A Boy's Life

I think one of the main issues here is whether or not being transgender is biologically or socially constructed. Scientists argue that there is a chemical imbalance in the brain, which some believe to be reservable, but others believe should be accepted and embraced. The idea that the “disorder” comes from “family noise” is interesting butt4 I disagree with it. I feel that if they surveyed the amount of families as they did, they were bound to find some families with similar issues. A disorder by definition is an “ailment that affects the function of mind or body.” I interpret a disorder as something which is abnormal and caused problems. There is no denying that being transgender is abnormal, or that it causes issues. However I feel that the term “disorder has a negative connotation and a certain stigma attached to it which is why people reject this term.

I support Tina’s decision to allow Brenden to live as a girl. The text shows that he is happiest when he is a girl, and being happy is what is most important. I think that they should always be open to the fact that he might grow out of it, either completely or partially, however I do not think they should force that on him. It is hard because he is then loosing support from some people around him, however the most important people are his immediate family and he should not have to pretend to be something he is not according to people like his aunt who is clearly a bitch anyway. Rosen doesn’t express any formed opinion of it, but she seems to open to learning more about the issue. I like that she was really able to look at different sides of the issue and explore opposing views.

I think that being transgender is something which happens biologically and then it can be intensified or lessened but not taken away according to social environment. The science proves that a transgender’s brain is more similar to a woman’s brain then a man’s. However if you look at the cases where people go to therapy and change their ways, it shows that the disorder can be altered. But it cannot be taken away and I believe that people should be allowed to express themselves completely because it would be agaonizing to be actin differently than ho you truly feel. It almost feels like Zucker the therapist brainwashed the kids into feeling like their normal sex, but they still had the underlying gender confusion which caused the children much pain.