Recently, as right wingnuttia has gradually found themselves losing case after case in attacking gay and lesbian rights, they have turned their attentions to the "T" in GLBT - transgender people.
While I am far from surprised by the outright stupidity of the arguments that Wingnut Daily spews forth, I tend to expect somewhat better than that from a publication like Christianity Today. Sadly, when they published this bit of illogical drivel, they proved me quite wrong in my expectations of a more sane treatment of the subject.
Optimistically, I would have hoped that they would, in the process of doing their research, talk to more than just supposedly "christian" therapists. Instead, they restricted themselves to sources known for their overt hostility to anyone who professes an identity other than emphatically straight such as Exodus International or "Family Research Council". As close as they come to a "reasonable" source that isn't directly affiliated with the anti-gay lobby is Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist whose practice and theory is heavily focused on religious values to begin with. (although, to Throckmorton's credit, he at least claims to work with his client's religious values rather than imposing his own)
Quoting "Concerned Woman", Matt Barber:
Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues for Concerned Women for America (CWA). Barber points out that the American Psychiatric Association, which declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, still classifies the condition of transgender as a disorder. Barber says the political left wing is facilitating more gender confusion by counseling the afflicted to feel good about themselves rather than find a treatment for this disorder. ...
I won't go into the irony of a man like Matt Barber being the public voice for an organization called "Concerned Women for America" - I think that speaks for itself. However, Barber is making the same mistake that a lot of people make - assuming that because a condition exists as an "Axis I" diagnosis in the DSM IV, that it is therefore "bad" or a "serious mental illness". Yes, transsexuality is serious and needs to be handled carefully from a clinician's perspective. However, given the medical interventions that are required, there is also a legitimate need to have a clinical understanding of the condition that can be readily communicated between professionals.
Barber's claim that the psychological world hasn't sought treatment for transsexuals, and instead chooses to facilitate them is actually quite false. From the time that Harry Benjamin to present, mental health professionals have explored transsexualism quite actively. However, as is observed in The Uninvited Dilemma, and other books on the subject, attempts to dissuade transsexuals from their journeys simply are not terribly effective in the long term.
They then go on to start quoting from Jerry Leach of Reality Resources - a man who is to transsexualism what Peter LaBarbera is to homosexuality:
Jerry Leach, director of Reality Resources, a ministry in Lexington, Kentucky, to people dealing with gender confusion, shares Chambers's point of view. Leach says, "Rather than cutting tissue by invasive surgery and starting a new life, which for the most part doesn't work, people need to find help psychiatrically."
Leach is a self-professed "ex-transsexual" who turned away from his gender identity when he found religion. Okay, I don't take anything away from him - if that direction has made him happy, that's great for him - it is a logical fallacy to assume that his path applies to all who are transsexual.
With the exception of Throckmorton, who has never really spoken significantly about transsexuals (and I question whether he has the appropriate background to do so effectively), every source the article went to works from the primary assumption that transsexuality is about sex, and is therefore, sinful in the "Christian" ethic somehow.
Had the article's author bothered to take the time to interview a few therapists who deal with transitioning transsexuals (and other members of the broader transgender population), I think they would have come away with a far different picture than that presented by people like Leach or Alan Chambers portray. In fact, the APA's "quick sheet" about Transgender people brings out a key point about the condition that is overlooked in the article:
... People generally experience gender identity and sexual orientation as two different things. Sexual orientation refers to one’s sexual attraction to men, women, both,or neither, whereas gender identity refers to one’s sense of oneself as male, female, or transgender.
In some respects, this is a key point in understanding the problem with the Christianity Today article - it continues to confuse sexuality with gender, and equates the two subjects when they are in fact distinct.
The article ends off with this line:
The challenge before conservative evangelicals is persuading transgendered people, their families, and faith-based advocates that gender identity disorder is not beyond the reach of God's grace, compassionate church-based care, and professional help.
I dare say that given the painfully obvious bias of the Christianity Today article, the message of "compassion" above presupposes a "conversion" view of the subject and is based on deeply flawed premises and reasoning. In the meantime, ignorance and fear continues to foster murders and other acts of violence against those who transgress gender norms.
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