You're not a dog, you're a man."
"Wrong," said Larry. "I just look like a man to you. But I now know what I never realized before. God made a mistake. He took my brain and put it into the body of a human being, but really, I'm a dog."
"What a ridiculous claim," said John.
"Ridiculous? Then explain why I've always liked to play frisbee. Explain why I hate vegetables. Explain why I always used to love to hang my head out of the car window when dad was driving the car."
"You are not a dog," said John. "Repeat after me: I am not a dog, I am not a dog, I am not a dog."
"Am so," said Larry.
"Tell me this," said John. "Why have you never claimed to be a dog before now? I know you've always liked dogs, but you've never claimed to be a dog."
"I discovered my true self when I went to a recent meeting for transspeciesed individuals such as myself," said Larry. "It was liberating. I'd always tried to deny it before, but I finally embraced my inner dog, and it was wonderful. Want a Milk Bone? Try it, you'll like it."
"No thanks," said John. "I think I'll stick to steak."
"Steak's good, too," said Larry. "But it won't make your teeth shiny white."
"Larry," said John, "have you ever heard of toothpaste and toothbrushes?"
"Dog," said Larry. "Remember, I must respect my inner dog."
"Larry, have you looked in a mirror lately?" asked John. "Does the image in the mirror look like a dog to you?"
"Of course not," said Larry. "Don't be silly."
"Well," said John, "if you don't look like a dog, then what makes you think that you are a dog?"
"Well, John, it all started when you got to talking to me about your girlfriend Mary. You know, the woman who used to be a man before she got that sex change operation. Mary claimed that when she was a guy named Marty, she felt out of place and confused. She just knew that deep inside she was meant to be a woman, not a man. So she found a surgeon who agreed with her and the next thing she knew, she had altered her anatomy so that it would conform with her vision of her true self."
"So what does that have to do with this situation?" asked John.
"Well, I figure that if God is such an incompetent creator that he would put a woman's brain inside of a man's body, what's to stop him from putting a dog's brain inside of a man's body? Arf, arf," said Larry.
"I see what you mean," said John.
"Want to come and watch the game?" asked Larry.
"I'll bring the Milk Bones," said John.
The Moral of The Story:
- If you think that you know better than God what gender of body you ought to have been given when you were born, then you need a lesson in humility.
- Believing something doesn't automatically make it so. Beliefs which fly in the face of the evidence are delusional.
- It is a sad, sad person who cannot accept himself or herself for what he or she is.
- Surgery can change a person's physical appearance, but God sees us as God originally made us to be. Surgery can make a man look like a woman. Surgery cannot turn a man into a woman.
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