Re: Alleged certificate re hermaphroditism TYPO CORRECTED AND CLARIFICATION
Dec 28, 2002 01:46 AM
by Bhakti Ananda Goswami " <bhakti.eohn@verizon.net>
DEAR STEVE STUBBS,
GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER (GID) is currently considered by the
psychiatric profession to be a psychological condition that is ruled-
out by a medical diagnosis of physically diagnosable INTERSEX
or 'hermaphroditism'. If you read my Topical Index to my survey on
the literature on INTERSEX, you will see that there is no longer any
question about the influence of fetal hormones on the sex
differentiation of the brain. So as far as the pure science of
biology is concerned, the hormonal masculinization or feminization of
the BRAIN IN ALL SPECIES IS AN INDISPUTABLE FACT. Sadly, this fact is
not yet being admitted in the general clinical treatment of people
with authentic GID.
Never the less, my report is not about GID, but is about non-
controversial conditions of INTERSEX. Every animal and human intersex
condition mentioned in my report is a form of real gross physical,
scientifically or medically diagnosed HERMAPHRODITISM. So in regards
to HPB, I was NOT refering to GID. Persons with GID have absolutely
NORMAL detectable physiology and hormonal chemistry for their genetic
and gonadal sex, but have an immutable sense of being the opposite
sex. According to the overwhelming evidence from the pure science of
biology, these persons are exhibiting the subjective results of fetal
hormonal ABNORMALITIES during critical periods of neurological
development in utero. However, this FACT is not being recognized due
to resistance from religious, social, medical and legal opponents,
who do not want to allow people to be defined by brain sex instead of
genital, chromosomal or gonadal sex.
In the case of medically recognised INTERSEXED PERSONS (please see my
index) assigning them a legal sex at birth can be extremely difficult
and often a complete disaster. Many intersex conditions are so
internal or extreme (as in total sex reversal) that they are
invisible. These conditions may never be diagnosed, or may manifest
at puberty or later.
Some conditions are so extreme that whole teams of experts cannot
agree on what sex a child is.
C-AIS sex reversed XY women are extremely feminine, even though they
are genetic 'males'. Many XX and XY and genetic mosaic hermaphrodites
are extremely feminine, identify as female and live their entire
lives as such. What is not 'normal' is for a female to have a
persistant sense of a masculine alter-ego or 'gender identity' as in
HPB's case. In our time people are trying to express such
deep 'dysphoric' senses of self, but in previous times in European
culture (as opposed to other cultures that DID allow such variant
gender expressions), such expressions were not approved. As a
result, many such persons would seek socially acceptable out lets for
their 'other selves', like writing, or theatrics.
I do not assert that HPB was psychologically suffering from GID, or
that she had some easily diagnosible form of intersex, but it is
clear that she DID have a persistant life-long masculine alter-ego,
and showed MANY personal and social / relational signs of being
NEUROLOGICALLY HYPER ANDROGENIZED. In her time NO ONE WOULD HAVE
CALLED A GID PERSON AN HERMAPHRODITE. GID was not recognised as
existing then. The term HERMAPHRODITE would ONLY have been used for
someone with an obvious INTERSEX CONDITION, as gonadal studies were
only done on cadavers, and genetic studies were not yet possible.
-BA G
--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Stubbs <stevestubbs@y...>"
<stevestubbs@y...> wrote:
> Dear BAG:
>
> I read your post with interest but I am confused. Are you
referring
> to Gender Identity Disorder? I studied about that at the
university
> but never have met anyone who experienced it. GID is a
psychological
> condition which is different from hermaphroditism.
>
> Early pictures of HPB look quite feminine to me, although in voice,
> mannerisms, etc., she might have been more masculine than most
women
> of her era. There is no sign in anything she wrote that she dealt
> with GID.
>
> --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Bhakti Ananda Goswami
> <bhakti.eohn@v...>" <bhakti.eohn@v...> wrote:
> > TYPO CORRECTED AT >> <<
> >
> > Now it is clear from photos of HPB that she did not experiance
the
> > kind of phyical masculinization that I did. Late virilizing forms
> of
> > either XX or XY intersex are extremely rare. In these conditions,
> the
> > child and adolesent may appear as a normal female. After a rather
> > extreme >>(and possibly very late...in their 20s) 'puberty'<<, in
> > which a
> > phallus grows and secondary male sex characteristics develope,
the
> > person can no longer hide their transformation...or 'sex
reversal'
> > without great difficulty. This is obviously NOT what happened to
> > HPB, but being feminine in her youth does not mean anything, as
the
> > late virilizing forms of intersex HOWEVER MILD OR EXTREME, do not
> > NECESSARILY effect the person's pre- 'puberty' (pre-
masculinizing)
> > femininity.
> >
> > GENDER IDENTITY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ROLES THAT PEOPLE LEARN TO
> PLAY
> > FOR FAMILY AND SOCIAL APPROVAL. Even as a small child, I always
> knew
> > I was a boy, and had started secretly calling myself David by the
> age
> > of 9. At the age of 11 I introduced myself to my closest friend
as
> > David. At that time (and for years to come) I still showed no
> > obvious external signs of being intersexed, that my family or
> others
> > could detect. Still I was extremely neurologically fetally
> > androgenized, even to the extent of 'knowing' I was 'really a
boy'.
> > So it is entirely possible that HPB had some late-virilizing form
> of
> > intersex and a persistent sense of a masculine self, but
developed
> a
> > feminine familial and public persona for survival reasons.
> >
> > --- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Bhakti Ananda Goswami
> > <bhakti.eohn@v...>" <bhakti.eohn@v...> wrote:
> > > Dear Paul,
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