<p>I’m baffled as to why this is such a big story. He was born a female and had a (partial obviously) sex change. It is not as if a man that was born a man without the required female reproductive organs is miraculously having a baby. Why is the media making such a big deal of it? Every time I hear about it I just think ‘so what’.</p>
<p>Guess I can answer my own question</p>
<p>‘duh - it’s the media stupid!’</p>
<p>yes, I don’t understand it, either.</p>
<p>And while I can sympathize with the difficulty of feeling that your gender identity does not match your biological sex, and support people in expressing that identity in whatever way they desire, I can’t stop believing that someone with two X-chromosomes is a woman, not a man.</p>
<p>Its totally rediculous. When I heard the headline I thought it really couldnt be a man. Dumb me, it didnt occur to me it was a sex change situation. Even so I figured there was a catch.</p>
<p>I agree, its a total non-story. If this person truly wanted to be a “man” the uterus & ovaries should go. This is a pregnant woman but it makes for bogus headlines on a slow news day.</p>
<p>I agree: Non-story!</p>
<p>because it’s stupid, and uneducated people think it’s interesting because it obviously fits their definition of creepy and weird</p>
<p>I agree. It’s something that some people find interesting, but it’s in no way newsworthy.
Usually finances severely limit which procedures can be done, even if someone “truly” wants them (and why would anyone undergo some of these procedures if they didn’t “truly” want to be identified as the other sex?). Gender reassignment surgeries and treatments are rarely covered by insurance, so they are all out-of-pocket costs.</p>
<p>Well I’m kind of educated and I think it is creepy and weird - but not the least bit interesting ;)</p>
<p>Publicity seeking for sure. I could understand it being in the enquirer. But CNN and fox and people and even Oprah? It is just so silly.</p>
<p>Women have partial/full hysterectomys every day and regular hormone treatments to attain masculine qualities aren’t cheap either. It is the sexual re-constructive surgery that cost so much & isn’t usually covered. Also, I wonder, was this a woman wanting to be a “man” who remained sexually attracted to men hence the pregnancy? Either way doesn’t sound like a well thought out process. Is a female who changes to a male and continues to have sex with males considered homosexual or just bisexual? It is no doubt a sad & confused condition to be in.</p>
<p>isn’t “his” wife infertile and so he’s the one trying to get pregnant this time? and i think it’s a sperm donor</p>
<p>I admit my first thought wasn’t about transgender, either. </p>
<p>I find it interesting in the midst of the evolving culture regarding gender identification. There are a lot of interesting sociological questions that arise in this new culture of accepted trans, and a story like this – while I agree it appeals far too much to a baser demographic – I believe is food for thought for everyone as a whole.</p>
<p>I think it’s an idiotic story but an interesting photo with him topless.</p>
<p>you can see the scars from her breast surgery</p>
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<p>This is not the situation with this individual. His wife was unable to conceive so the pregnancy was a result of artificial insemination.</p>
<p>I don’t think it deserves the amount of attention it is receiving but I also don’t think that much of what is deemed newsworthy these days really does! And I had to chuckle at the comment about “even Oprah”. Oprah is probably the biggest attention freak in the tv media!</p>
<p>I agree with undecided that the subject does raise interesting cultural, sociological and psychological issues but, sadly, most people aren’t interested in those aspects of the story.</p>
<p>I’m with undecided and alwaysamom – the story raises lots of interesting issues.</p>
<p>The American media fosters an image of what it means to live a successful life.</p>
<p>This story, although perhaps inadvertently, shows that many people live (well) outside the norm, and are success stories of a different kind.</p>
<p>My daughter and I also briefly discussed how this would all seem to the couple’s child – weird, but explicable.</p>
<p>Add me to the list that thinks this is a non-story. This is a woman having a baby. Doesn’t matter what she looks like on the outside or what gender she identifies with; it’s the “plumbing” that counts here.</p>
<p>I never read more than the headlines so didn’t have all the details, guess I should watch Oprah LOL. Obviously this isn’t a clear case of full gender conversion (physically/psychologically) as she/he retained and is now using the defining feminine abilities of conception, pregnancy & childbirth. Amazing what science can do. I would not consider this person a “man” but perhaps someone who has found a balance between their personal feminine/masculine sides. Another way to look at it is as a male surrogate. Now if we could only get men to agree to uterus transplants that would be progress.</p>
<p>I did watch the Oprah program and came away feeling somehow that there’s more to the story than was presented. “He” had breast removal surgery and hormone treatment but not ovary/uterine removal in the hopes someday of maybe having a child (his words). The woman he wound up in a relationship with(who has grown children and a grandchild but looks rather youngish) is much older than him, and there was some insinuation during the interview that she was a lesbian before meeting him.When asked how he supports himself, there was talk of him “writing a book”.Hmmm.
Do you know he was a former beauty queen in Hawaii?
The one question I wanted Oprah to ask that wasn’t was how the man plans on giving birth…vaginally or Caesarian.</p>
<p>I am appalled by all the people referring to this man as a woman or putting “he” in scare quotes. As someone with a number of trans friends…it’s pretty offensive. Plumbing and chromosomes are not all that matters, even when talking about biological sex…look at all the intersex people out there. </p>
<p>The story was interesting food for thought, but the sensationalist way it got played was rather silly.</p>
<p>jessiehl, good that you stand up for trans friends. I think that the willingness to grapple with gender identity is The biggest generational difference at the moment. I’m thinking that your millennial generation will address it with the same focus that ours addressed issues of racial and gender equality of opportunity. Meanwhile, I did take note that one of my kids had a college app with 3 gender check-boxes: male, female, undecided. So the times they are a-changing.</p>