I read a story today that talked about Germany now allowing a 3 gender X which was supposed to be for genders that could not be identified (i.e. both male and female body parts). And then I got to thinking about the comments on here when Prince George was born and how they identified him as a boy when really what they were saying was that he had a penis. Now, I am gay, and not transgender and still trying to figure some stuff out. So, please forgive me if I am a bit clumsy in asking this question. For those of you who are transgender, how would you prefer that babies are identified at birth? Granted, if you have both male and female body parts, I can see the difficulty in that. However, if it's more of a situation where you're born a male, but identify as a female (or vice versa), how would the parents know that when the kid is born? I'm trying to be PC and take into account people's situation, but where 99.9% of the kids fall into regular male or female, I'm not sure how doctor's are supposed to identify the gender of the child any differently. Can you help me? Thanks.
I noticed you read the prince thread. If you remember that, I proposed something. I'm probably going to get knocked down again for it, but here was my proposal: Instead of saying "It's a boy" say "It's a male" if you want to celebrate the kid's sex (which in my full opinion is a really pointless thing to do). Doing so will say "Okay, it's got a penis" instead of "okay, it's going to do all these things we understand guys to do" As for birth certificates, keep them the same. They say "Sex" not "gender". Same with the person's medical documents. Their sex is what is currently between their legs, not who they psychologically are.
As their biological sex. Ideally, parents should listen to their children if the child feels there is something that's off.
I second this. Feel free to call them male, listen to the kid if they say something's off, and they can amend it later if they discover they're transgender and decide to transition.
Honestly, I only read the initial comments. At that point in my life, my head was exploding and I could only take so much in at a time. However, it rested in my head and it came back to me after reading this other article. ---------- Post added 18th Aug 2013 at 11:21 PM ---------- By the way, here's the article on the options on a German birth certificate. Third Gender Option to Become Available on German Birth Certificates - SPIEGEL ONLINE
I don't believe it's right for the kid to not grow up with either male or female pronouns. So yes announce the kid according to their sex, but once the kid speaks out saying they are something different, then listen to them and call them by the pronouns they so choose.
I've never seen any justification for deciding a child's gender for them, just like there isn't any justification for deciding a child's sexuality for them.
I found that many cultures avoid the problem by having terms for children that are gender neutral. But typically for a Trans* kid they'll say something very early on about how they don't like a pronoun. My mother told me that I used to throw fits about how girls didn't stand to pee while potty training. I think every Trans* kid wishes for a parent like you. (*hug*)
The thing is, choosing a kids gender is just as bad as not choosing. Taking myself as an example. I would have chosen my gender as female, I honestly can't recall myself really going "I'm a boy" when I was a kid. I just accepted I was female and continued on. It wasn't until I was nearly 24 and a half that I really started questioning. Not everyone knows from an early childhood.
Just want to add that I spoke to a pregnant woman today and she said "I´m curious to know what it is." And I said "You know what it is, a BABY". A lot of parents seem to make a big deal out if it when it´s still in the womb... I think that is just because they want to decorate the room "for a boy or a girl" and such. They already have big expectations (that are often stereotype) and half their life figured out for them, it seems. This is not the same in every culture. I remember a chinese mother getting a lot of red clothing for the baby, since that stands for good luck. Anyway, we are going to adopt children that are big enough to speak their minds.
