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At first I thought this was some photoshopper's idea of a twisted joke. But it turns out that this is completely real! I'm not even sure how to react to this picture. I'm disturbed, shocked, and grossed out... among other things. Thomas Beatie recently provided the Advocate, a magazine targeting gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals, with an exclusive about his situation. He is transgender, legally male, legally married to his wife Nancy, and five months pregnant!!! Apparently the state of Oregon acknowledges him as a man even though he still has all the reproductive organs of a woman. BabyCenter.com defines paternity leave as "the time a father takes off work at the birth or adoption of a child." I guess that would still hold true for Thomas.
Aside from the obvious morality issues I have with Thomas' "situation," I still disagree with their decision to have a baby together. I don't want to downplay the human desire to procreate and nurture your own offspring. I don't want to insinuate that Thomas & Nancy wouldn't be good parents. In fact, it's likely they'll be more loving and caring than lots of parents out there who don't give a crap about their kids. But despite all that, I don't think it's a good idea because I don't think that they are taking into account their child's future well-being. They can't be.
I mean kids are cruel enough -- picking on you because you wear glasses, have teeny ears or have a funny name (middle school was a rough time). But now this girl's daddy used to be a woman and it wasn't her mommy who gave birth to her, but her daddy?? You don't think that her peers are gonna have a field day with that? I can already picture her coming home with tear-filled eyes because the kids at school teased her for having 1.5 mommies and half a daddy. I won't go as far as saying that the couple is being selfish, but they definitely are not thinking about their daughter either...
Full story: Thomas Beatie is pregnant: world’s first pregnant man!?!
Shout out to Tijani for the story. I'm not gonna even ask how you found it.
Yup, this is the world we live in...
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Giving new meaning to "Paternity Leave"
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1 comments:
Hi, I tried clicking on the link to the full article but for some reason it didn't go through so I'm not sure if you already addressed this in your post or not.. but I wanted to comment anyway :P
I wanted to comment on the way you dismiss ideas that this babyDaddy and his wife wouldn't be good just because of their situation, as it were. I laud you on your candidacy here, and completely agree, that when capable adults want to raise & care for children, it is a good thing, no matter their gender, or transgendered status..
But I have to say I was somewhat disturbed by the way you go on to state that they'd made a poor decision to have the baby because of how the child would be teased & ridiculed.
Is such a conclusion fair? Bullies will be bullies, yes, but why should that alter the way people live their lives? Surely, growing up learning to be brave, to stand up in the face of adversity is just as important in a child's life as is their security.
If this family does face adversity, why must they change? Why not the discriminatory conduct of others?
Anyway, thanks for the article, I hope I can read the rest of it at some point.. xx
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