Trans Health Care and a RIP to Loving

The relationship between medical theory/ practice and trans identities is a complicated one. Add to that this latest situation (below), which demands our immediate attention. Thanks to a friend for alerting me by sending me this message:

“Dear Friends,

Many of you may know that the psychiatric manual, the DSM IV, regards transsexuals and transgender persons as diseased, and there’s been a movement for many years to reform this—like the way that homosexuality was declassified as a disease in 1973. The American Psychological Association appointed a team to revise the manual. Great!

Except that the people they’ve appointed to be on the team include:

Dr. Ray Blanchard, who created the theory of autogynephilia—roughly, that trans women become women because they objectify women so much that they desire to own a woman’s body for sexual gratification—a theory that, besides simply being an inadequate and wildly inaccurate description of trans women’s experience, has done immeasurable harm to trans communities.

Chairing the committee is Dr. Kenneth Zucker, who uses reparative therapy—that is, “ex-gay” conversion techniques—to treat gender variant children.

These folks share their theories with J. Michael Bailey, author of the popular but highly unscientific book The Man Who Would Be Queen, who “disproved” male bisexuality and whose approach to treating transsexual patients relies on conversion therapy and borders on eugenics, with sexologist Dr. Anne Lawrence who is controversial because several of her patients have made complaints of sexually inappropriate behavior against her, and with Dr. Paul McHugh, who has repeatedly attempted to shut down gender clinics on the grounds that doctors should not be providing transition therapies because transgender persons are obviously delusional.

I’m seriously worried for our future if these are the people in charge of rewriting the DSM. I don’t quite know what to do right now other than publicize it. Ideas welcome.

Links:
http://transgroupblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/uh-oh.html
http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2007/05/zucker-and-bradley/

Warm regards,
[Friend’s name]”

On an unrelated note, I also want to mark the recent passing of Mildred Loving, thoughtfully remembered in this article. Rest in peace, Mrs. Loving.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 11:04 am and is filed under Bisexuals/ Bi Activism, Friends, Health, Mixed-Race Community, Politics, Transgender . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.