Transgender
Monty Python was pressured to do away with a skit from their classic film ‘Life of Brian’ that jokes about a man wanting to become a woman and have babies. “We love the script, but you can’t do that stuff about Loretta nowadays,” performers conducting a read-through of the Biblical parody supposedly told co-founder John Cleese, claiming the skit – in which the character Stan insists on being called ‘Loretta’ and declares “it’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them” – would offend modern audiences.
In the skit, Stan’s comrades in the People’s Front of Judea are split on whether to support ‘Loretta’s’ new identity, and the self-declared woman accuses his detractor of “oppressing” him. “I’m not oppressing you, Stan, you haven’t got a womb! Where’s the fetus gonna gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?” his friend asks. The lone female of the group, Judith, suggests a compromise. “Suppose you agree that he can’t actually have babies – not having a womb, which is nobody’s fault, not even the Romans’ – but that he can have the right to have babies.” Stan’s friend Reg likes that idea, declaring it’s “symbolic of our struggle against oppression” – while the naysayer mutters it’s merely “symbolic of [Stan’s] struggle against reality.”
The term “transgender” comes into play as a category, a process, a social assemblage, an increasingly intelligible gender identity, an identifiable threat to gender normativity, and a rubric for understanding the variability and contingency of gender across time, space, and cultures.
The term "transsexual" is an older term that has been largely replaced by the term "transgender" in contemporary discussions around gender identity. However, it can still be found in some contexts or used by individuals who identify with the term. Historically, the term "transsexual" was used to describe individuals whose gender identity does not align with their assigned sex at birth and who seek to undergo medical interventions, such as hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries, to align their physical characteristics with their gender identity. It emphasized the medical aspect of transitioning.
Today, the term "transgender" is more commonly used as an umbrella term to describe individuals whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. It encompasses a broader understanding of gender identity and expression, including individuals who may not seek medical interventions or those who identify as non-binary or genderqueer. It's important to note that the language around gender identity is constantly evolving, and individuals may have different preferences for how they are described or identified.
The mythological term “hermaphrodite” implies that a person is both fully male and fully female. True hermaphrodite or ovo-testicular disorder of sexual differentiation (OVO-DSD) is one of the rarest variety of all inter sex anomalies. In about 90% of cases, patients have 46 XX karyotype. Rarely, 46 XY/46 XX mosaicism may occur. There have been reports of 46 XY karyotype,
Although transgender persons or those who identify their gender other than male or female have been historically reported in many cultures around the world, their social roles, status, and acceptance have varied across time and place. From the 18th century in Europe, especially human beings,the word usually implied monstrous malformation. This was the case even when it was used in a more figurative sense to describe effeminate men or virile women.
Plato, who shows much more intimate acquaintance with the Orient than is supposed, speaks in his "Symposion" (190 B) of three generations: the masculine, the feminine, and the androgynous, which had been created by "sun, earth, and moon respectively."
Hermaphrodite, in Greek myth, was the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. The water-nymph Salmacis, seeing him bathing in a pool, fell in love with him and prayed that they might never be separated. The gods interpreted her request literally and joined the pair into one body. In both name and being, therefore, Hermaphroditus combines male and female.
The terms "transvestite" and "transsexual" are both related to gender identity and expression, but they refer to different aspects. It's important to note that language and terminology evolve over time, and different communities may use alternative terms or have different understandings.
A transvestite is a person who derives pleasure or satisfaction from dressing in clothes typically associated with the opposite sex. Transvestism is considered a form of self-expression or a way to explore gender roles and identities. Transvestites may or may not identify as transgender or experience gender dysphoria. It's worth mentioning that the term "transvestite" is less commonly used nowadays, and many individuals who engage in cross-dressing prefer to use terms like "cross-dresser" or "gender non-conforming" to describe themselves.
The term "transsexual" refers to individuals whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. Transsexual people often experience gender dysphoria, a distressing disconnect between their gender identity and the sex they were assigned at birth. Some transsexual individuals may choose to undergo medical interventions, such as hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries, to align their physical characteristics with their gender identity. It's important to note that not all transgender individuals pursue medical interventions, and every person's journey is unique.
In recent years, the term "transgender" has gained broader usage as an umbrella term encompassing a range of identities, including transvestite, transsexual, and others. It is used to describe individuals whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth.
During a CNN town hall 03 June 2023, former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley gave her definition of "woke," a term with used derisively by some Republican politicians. One example of wokeness is "biological boys playing in girls’ sports," calling it the "women’s issue of our time." Haley said "How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms? And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year. We should be growing strong girls, confident girls."
"We know a lot about risk factors for suicide, epidemiologically and from surveying youth themselves," said Carl Fleisher, medical director of the Boston Child Study Center in Los Angeles. "On top of that list are things like poverty, childhood abuse, untreated mental illness, identifying as LGBTQ+, social consequences of the pandemic, etc. Locker rooms and bathrooms are not on the list."
"I know of no research that exposure to trans girls in locker rooms plays any significant role in prompting suicide ideation among teen, or adult, girls," said Quintin A. Hunt, an assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Brigham Young University.
The White House Pride Month celebration 10 June 2023 featured a new creation – a Progress Pride Flag, which included a five-color chevron superimposed on the traditional rainbow stripes, each color supposedly representing a different marginalized community. Two trans activists at the White House event took off their tops, proudly displaying their bodies beneath the Progress Pride Flag, confirming the worst fears of critics. The visual impact of that act, against the backdrop of the flag, at the White House, was a stark reminder of the concerns of some about the "normalization of such degeneracy".
Transgender influencer and activist Rose Montoya invited controversy 10 June 2023 when she pulled down her top at a Pride celebration on the White House South Lawn after shaking hands with President Biden. Rose is a Hispanic, bisexual, nonbinary transgender woman. Rose's pronouns are she/her/hers and they/them/their/theirs. Montoya said she was “living her truth” and wasn’t trying to be vulgar or profane. The White House said the transgender model would be banned from future events due to photos and videos that show her topless on the South Lawn. The backlash over Montoya took place amid an increasingly hostile national climate for the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people.
In 2021 she was named one of “18 LGBTQ+ Policy Makers and Advocates Changing the World” by Out Magazine on the strength of her online “educational content” as Republican-led state legislatures around the nation enacted anti-trans legislation. “Since September of 2020, I’ve had three gender-affirming surgeries,” she told the outlet. In 2022 Montoya secured a Queerties Awards nomination for “best TikToker.” The site said “Model, actor and advocate Rose Montoya gets frank answering fan questions, and we love to see it!”.
The incident was posted to her 103,000 followers on Instagram. Montoya addressed the backlash in a video on Instagram [soon taken offline]. “Conservatives are trying to use the video of me topless at the White House to try to call the community groomers, etcetera,” she said. “And I would just like to say that, first of all, going topless in Washington, D.C., is legal, and I fully support the movement in freeing the nipple because why is my chest now deemed inappropriate or illegal when I show it off, however, before coming out as trans it was not?”
The 27-year-old influencer told her nearly 800,000 TikTok followers that while she struggles with jealousy in her relationships, she depends on multiple partners to satisfy her “high-maintenance” ways. " I have so much love to give and it’s too much for one person and I require so much love that one individual cannot meet it and that’s why I’m so thankful for polyamory."
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