Dr. Jon
Well-Known Member
I admit I'm old, and from a different cultural/social background than most (VERY small town conservative farming community). I can readily agree that Bruce Jenner may see himself as a woman - and who am I to begrudge him his viewpoint? We also live in a world where it is technologically possible to give someone the secondary sexual characteristics of whichever gender they prefer - i.e., with hormones, you can grow breasts on a male, a beard on a female, etc. I won't even argue his right to dress, act, speak and behave as a female, if he chooses. He can change his name legally to Caitlyn, or Betty Sue Penelope for all I care. But does that make him ACTUALLY a woman?
A DNA test will still show him as male. This calls to mind the case of the South African Olympic runner Caster Semenya, who was disqualified from participating in women's competitive running in 2010 based on a rumour that she was actually genetically male. She has since been cleared to compete, although I've never heard what the DNA tests actually showed. Modern technology is creating some difficult issues in terms of gender identification. While I recognize this is a highly unlikely scenario, imagine if Bruce Jenner had gone through this gender change 35 years ago, and then decided to compete athletically as a female. As people go through gender reassignment earlier in life, this will eventually be a real issue.
As a side note, isn't it fascinating that the country that leads the world in gender reassignment surgeries isn't the United States, Canada or any other "Western" nation? Any guesses? Try Thailand, for one, and in second place - IRAN. Not kidding. And all surgeries are covered at state expense in Iran. It's a weird world.
A DNA test will still show him as male. This calls to mind the case of the South African Olympic runner Caster Semenya, who was disqualified from participating in women's competitive running in 2010 based on a rumour that she was actually genetically male. She has since been cleared to compete, although I've never heard what the DNA tests actually showed. Modern technology is creating some difficult issues in terms of gender identification. While I recognize this is a highly unlikely scenario, imagine if Bruce Jenner had gone through this gender change 35 years ago, and then decided to compete athletically as a female. As people go through gender reassignment earlier in life, this will eventually be a real issue.
As a side note, isn't it fascinating that the country that leads the world in gender reassignment surgeries isn't the United States, Canada or any other "Western" nation? Any guesses? Try Thailand, for one, and in second place - IRAN. Not kidding. And all surgeries are covered at state expense in Iran. It's a weird world.
