A family member who reads this blog reached out to me and queried the question “If you are a libertarian shouldn’t you accept trans folks?” This person is not wrong, but here are my thoughts.
I want to asterisk my thoughts with this disclaimer. I do not agree with this lifestyle, nor do I accept the LGBTQ lifestyle. I merely tolerate it. The LBGQ group is folks who in my opinion ditched God and decided to live a life of sin. However, their lifestyle can easily be reversed, corrected, or changed. It simply involves who you like taking to bed/private with you. I have 2 members of my extended family who live that lifestyle, one is married, and the other is not. I harbor no ill will toward either…. funny enough, both are from the same parents.
The trans thing is a horse of a different color. The gay/lesbian lifestyle has been around a long time, the trans one has not. Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner brought light to it, and Fox News gave it a platform. Now it seems to be a trend, it reminds me of the trend to come out as gay in my childhood. But again, this is different.
My actual take?
If you are over the age of 18, and want to change your gender, I’m not against it. I just want you to have an understanding of what you are doing to your body. Sadly, I think most do not know, and never will actually know. This fad is new. I think a course/class should be offered; you need to know what you are actually doing to your body. You are changing your body’s chemical makeup and that is a big deal. One that is casually left out of the discussion regarding trans folks. I also feel you should have a mental health exam.
If you take the course/class and pass a mental health exam then by all means, go for it. If you are over 18 you are legally an adult as far as I am concerned. By all means you can change your gender, I don’t like it, but I’m ok with it.
Just one thing to think about. How far are you willing to go as a transperson? Think it out. It’s easy to dress up/down as the other gender, but what about your body? Sure, you can change your plumbing, wear makeup etc. but what about your Adam’s apple? Your voice? Chest? Caitlyn Jenner is a bad example; she has a lot of money and found the right doctors/surgeons to get it done. Will you? Can you change back to your birth gender? Will insurance cover that?
The Chief
PS it’s one thing to want to cosplay the other gender or have a drunken tryst with the same gender, but this trans thing scares me. I think most of those who choose to change their gender will live to regret it later.
Editor’s Comment: As The Chief pointed-out, Bruce Jenner spent way more money than your average 18-year-old will ever have to alter his body. In the photo above, the person behind the camera used a bucket load of tricks to make Jenner look that feminine. It took multiple people and several manhours in a studio to get a photo that makes him look like a girl; however, no amount of lipstick on the pig or bodily mutilation can actually make Jenner a female. Genetically, Jenner will always be male. Bruce is a broken dude and I refuse to normalize his mental illness by calling him “Caitlyn”.