A few years ago, I came to the realization that trans people are considered ‘super-gays’ by the religious right. For example, Dr. Sander Breiner, in his National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) article entitled TranssexualityExplained stated the following:
“There are a significant number of male homosexuals who would like to be a female with a penis. There are others who would like to be completely transformed into a female, but can’t arrange to have such a complex surgical procedure. Both groups will obtain hormones from various sources; often it will be illegally from a pharmacy.
“The transsexual male who was not part of a university/medical school treatment program, will often take hormone treatment (self-prescribed and administered), and play a feminine role with unsuspecting heterosexual males (often as a prostitute). They will play the part as if they are a passive feminine object. Their approach has many masochistic behavioral qualities. However, their thinking about how they are tricking, fooling and using others has a clearly sadistic dynamic as well.”
Trans people, and trans women in particular, seem to be singled out as super-gays. It seems to me that the religious right picks up on this theme as one of the reasons that trans people shouldn’t experience equality under the law.
For me, it’s odd that there are Scriptures that talk in terms of genital surgeries not being a hindrance to entering the kingdom of heaven. For example, Matthew 19:12, as Scripture attributed as a quote of Christ, states this:
“For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
Considering that this was the only genital reconstruction surgery available in Biblical times, it seems that the Lord recognizes those who’ve had such surgeries as those who can be his children. “He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
There is no known single cause of gender dysphoria, but to deny treatment that has been shown to have a positive outcome – because there are members in society whose faith in Christ would have them deny this treatment to others – would seem to be un-Biblical and cruel.
I will never understand the bitterness that leads many on the religious right to work so hard to deny humanity and civil rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But not understanding their bitter dislike of gay men, I understand why trans people are caught up in the religious right’s efforts to deny antidiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. Whatever their reasons for disliking – and even hating – gay men, that hate transfers over to trans women as being seen as super-gays.
Autumn, this is pure hogwash. Eunuch’s are castrated MEN. Not women. This article infuriates me. If you want to identify as a male eunuch, by all means go ahead, but that isn’t what transsexual women are. Stop trying search for justification out of the fictitious bible. There never was a god, never will be one. The oppression is suffocating me. Stop it!
Autumn, go to Eunuch.org and try to tell those guys they are women. You are erasing an entire group of people.
Obvious troll is obvious. Either that, or somebody is really stupid and doesn’t realize that the word “transexual” was coined after the Bible was translated into English.
Dana, can you not read? She never claimed eunuch’s were not men, she was simply saying that it is a form of genital surgery and that it was accepted by the god of the bible. She is not saying god exists, she is merely saying even in the context of the bible – which these people are using to justify hate – forms of genital surgery happened.
She also says, rightly, that ‘Considering that this was the only genital reconstruction surgery available in Biblical times, it seems that the Lord recognizes those who’ve had such surgeries as those who can be his children.’
Basically, given that they didn’t have complex SRS methods at the time, eunuch was the only performed method of genital surgery. NOT a method performed on MtFs, but it is still a genital surgery method. She is not saying that ‘the bible therefore trans rights’ she is simply saying that even if you give the Christian right the benefit of the doubt and accept the bible, trans people STILL have rights, as god accepted forms of genital surgery.