Sports reporter to undergo sex change

I think I'm with SCDude ... and our guests are going to have to understand that I'm trying to approach this as a journalist, not as somebody with a need for gossip.

But the wife angle really needs to be addressed for a complete story.

 

Understood wholly -- no offense taken at that.

My concern is strictly the demonization aspect.

 

I read this a few weeks ago and thought it offered fascinating insight into how to profile a transgendered person. Never thought it would be useful on this board (though obviously it illustrates how reporters need empathy to report on most any story).
It's about Susan, formerly Steve, the Florida city manager fired for her job after undergoing a sex change.
While Christine's circumstance is different -- she hasn't been profiled by an independent reporter -- this was a telling quote from reporter Lane DeGregory's editor regarding what the reader "needed" to know:
"The first thing editor Joe Childs told us when we gathered in the Clearwater bureau's conference room to talk about profiling Steve was, "We gotta get the wife."

http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=120437

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/womaninprogress/2007/04/hello.html

 

Changing both first and last names is unusual. In fact this is the first time I've heard of someone doing it, so you'd have to ask Christine about that decision.

As Dyssonance said, almost all transitioners do choose a new first name that's congruent with their "new" gender. As far as choosing the name, the process is really no different than if you got an opportunity to change your own name. In some senses, it is a chance to reinvent yourself, so some people will choose a name that reflect who they want to be. That said, some folks will simply choose a feminine or masculine version of their existing name if it's one where that works (e.g. Christopher to Christina or vice versa).

Now to put on my (ex-)journalist hat... The Poynter article is a good one, but I'd note that the article they're discussing was a lengthy profile piece on Stanton, which appeared after probably at least a week's coverage, none of which had involved Stanton's wife. (Admittedly, that probably was in large part because Stanton's wife hadn't wanted to talk to the press.) But arguably it was also a bit different than a "day's event" story, like the one that appeared in the LAT today. And different again from a first-person column. (As I said previously, we don't know whether the omission was something Christine and Lisa had discussed and/or desired to do.)

Incidentally, while the specifics of Penner's column was obviously a bit different, I'd just note that it's pretty common for columnists to do a sign-off in their final column to let readers know that they'll no longer writing it, and often these will mention what's going on (they're getting promoted, moving to another beat, leaving the newspaper, etc.) I've yet to see one example where people criticized these for not discussing whether the writer's SO was happy about the change in assigment, relocation, etc. Just saying....

BTW, for the late-comers, while I posted this earlier, I think it's worth reiterating that there's good information about covering trans issues in the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's Stylebook Supplement on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Terminology http://www.nlgja.org/resources/stylebook_english.htmland GLAAD's Transgender Glossary of Terms http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/transfocus.php Unfortunately the current AP Stylebook's entry for "transgender," while technically correct, is actually a bit misleading and wrongly gives the impression that all transgendered are transsexuals, when in reality "transgender" includes a wide spectrum of folks. (For example, the number of MTF crossdressers is probably an order a magnitude larger than the number of MTF transsexuals.)

 

Thanks for the link to the Stanton story background -- that was most informative, and that was likely the only articel I haven't read on Stanton, so it was good to see.

And I've got a new bookmark, as well -- thanks for the link to woman in progress.

 

Zagoshe, you're becoming part of the story now.
You're posting anonymously - no contact details - so what do you have to hide? You've insisted that any journo worth their salt would hound Lisa for a story: but what about your own?

In the above, you've used the deliberately insulting words "he-she" and "deviant" - though you haven't been consistent about it. Why?

Quite seriously, your outspoken-ness makes you a person of interest here. A story about how Christine's peers view her would have to include you, your sexual habits, your partners', the criminal records of your children, because it's all relevant.

Some stories shouldn't be written though, in order to protect the basic humanity of the reporters. And Ethics is not just an English county next to Thuthics.

 

Note that Zoe got started on her transition a little over two years ago now, and quite by accident. She's unique in that she's one of four who started transitioning spontateously. She had no choice in the matter.

Now take a good look at her avatar. That's her most recent photo. Two years ago Alan looked decidedly more masculine. What you see in that picture is, in large part, due to natural changes. Her face has reshaped itself. So why tell you this? To verify that Zoe Ellen Brain knows what she's talking about. She knows what Christine will soon be going through.

BTW, Christine, you read this post be sure to get in touch with Zoe. She'll have a few stories about subjects such as dilation etc. to tell you.

 

I know the question was asked of Dyssonance, but I'll answer it from my personal viewpoint.

It's the one area of Transition I haven't gotten my head around. Yes, it is confusing, probably more confusing for us than it is for anyone else.

A woman - no matter whether she's TS or IS or normal - who's attracted to guys is straight. A woman - no matter whether she's TS or IS or normal - who's attracted to other women is Lesbian.

Any woman whose brain has been bathed in a male hormonal mixture for 30 or 40 years will never be normal. Hormones change you. For that matter, a woman who has been through the hormonal storms of pregnancy is never the same again, her brain gets re-wired. You can see this on dynamic MRI scans.

Gay guys are guys - in fact they are more male than most straight males, they just love their bodies. They adore having external genitalia. They hate the idea of having a "gash", on themselves or on anyone else.

Similarly, Lesbians dislike dicks. They especially don't like the thought of having one themselves.

The reason why many TS women dislike being told they're gay is twofold. To those of us who are straight, it implies we're men, which at best shows a dramatic misnderstanding, and at worst is highly insulting. Like you being called a "sissy", a "girly man" etc. And to those of us who are lesbian, it implies that we're attracted to men, which is as insulting to us as it is to any other lesbian woman. Again, it shows fundamental misunderstanding.

TS is about Gender, not Sex. And Sex is affected by Gender, but not dictated by it.

I have no idea whether Christine is attracted to Boys, Girls, Both or Neither. More to the point, neither does she, yet. The Hormones haven't been working long enough, and if she has surgery (minimum of a 1 year wait) that can change orientation too. It's mildly terrifying knowing that transition can change something as fundamental to one's Identity as Sexual Orientation.

It happened to me, quite against my expectations, though the psych tests showed it was likely. I'm mildly homophobic, and I'd just about gotten over the acceptance of the fact that I'd always been asexual to lesbian, when that changed. I'm straight but I don't want to be.

I'll work through it. After all, it's been less than 2 years from a standing start.

 

You saying you are straight -- does that mean you like women or men?

 

Also Zoe -- I think you are taking a giant leap from what I was suggesting -- which is the divorce needs to be a part of the story -- to interviewing all of a person's loved ones about their sex lives.I have never, ever suggested that. I simply said the wife, who also happens to be a somewhat public figure, needs to be addressed, especially in the follow up "news" story.

 

That's one way of dealing with it, yes. Quite common. Perhaps 20%? I have no idea, really.

Love is Blind.

See above.

That depends. Very few TS women for example are impotent. Rather more are Anorgasmic, or have "Retarded Ejaculation" due to the reflexes not being present. I can remember being astonished when I heard that most guys were "finished" in less than 45 minutes (I still find that difficult to believe). Being anorgasmic does have some advantages though - for your partner.

Often by fooling themselves first. In some cases, this involves minor psychosis, suppressed memories and the like. Denial. In other cases (80%) periodic cross-dressing can provide an outlet, allowing normative behaviour.

Think about it: A woman meets a man who understands her, who thinks like her, yet comes in a package that makes her toes curl with desire. What's not to like?

Oh for goodness sake.... no-one could possibly take exception to any question you've asked. You seem to think that someone who is TS is different from you in wanting to know the answers to these questions. We do too.

What choice did I have? Not attracted to boys at all - slightly antagonistic to them if anything, it was boys who broke my nose, a boy who used a crowbar on my face, boys who burnt me with cigarette butts. I had a triple dose of maternal instinct, I desperately wanted children. I could never be a mother, of course, but fatherhood was a good second-best. That meant falling in love with another girl. And, after all, I did have a Boy body. Maybe this was just a silly delusion, a phase I'd grow out of. I had no illusion (unlike many) that marriage would "cure" me.
I just tried to be the best Man a gal could be.
What choice did I have? Here we are, in 2007, and Transition is still a cause celebre, an open Scandal (in the 18th century sense of the word). In 1981, when we got married, it was far worse. I wouldn't have qualified for treatment then anyway. They only accepted gracile, slim, effeminate "gay" boys. I was none of those, broad shouldered, thickset, played Rugby at school, no interest in men. It wasn't until 1996 in this country that they started treating lesbians too.
My choice was do the best I could with the resources at hand, or kill myself. And killing myself was out, too many people would have been hurt. The coward's way out too.
I hunkered down, and hoped for better times ahead. As you do.