Sports reporter to undergo sex change

Do you think for a second it's even a story if this isn't a staff member? IN L.A.?? Yeah, that kind of choice never happens there.

 

If it's a prominent public figure, I think it's certainly a story. And I think they'd definitely have a comment from the significant other. Even if it's a "no comment."

 

Well, you've got to assume you're not going to get beat on the story, so you've got time to make sure you've got all your bases covered. No reason to run a story with giant holes. How are you serving the reader if you're not trying to answer all the questions the reader will have? Isn't that the goal here?

 

I'm sure if enough people here want to try to pressure the Times into an in-depth explanation and some details from the wife, they'd all be happy to oblige. I mean, we have a right to know, right?

 

What a conflict of interests going into a men's locker room would be.

 

Jesus.

 

No, this doesn't come close to reaching the level of a politician or a movie star or Renee Richards making the decision. He did it as his column. Otherwise, it never would have been a story.

 

Do you mean at the health club, or covering a Chargers game?

If you're referring to the latter, please explain the issue.

 

What's often overlooked is that when one member of a couple transitions, it also means a "transition" for the other. For those who know them, Lisa is now "that woman who's married to a transsexual." Obviously, her friends and professional peers are going know, but that's different from having it come up every time she talks to some random source. So I can understand where the omission may be an attempt to protect her privacy, and if so, hopefully it was a decision that was jointedly made.

I did want to address the "wife as after-thought" issue -- and here I'm speaking in general terms, since as I mentioned, I've never met either Christine or Lisa. Sadly some transitioners, both MTF and FTM, do treat their SOs as an after-thought or an impediment. And that's just wrong -- especially as usually is the case, the trans person didn't disclose their trans-ness before the relationship got serious. (There's variety of reasons why this happens, the most common being that usually the trans person was in denial themselves (or desparately hopes marriage will "cure" them), but the fact remains the SO wasn't told.) Partners matter. That said, I've also seen trans people work tremendously hard to try to preserve their relationships, some probably to their own personal detriment. Unfortunately, it's a situation that often ends in sorrow despite the best intentions of all -- the ultimate in irreconcilable differences.

Ummm Boots... you do realize that Christine is a transsexual, not a child molester?

There have been other teachers who transitioned and in all the cases I'm aware of, the kids rarely had problem with it. It was their parents who freaked out. Which begs the question, who was more grown-up?

Actually that would be two TSs and one crossdresser (me). Unlike many TSs, I'm never felt alienated from my body. Nor do I desire to cross-live full-time -- part of the time is sufficient -- but for me life is too short to be just one gender.

Now if people want to speculate.... I'll tell ya that hyper-masculine over-compensation is a cliche among MTF trans people. I know extreme atheletes, SWAT team members, Special Forces types, etc.

 

People get cancer all the time, yet I can think of at least three reporter/columnists out there who are chronicling their own experiences with cancer. Why? Because they are in the public eye and they can tell their story very well.

It's about bringing awareness to issues, as it was in this case. An investigative piece is hardly necessary. Sex changes happen quite a bit in this country, but how often do we get to hear about it from someone we (feel like we) know, trust and are familiar with ... and can write extremely well.

I don't think s/he should have omitted the wife from the story but it's his/her story. Take it or leave it.

 

That's she. Nice person.

 

It is probably one of the most viewed stories in L.A. Times history.

It deserved to be in the paper because it was damn interesting.

Papers would gain more readers if they could come close to that interest more often, whether it's breaking news, enterprise, analysis or insightful or unusual first-person stuff such as this.

Anybody who thinks this shouldn't be in the paper is probably dead weight at a dying daily.