So what sex are you?

Good question.

First of all, let's establish a frame of reference on terminology. Many people use “sex” and “gender” interchangeably, including some authors who write on transgender topics. However most writers use “gender” to refer to “psychological” and “social” sex, and they say “sex” when referring to biological characteristics.

Sure, fine. Now let's back up a little — oh, say thirty years. When Harry Benjamin wrote The Transsexual Phenomenon in 1963, he set down principles that are still applicable today. In Benjamin's heyday “gender” wasn't the trendy P.C. term it is today; he used “psychological sex” to denote one's self-identification and “social sex” to classify how others attributed somebody's sex. So to simplify this conversation, I will just use “sex” in all of its manifestations to denote “gender.”

Fair enough. So now we have one problem: how do we know what someone's sex is? And guess what, boys and girls... It's a very complex question. After all, [according to Benjamin] sex can be classified by chromosomes, genitalia, hormones, psychology, social attribution, legal status and history. So which one (or which ones) is the RIGHT one? What truly defines one's sex? I told you it was a complex question.

A post-op transsexual whose opinion I respect once said that she recognized a multitude of genders, but only two sexes (three, counting hermaphroditism). I wish I'd asked her how she classified them, because that is the crux of the matter.

Well, I know I'm just guessing here, but I'd probably be in the ballpark if I said she would have classified the sexes by genitalia. And I wouldn't be too far off base if I observed that the vast majority of the transgender community also classifies sex the same way. After all, why else is “the surgery” so important to us? Of course, taking that point of view automatically labels all pre-operative MTF transsexuals as men until they obtain SRS. (Shudder.)

Could it be that the gender community is caught in the same binary gender tap as the rest of patriarchal society? (Massive shudder.) Is it possible that most post-op transsexuals consider themselves more female than their pre-op sisters? (Gasp!) Is there an easy answer to this philosophical quandary?

Wait. It gets worse.

Kate Bornstein, who is post-operative, once told me over dinner at Chevy's: “I still have a penis. It's just turned inside out.” I think I had a mouth full of chips and salsa at the time, and only the spirit of Emily Post kept me from spewing the well-masticated wad all over the table. What a radical thought! What a gutsy thing to say! Talk about brutal honesty! And what a depressing thought for any post-op who steadfastly believes she now has a real vagina; what she has now is the appearance of a birth-given vagina

Of course, now this gets back to my infamous “Rolex” analogy. If you have a watch and it looks like a Rolex and everyone believes it is one — even though it wasn't manufactured by Rolex - well, isn't that the same as having the real thing?

Yes and no.

It is tempting to wax metaphysical/philosophical and quote Werner Erhard who said several things that apply in this case, but instead let’s cut to the chase and get it out on the table. A vagina formed in utero by the action of hormones is not the same as a vagina fashioned out of a penis that has been cored, sutured, and turned inside out like a glove. (The same holds true for vaginal canals formed from bowel sections.) So if we're going to classify sex by genitalia, let's keep that fact in mind.

Am I suggesting that transsexuals should not get genital surgery? Absolutely not! I believe that people should do whatever makes them comfortable with themselves as long as nobody gets hurt. There is nothing wrong with wanting, as Margaret O'Hartigan said, “to experience genital sexual pleasure without a prick getting in the way.”

What I am suggesting is that there is a lot of elitism in our community regarding SRS, and there is an unspoken pressure to want surgery and to obtain it. People should make decisions based on their own needs and not based on peer expectations. This is especially true of weighty, irrevocable decisions such as having your genitals altered. I firmly maintain that underlying the elitism and expectations regarding SRS are the beliefs that only two genders exist and that gender is determined by genitalia And if you insist on maintaining that sex is different from gender,please tell me how you classify them, and more importantly, tell me which box (M or F) I should check the next time I fill out a government form.

Borrowed

So it is safe to say that I am both sexes? Actually I prefer female with a twist that someday I will have taken care of but at this time I am Shauna, I hate labels so much because I have no idea what I should apply myself as, and really it isn't fair for people like myself to be thought of a single sex or gender or what have you. So as far as I am concerned with all this talk of sexes just think of me as UNIQUE.

Thank you for reading.