- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 9
-
Sparkle (0)
On March 26th, 2008, The Advocate published the first person story,
Labor of Love, by Thomas Beatie, which sparked world wide media
interest. Most reports on this story read 'Pregnant Man,' and include
the photo, on the right, from The Advocate. And why shouldn't I follow suite. It is a fascinating image, and 'Pregnant Man' is a
headline which will grab attention. In addition to appearing on Oprah on Thursday, he will also be featured in People magazine.
Why this story has gotten so big in mainstream America, and around the world, is beyond me. I don't really find this story all that shocking. After all, despite his male appearance, since he did not have a hysterectomy as part of his transition, he is still biologically female. And though many claim he is the first transgender man to get pregnant, a post at The Guardian states that a trans man, Matt Rice, gave birth to a son in 1999. In addition, I also found this link Everything a Prospective FTM Parent Would Like to Know, which would lead me to think that many others have already done this, or have serious thought about doing it. So why didn't Matt Rice or any of the others who I speculate have also done this, get the same attention? Perhaps it's the photograph that sparked such interest.
Now I must admit, I am having a little bit of hard time understanding this. I don't mean that I don't understand this in a judgmental sort of a manner, I think if he can and he is willing to do it he should. But I don't understand how someone who felt so strongly compelled that they were male, not female as dictated by genetics, who changed their physical appearance through top surgery and hormone therapy, and who legally changed their sex, would even consider, let alone actually do the most female thing that can be done with their body. It just seems that it would go against his whole identity.
Matt Rice's partner, Patrick Califia told Village Voice magazine
The only people who have gotten upset are a handful of
straight-identified homophobic FTMs [female-to-male transgender people]
online who started calling Matt by his girl name, because real men
don't get pregnant.The fact that even other transsexuals react
with hostility reveals the levels of unease and prejudice a pregnant
man can face. A common reaction is to wonder how someone can identify
themselves as male and yet embrace pregnancy. -from The Guardian, 'Being a pregnant man? It's incredible'
And Beatie says,
Wanting to have a biological child is
neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire. -from The Advocate, Labor of Love
I guess this just goes to show how strong the drive to have children can be. Reproduction isn't called a biological imperative for nothing.That he would do this thing that I can't understand why he would do now that he identifies as male so he and his wife could have a family, is, I think, quite a testament to love and dedication to having a family.
My not understanding aside, my real question about this whole story is, why he did he go public with this? I haven't found anything stating how or why he decided to publish his story. It seems that this could have been kept relatively private, and likely no one but the hospital staff and the family they see frequently would know. I suspect others have done this and kept it on the down low. It makes me wonder what the backlash will be. And it's sad that I think this way, but it's because there almost always is. I worry how this might set back or change laws regarding legal sex
change. How it will change attitudes towards trangendered individuals. Will it affect their legal ability to marry? Or, thinking a little more selfishly, how it might affect the
debate over gay marriage, and too, gay adoptions and second parent
adoption rights. In The Advocate article, Beatie says,
Our situation
sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only
begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by
