Suppose a child is born with one testicle, no vaginal opening, a rudimentary uterus, one fallopian horn, an undeveloped ovary, and a phallus larger than a clitorus but lacks many structures of the penis. Then, the doctors operated on "it" and took out the male organs, as intersexual children are often judged to be "under-equipped" to be male. Now suppose that this child grows up as a girl, but when she hit puberty, she identified as a male.
Now, would she be considered "homosexual"? And for those Christians who'd recommend "healing" for homosexuals, what constitutes healing for her? A sex-change to male or orientation-change to female?
Oh, and one in every 2000 children are born intersexual, about the same rate as cystic fibrosis.
------------------
--Then, said Cranly, do you not intend to become a protestant?
--I said that I had lost the faith, Stephen answered, but not that I had lost self-respect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
I don't think he/she would be considered homosexual, due to the fact that he/she can lay claim to both orientations because of his/her condition.
In this situation, I believe it would be up to the individual him/herself, and allow him/her to decide which 'side of the plate' he/she'd like to swing on. And then take appropriate measures.
Interesting example, Tora.
------------------
"I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy. Alright, give me the bomb" -Ultra Magnus, Fight or Flee
------------------
"Arthur hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realised there was a contradiction there and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife."
------------------
If the laws of the land were given to a society should not we take the laws away now?
If I recall correctly, I read the same (or a similar) article. The problem lies in that Doctors aren't equipped or trained to identify which orientation a child with malformed generative organs is likely to assume. One (highly unusual, but not unheard of) case that was cited was an infant male, whose genitalia were horribly damaged and burned during a botched circumcision (Yeesh! What were they using? A torch?!?). The doctors decided that, since there was no repairing the male genitalia, they would reconstruct the genitalia as female, and the parents would raise him as a girl.
Despite hormone treatments, etc., applies when puberty would normally have begun, the child developed a preference for females. As an adult, he eventually opted for [surgical and hormonal] gender reassignment. He sued the doctors who botched his circumcision, and I suppose he's none too happy that his parents went along with the deal, but what the hell, doctors are SUPPOSED TO know more about these things than we. I annoy some military doctors, since I know what questions to ask so they can't give a prepared answer. If they have to think, they're more likely to give the best answer they can, rather than the one they think will make you shut up and listen to the doctor. Some doctors actually like having to think about their answers, since the reason they got into medicine in the first place was to help people (making piles of money is just a pleasant side-effect).
In (faint) defense of the doctors, at the time, it was thought to be kinder (to the child) to raise it as definitely one gender or the other. This would supposedly save it the stress of not knowing which gender it was supposed to be. Guess what? He figured it out on his own! At the time, who knew?
--Baloo
------------------
When only the police have guns, it's called a police state.
-- Bumper Sticker
http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm
------------------
--Then, said Cranly, do you not intend to become a protestant?
--I said that I had lost the faith, Stephen answered, but not that I had lost self-respect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
With greater care I think all this could be taken care of. You see modern science thinks the Y chromosome releases the ability for a fetus to become a male. Therefore, all of us start out female, and drugs (in the future) should be able to ensure either the Y gives enough Testosterone or the two Xs work fine.
------------------
Peace on Earth
[This message has been edited by bryce (edited December 24, 1999).]
------------------
Death before Dishonor!
However Dishonor has
quite a disputed defintion.
I have met and known some very dyke, but definitely heterosexual women, as well as some very effeminate but rampantly heterosexual males. Likewise, there are masculine and feminine homosexuals, both male and female. While there is some correlation between gender and behavior, it does not hold true in every case. Likewise, gender and sexual preference are closely, but not universally linked.
--Baloo
------------------
When only the police have guns, it's called a police state.
-- Bumper Sticker
http://members.tripod.com/~Bob_Baloo/index.htm
No doubt, god will smite me for this, but still.
------------------
If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
A couple of things:
1.) I think hermaphroditism is different, in that hermaphrodites are supposed to have (when last I heard, anway), BOTH sets of genetalia. My information could be incorrect.
2.) The problems with intergender children DO occur as described. I recall a documentary not so long ago, which some children who were "reconstructed" and raised to be one gender, but turned out to be genetically AND emotionally oriented towards being the opposite gender.
3a.) "Let God handle it." -- I didn't know you were a "Christian Scientist." Yes, He's doing so well with other equally rare mutation diseases...
------------------
Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
Joking! No more Messiahs of course!
You know RW, my Christian college spent two days on this in my basic Bio course. They are not hidding anything.
------------------
Peace on Earth
Seriously. If yer talkin about me, I'd rather not. Messiah's have a rather nasty tendency to end up croaked. Ask Apollonius of Tyre (a precursor myth to that of Jesus that I'll bet they won't teach you about at that college of yours -- or most others, for that matter)
Two days in a basic biology course, and they talk about homosexuality? Priorities, people??? *sigh*
------------------
Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
1/ All the possible answers have been explained.
2/ If you believe them, you believe them. If you don't, then you don't. And as much fun as it is for me to bang my head against the table while First and Omega argue yet again, I believe that there are more interesting points.
Strictly speaking, it's not the XY or XX chromosome, but the amount of testosterone (or whatever) that the feotus recieves at a critical time in development. If the Y or X chromosome malfunctions, it's still possible to end up with a 6"2' 15 stone Rugby player who piles down bitter like it's the apocalypse and then shags a woman dirty every night, and still have a XX chromosome pair if he received enough adrenalin. He will be male physically and mentally.
But he won't be able to compete in male events at the Olympics. Strange that.
Also, why didn't the doctors of tese intergender babies DO an XY/XX test?
------------------
"Obesity. Adiposity. Corpulence. Whatever word you use, it represents one thing: being a big fatass."
Geraldo Rivera
------------------
Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
------------------
Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
-Britney Spears
Looks like I have to go back to Spoonman!
Spoonman, come together with your hands. Spoonman, I'm together with your plan. Save me!
------------------
"All in all is all we are" - Kurt Cobain
All Apologies, Nirvana
"Like, we get thousands of letters a week from people who want some kind of help. I've had people sending me notes saying they're going to commit suicide and I've called them up, and some of them, man, they're beyond help. But you're in this position where you start to think there must be something you can do, you know. So maybe I'm more tortured now, because I feel like there's more I should be doing. But you can't help everybody and if you say, 'Well, I'll help this person, but there's nothing I can do right now for that person,' it's even worse, because then you do start acting like God. Because there are so many people who deserve whatever help you can give them."
That's from an interview with Melody Maker magazine. Now, if that's how Eddie feels, if there was actually a god, I am sure he'd feel the same way.
------------------
"All in all is all we are" - Kurt Cobain
All Apologies, Nirvana
When you can't help but want to, that's excusable.
When you CAN help, but don't...
------------------
Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
------------------
"All in all is all we are" - Kurt Cobain
All Apologies, Nirvana
Now, is that offensive?
------------------
"Obesity. Adiposity. Corpulence. Whatever word you use, it represents one thing: being a big fatass."
Geraldo Rivera
[This message has been edited by PsyLiam (edited January 07, 2000).]
*Looks at Ultra with a trigger-happy look*
------------------
Sometimes I run
Sometimes I hide
Sometimes I'm scared of you
But all I really want is to hold you tight
Treat you right, be with you day and night
Baby all I need is time
-Britney Spears
The only thing I've said in this thread had nothing to do with you or Mike.
------------------
"I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy. Alright, give me the bomb" -Ultra Magnus, Fight or Flee
[This message has been edited by Ultra Magnus (edited January 08, 2000).]