transsexual behaviorism

So one of my new psych proffessors seems like a very smart person. His teaching style is extremely engaging and it looks like the class will be a lot of fun.

However ...

I was going through our course pack studying the other day, and there is a chapter of the book (which he wrote) which was removed for the most recent addition due to controversy with a few of his students. According to him, it was advocated by the majority of students and faculty at the university, but that the people who disliked it REALLY disliked it. And so it was removed, but he included it in the ourse pack for additonal reading.

It was a chapter about human sexuality based on the perspective of a behavior analyst. He describes himself in the book as a Radical Behaviorist and proclaims frequently that behavioral science will save the world.

The chapter is essentially a reproduction of the barlow studies. It details the account of a psychologist working with a patient who identifies as transsexual. The course of treatment involves the psychologist providing reinforcment for masculine behavior and mental processes in an attempt to transform this women into a heterosexual man. IT...IS...APALLING. To say the least.

He focuses on describing things like changing the way she sits and stands and walks to stop acting so effeminate and embrace her masculinity in order to avoid ridicule and scorn in a world that could not possibly accept a "woman trapped in a man's body". In the end of the article they are both happy with results since she has managed to maintain an erection while fantasizing about sex with woman and had her first orgasm. She is thankful for the services she received. It reminds me of the end of 1984 when the guy is like crying because he loves big brother so much. Complete brainwashing.

After the analogy he goes on to explain how variant sexuality has been a part of human culture and society forever and that one of the greatest difficulties in treating people who experience distress regarding their gender/sexuality is that they often receive negative reactions from the majority that views alternative sexuality/gender expression as wrong. He certainly makes a point to express that he does not feel that homosexuality et al. are in any way inherently wrong, only that tfor those who wish to change their sexuality/gender expression that behavioral psychology is capable of doing so.

In the end he summarizes that as a behavioral psychologist he believes that:
1) homosexuality is a learned behavior
2) sexuality can be altered proper reinforcment
3) a transsexual is a homosexual person who is attracted to heterosexual people of the same sex and averse to persons of the opposite sex / homosexuals of the same sex.

Number 3 I found to be EXTREMELY ignorant and th major fallacy of this entire dabacle.

As a Buddhist, I do not believe in any inherent attribute of any phenomena. This includes gender and sexuality. I do agree that through behavior (actions, speech, thought) gender expression and sexuality evolve over time (in this life and in prior). This is literally the law of karma. That one's actions lead to fruition in the form of the aggregates. However, the Buddha states that none of the aggregates can be altered through force of will. If they could be altered I could think "make my body into a woman's body" and it would be so. Or I could think "make my gender a man's gender" and it would be so. Neither of these things are possible.

My personal definition of a transsexual is someone whose body (form) is incongruent with their habituation/inclination (mental formations) regarding gender. Specifically in regards to one's body. Whether or not someone sits with their ankles crossed and talks with their hands has nothing to do with the fact that they have a penis and should instead have a vagina. I have plenty of stereotypical "masculine" tendencies and habits. I spent my entire life hanging out with boys and being treated like a boy. I received positive reinforcment for acting like other boys and negative reinforcment for acting "like a girl". However, I still feel like my body is wrong. I still want to transition.

I think that there is definitely a possibility that there are some people who identify as transsexual who are not in fact transsexual but are instead confused about their sexuality or possibly suffering from some other mental disorder (such as OCD). And for these people, behavioral analysis may be effective for treatment. However, in these cases, their understanding of feminimity and womanhood is very superficial. These are the type of people that are like "Of course I'm a woman, I like pink, and ponies, and skirts, and makeup". They base their sense of gender on stereotypical effeminate behavior and tendencies (all of which are indeed learned behavior). And they use that as evidence for transitioning physical sexes.

For me, I like some girly things, because I do. It has next to nothing to do with the fact that my body is not right. My face and height and hands and hips and chest and hair and genitals and skin is all wrong. It is not congruent with the way my brain works. My brain expects a vagina but discovers a penis. That is why I have dysphoria. Everything else is just a symptom of that condition. I want to be able to do girly things freely because I don't think it's fair that other girls get to but not me. But becasue my body is male, it can only be expected that I act like a boy. I have only recently begun embracing more feminine behavior, something I repressed my entire life.

One of the things that worries me the most about this whole thing is that my professor is a very important member of the psychology department at my university. He manages the graduate program. He is going to be the major person I will be going to for my recomendation into graduate school. I don't think that he would be the type to discriminate, but who knows. I have been surprised by people's behavior in the past.

There's not really anything I can do about it, of course. He has a PhD and has been workign in the field of psychology for over 50 years. He is obviously a very intelligent, very hardworking, and honestly seems like a very nice person. The only part of the course material I took objection to was this article. I'm just hoping that come a year from now, when I'm pushing for full time and getting ready for ffs, that he doesn't treat me like a second rate citizen or try to stifle my education or professional success because he feels my course of treatment is incorrect.

I guess I'm just going to have to ace everything his course throws at me. It may be unfortunate, but the fact of the matter is that I will have to prove myself even more than some of the other students simply because of my condition. It's a good thing I'm a genius. lol Roar!