- Clarity is essential when seeking to interpret legal
decisions and discuss technical and medical issues and
evidence; and especially matters involving human
difference or diversity where old prejudices and taboos
may have stultified and/or mystified general
understanding and linguistic expression.
- The following definitions contained in the Macquarie
Dictionary, provide the ordinary everyday Australian
meaning of the words used when discussing
transsexualism related phenomena:
"biology" (biological) - "n. the science of life
or living matter in all its forms and phenomena, esp.
with reference to origin, growth, reproduction,
structure, etc."
"therapy"(therapeutic) - "n. the treatment of
disease, disorder, defect, etc as by some remedial or
curative process. 2. a curative power or quality.";
"function" as "n.1. the kind of action or activity
proper to a person, thing or institution."
"malfunction" as "n. to fail to function
properly.";
"physiology"(physiological) - "n. the science
dealing with the functioning of living organism's or
their parts."
- Other useful terms include:
"ICD-10" abbr.. The International Classification
of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th edition)
issued by the World Health Organization in Geneva,
Chapter 5 of which is devoted to mental and behavioural
disorders. The tenth edition appeared in 1992 -3."
"DSM-IV" abbr.. The Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) of the American
Psychiatric Association, The first edition appeared in
1952 , the second in 1968 , the third in 1980 , a
revision of the third in 1987 , and the fourth in
1994."
"Intersex" Individuals with apparent admixtures of
male and female biological characteristics.
- Although positive change is rapidly occurring in the
way we perceive difference or diversity generally, and,
particularly concerning diversity in human sexual
formation, the language still often used in legal,
academic and medical writing concerning people with
transsexualism and others who experience diversity in
sexual formation tends to be strictly normative in that
it tends to disregard and devalue the reality of the
lives of people (of all ages) who experience such
diversity.
- Such disregard and devaluation, in rigidly reflecting
a normative perspective rather than allowing for the
perspective of those who experience difference or
diversity to be expressed, can actually create and
sustain prejudice, error and prejudgment in respect of
such people and can cause them to needlessly suffer
personal as well as cultural prejudice, hurt and
harm.
- In Australia, I have developed and promoted an
affirmative language concerning people with
transsexualism which has been widely adopted. The
popularity and usage of this affirmative language
continues to grow. It is increasingly the common language
of people with transsexualism and others in Australia and
is gaining international popularity.
- Affirmative language not only encourages a healthy
self regard amongst people who experience diversity
in human sexual formation and their family, friends,
colleagues and clinicians, but facilitates clarity of
expression and cultural understanding.
- Information and clarity are the assured antidotes to
cultural ignorance, prejudice and mystification. In the
interests of clarity I also adopt a similar approach
taken by his Honour Justice Richard Chisholm (as he then
was) in Re Kevin: Validity of Marriage of Transsexual
(2001) 28 Fam LR 158 ("Re Kevin") and use the words
"sex" and "sex/sexual identity" and "transsexualism",
rather than the significantly different, vague and
culturally affected terms "gender", "gender identity" and
"transgender". Words that incorporate the word "gender"
have the capacity to be applied, both consciously and
unconsciously, to indicate something other than a
biologically or naturally derived aspect of being.
Further, to confuse "sex" with "gender" is to deprive the
word "gender" of its full potential to describe an
individual's cultural expression of her or his sex across
the full spectrum of gender possibilities; including
masculine, feminine, pan-gender, non-gender and queer -
all of which may have little or nothing to do with a
person's sex or sexual identity.
- I use the term "sex", sex identity" and "sexual
identity" interchangeably in their natural sense to
describe an individual's intrinsic or innate sense or
knowledge of being either female or male rather than to
indicate the different objects of human sexual desire or
"sexuality": (homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual).
- Further, I contend that to use the term "gender
identity" instead of "sexual identity" to describe a
young person's enduring innate or intrinsic sense of
being male or female (as is done in Re Alex and
many academic texts) is to indicate, or at least imply,
that such identity is not biologically derived and is
different from, and perhaps less legitimate than, that
person's "biological sex" - used to refer to some other
aspect of their sexual differentiation such as genitalia
or chromosomal signature. The misleading and/or normative
use of terminology in this way can also be used, whether
consciously and unconsciously, to make the assertion that
the "true" or "biological" sex of a person can be
determined while excluding a sane person's own say so as
to which sex she or he is - which is surely the best
evidence of a person's sex.
- Importantly, to use normative and/or culturally
prejudiced terminology in reference to young people with
transsexualism is to imply, or to even suggest, that the
young person's sex or sexual identity is not somehow
completely legitimate and/or is more likely to be caused
by a psychological disorder, mental illness, the
influence of parents or other environmental factors (as
has been erroneously asserted) rather than being the
result of a natural aspect of diversity in human sexual
formation.
- People of all ages who experience transsexualism have
only experienced the world from the perspective of the
sex they know themselves to be - their innate or
intrinsic sexual identity - which they affirm with simple
honest certainty in the face of all contrary factors and
forces - and for such young people nothing they seek to
do or express about themselves in terms of that sexual
identity is "cross-sex", "cross-gender" or merely about
acquiring an "appearance of", "being like", a "desire to
be" or a "wanting to be" a sex they are not. For such
young people, the process of 'coming out' or sex
affirmation is about affirming the inner truth of their
sexual being or identity through both personal and public
physical and cultural expression and recognition. Sex
affirmation treatment is successful as it treats and
helps resolve a most fundamental human malfunction, the
conflict between sexual identity and sexually
differentiated body parts; thus bringing a person's
sexually differentiated body into harmony with the
person's sexually differentiated mind. In the process,
such medical treatment most often relieves the individual
of secondary disorders and conditions such as anxiety,
depression and severe isolation and loneliness contingent
upon the existence of that personal critical brain/body
conflict.
- Young people with transsexualism do not have their
sexual identity determined by the appearance of their
genitalia, a chromosomal formation or visible bodily
characteristics. They know their sexual identity
and simply tell you what sex they know themselves to be.
Their primary problem has been to have their world
believe them and accept them for who they are. Their
lives are tough enough. They experience enough
misunderstanding and shaming. They at least deserve to be
affirmed in the language used concerning them.
- In all the circumstances, I contend that it is in the
best interests of young people with transsexualism to be
referred to with affirmative language and
terminology; whatever the usual or past usage
practice has been.
- A dictionary of such affirmative language is as
follows:
People (or a person, young person, child or
adolescent) with or living with transsexualism -
rather than the demeaning and objectifying noun
"transsexual". That is, a person is an individual and not
a condition;
A person is said to have affirmed (their) sex -
rather than "changed (their) sex", when a person with
transsexualism seeks to live a private and/or public life
consistent with their innate or neurological sex or
"brain sex" rather than their first assigned legal
sex;
A person living with transsexualism who has
affirmed their female sex after having been first
assigned to the male legal sex is referred to as a female
with transsexualism or an affirmed female rather than a
"male-to-female transsexual" or an "MtF". Similarly, a
person living with transsexualism who has affirmed their
male sex in contradiction to the person's first assigned
female legal sex is referred to as a male with
transsexualism or an affirmed male rather than a
"female-to-male transsexual" or an "FtM";
All that therapy and medical treatment involved in the
rehabilitative process of harmonising a person's
sexually differentiated body with the person's affirmed
sex, including hormonal treatment, counselling, hair
removal, voice training and surgery in respect of both
genitalia and secondary sexual characteristics is
referred to as sex affirmation treatment. Such treatment
may also involve ongoing social support and assistance to
family, friends, school, work and other key environments
in appreciating the difference of transsexualism. The
surgical aspect of this treatment, and specifically the
genital surgery, is referred to as sex affirmation
surgery or genital reassignment surgery rather than "sex
reassignment surgery" or "sex change surgery";
Once a person has undergone sex affirmation treatment
(including sex affirmation surgery) such a person can
be perceived as resolving all mind/body conflict to the
extent medical science has permitted and can referred to
as a person of transsexual background (or history) if
reference to that aspect of their biological/medical
history is necessary or relevant.
legal sex - is used to describe the assigned or
designated sex of a person as recorded in a register
maintained in Australia by the States' Registrars of
Births, Deaths and Marriages. A person's legal sex is
usually assigned by a medical practitioner at or near the
birth event as a result of a casual inspection of the
person's external genitalia (only) and is then recorded
amongst the particulars of the legal identity of that
person. Such particulars are evidenced by, or published
as, the person's birth certificate. The particulars of a
person's assigned legal sex can be changed pursuant to
legislatively determined forms of application which vary
from State to State but which, in Australia, all require
evidence of the person having undergone Sex
Affirmation Surgery.
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