Walt Heyer says that no one can really change their gender.
He should know, too, because he's tried. When he was only about five years old,
Heyer's grandmother began to dress him as if he were a girl and even made a
dress just for him. The result was a very confused little boy.
"I look at it today as being pretty abusive. While it
seemed very benign at the time, and maybe even playful, I can see today...that
it was really abusive to my psyche,” he told The Christian Post on Wednesday.
He is the author of the books Trading My Sorrows and, most recently, Paper Genders,
While I respect Walt's story, hear his regret, and I am happy
that he has found his own happiness, his statement that "You're not born
transgender, something happens in your childhood that causes you to not want to
be who you are...And today the only thing that is...socially acceptable is
calling yourself a transgender,” should be noted as opinion;
especially because science everyday is finding more evidence to refute such a
statement. Which doesn’t mean it’s untrue in his case, or some others. but it
shouldn't be stated as fact for everyone.
Walt, in my opinion, suffers from the same problem that many trans-people do: reciting Myth and Misinformation as fact; they falsely believe that having a trans-experience somehow makes them an expert on the topic. Yet, because someone has a transgender
experience doesn't make them an expert in anything except HOW IT AFFECTS THEM,
no more, no less.
Walt was apparently coerced into dressing as a girl when he was a small child. Did he do this by his own initiative or by his grandmothers?
ReplyDeleteI wish mine would have done that for me, I would not refer to it as "abuse" though as Walt does, I would refer to it as being given help to be able to live my life the way I felt inside, not the way I was abused...by being dressed as a boy.
I am more than a Christian now, something better in my mind...a Spiritualist, who not only believes in the blood of Christ, but also in other kinds of beliefs too...whatever belief leads a person to an abundance of praise and thanksgiving for life, I accept.
I am a M2F who has been reconciled through Jesus Christ...period.
Fortunately, the mainstream gets one story likes Walt's and they "assume" that its the path of every transgender person. The mainstream can't get their head around the fact that most trans people aren't coerced. They can't imagine why someone would want to change genders and therefore assume that they are ill, confused, abused or hiding from who they are, when in fact, most are becoming who they are.
DeleteWell said, Brianna. It's too bad that the general public tends to focus on a small, sensationalistic minority rather than on the millions of happy, well adjusted transfolk who are living productive, meaningful lives. We aren't sick or confused--we're just different, and that's ok.
DeleteOne can be TS, TG, CD, or any other manifestation of gender and still be a person who loves/follows Jesus Christ. There is absolutely zero conflict there, and the God that I know certainly doesn't seem to care about one's gender identity or expression. As far as I've been able to ascertain, God cares far more about the heart, mind and spirit. I know plenty of wonderful, happy, loving Christians who also happen to be transgender. Real problems seem to arise, however, when religion rears its power-hungry head and tries to tell people what they can and cannot be. Walt's issue appears to be with a socio-religious interpretation of how human beings are supposed to live--and such interpretations always come with an agenda. (That's why women and LGBT persons continue to be second-class citizens to many religious people, and why religious folk seem to be so concerned with what people do in their bedrooms.) My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to simply regard religion as the flawed human institution that it is and choose to focus solely on one's personal relationship with God. As a transgender Christian, that's what I do. I don't let a church or a religious group tell me how to live my life, and it works for me.
ReplyDeleteWhat is notable to me in Walt's statements is the assumption that some event(s) interfere with childrens' gender development to make them transgender. I'd like the opportunity to encourage him to address his perspective. Was his grandmother's treatment abuse? If it was traumatic, as it seems to have been, then yes, it was abuse. But a) not all trans people have been abused and b) of those who have been, studies strongly indicate that abusers target children who show signs of having unusual physical or psychological traits. These traits ARE primarily genetic or hormonal. Abuse does not cause them, but does produce tremendous psychological confusion regardless of the starting material. It's wonderful that Walt feels he overcame the confusion of his own trauma. He just errs in assuming his case applies to all people identified as trans.
ReplyDeletewell, mistake one....referring to this person as "transsexual"...clearly he isn't.
ReplyDeletefact: we cannot change our "gender". we can only affirm or deny it.
it's bad enough to incorporate transsexualism into the vast and undefined world of transgender fetishes...but to refer to transgender fetishes as "transsexual" is a disgusting lie.
be yourself, be who YOU are and leave everyone else to be who THEY are.