Wham, bang and good mood was replaced by seething anger
Last night showed the third program in a series of four depicting the life of a male-to-female transsexual over the course of around twenty years, and was, I assume, the impetus for this tirade along with the recent judgement that the NHS should pay for surgery.
Essentially Dea Birkett said that most transexuals are mtf, as evidenced by the numbers wanting surgery. She also claimed transexuality was due not to any physical reason, poo-poohing evidence suggesting hormonal influences in the womb have any effect, and declared that
- "Such theories deliver a below-the-belt blow to the sexual revolution"
- "It's our attitude towards acceptable behaviour for a man that needs a few nips and tucks, not a couple of hundred penises on the NHS."
Why has this so upset me? To be honest I'm not sure. I have heard far worse said about transexuals in a more blatant manner. Perhaps it was because it was presented in such a "I'm a bit of a liberal, don't you know, and these transexuals are messing with my gender politics ideas" kind of way. Perhaps because the Guardian is my almost-daily paper and I expected better. Perhaps because I thought that if even the Guardian, normally a bastion of the left, ready to support equal rights for all at a moments notice, could print this, then what hope have got for understanding from the rest of society.
Other Responses
Others, more eloquent than me, have written directly to the Guardian or expressed their own views on the article in writing.
- Stephen Van Doren from Dublin sent this letter, challenging and correcting many of the completely erroneous statements made by Dea Birkett.
Many more can be found at the Press for Change site, under their news-archive. In particular, see
- Will the Guardian Take the Challenge ? initial letter from Christine Burns, from PFC
- The Missing Voice followup letter from Christine Burns
- Mutilation by Dea Birkett - Episode Two letter from Eleanor Lynall
Other (semi-) relevant information
Rules for non-trans writing about trans advice for writers by Jacob Hale, hosted on Sandy Stone's site. A useful reference for journalits - though they may need a pointer towards its existance. Also useful for transpeople writing about cross-trans issues.
chest surgery
stand and pee
packing
binding
shaving
passing
UK resources
friends / partners
online resources
trans homepages
gender thoughts
bigotted journalism
sign guestbook
view guestbook
email
