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So after researching the case, I actually found it to be really heartbreaking but also very twisted. I mean what parents would do that to their child, just because a an obviously questionable psychologist tells them it's the best idea?
Anyway, later on, after the kid found out the truth in his teens, he decides that he wants to be a male again, and has his penis surgically reconstructed. But here is what I don't understand. Why didn't the parents just have their child's penis reconstructed in the first place?
It seems to me that is a much more logical idea, when it comes to a penis being damaged, rather than turning your whole child into a female. I mean that is so insanely illogical and is going to cause so many more problems, compared to the penis reconstruction.
Also, why did the parents favor turning their child into a girl compared to penis reconstruction? They must have had some sort of ulterior motives for turning their child into a girl. I cannot see the psychologists advice being the sole reason. Did they want a girl in the first place or something?
It just seems that something is missing with this whole story, or something doesn't gel in the parents minds. But what do you think?
Imagine there's a lot of information that could fill this story out more, but the way I'm reading things...I think the parents THOUGHT they were being good parents.
They have a son with a medical problem. The solution to fix that problem is botched. An 'expert' comes along and tells them "This would be the best thing to do for this child".
You're just a couple of young parents, trying to do the right thing, and this expert is telling you "this is the right thing." This psychologist, the expert is telling you (as the parent) "Hey, gender is fluid. Gender is what we say it is." Well...OK. The parents may have been told that there was no penis reconstruction available...especially if this psychologist has an agenda.
And then...you're committed. Your kid has yet another surgery, and is getting hormone shots, etc.
But didn't the parents think, that this solution is way out there and sounds like it's throwing out the baby with the bath, and maybe we should seek the advice of other medical professionals, rather than rely solely on the idea of just this one person?
I mean it doesn't take a genius to think that maybe this psychologist has an agenda and you think they would seek advice elsewhere before making such a drastic decision.
But what I want to know is, why didn't the parents try to sue, once they found that penis reconstruction was an option years later, when that information was hidden from the before?
Money sounds likes an absolutely monstrous psychopath. It is amazing to me that he was allowed to practice, and also amazing to me that the parents permitted this kind of experimentation/"therapy". In my view, forcing an adolescent to simulate sexual intercourse with his sibling is just SO sick and twisted, no matter what excuse is used!
I think it does lend credence to the idea that the genitalia one is born with does determine sexual identity to at least some extent, but I am certainly no expert on this issue!
But didn't the parents think, that this solution is way out there and sounds like it's throwing out the baby with the bath, and maybe we should seek the advice of other medical professionals, rather than rely solely on the idea of just this one person?
I mean it doesn't take a genius to think that maybe this psychologist has an agenda and you think they would seek advice elsewhere before making such a drastic decision.
But what I want to know is, why didn't the parents try to sue, once they found that penis reconstruction was an option years later, when that information was hidden from the before?
That's what we'd suggest now, but the baby in question was born in 1965, over 50 years ago. There was no internet to do research. Gender identity and psychology were not hot topics in the average person's life. Medical intervention was less sophisticated. People trusted their doctors and the parents made a choice based on the best practices of the day and the information available to them.
But that's what I mean though. Since they were not hot topics, why would the parents make such a drastic insane decision (in my opinion), on something that was not a hot topic? You think that back then this would have been too out there for them to want to do.
Plus Money isn't even a medical doctor, so he shouldn't be giving advice on removing body parts and putting on new ones, or anything like that, since he is a psychologist. I'm surprised the parents went for such an insane idea. I mean I know in the 60s people were not as open minded as they are today, but even so, these parents are way too open minded, to the point of destruction.
I mean the parents thought well our son doesn't have a penis, so the only way he can live happily now is if he turn him into a girl. However, didn't they think that there is no way he can probably pass as a girl? He's still going to look like a male, and have a more male voice most likely I would assume. And I feel that female hormones can only do so much. I just feel the parents are either crazy or dumb, for thinking this could actually work to the point where the risk is worth the reward.
Plus why is the law that parents are allowed to decide things like this, when the child is of no age to consent anyway?
But that's what I mean though. Since they were not hot topics, why would the parents make such a drastic insane decision (in my opinion), on something that was not a hot topic? You think that back then this would have been too out there for them to want to do. I'm thinking that the parents had a lot on their plate. The parents have twins, both of them with the same medical condition/adnormality. OK, that right there, is a lot to process. Then, they're told what the solution would be, and THAT gets botched, and now the parents are told that one of their children has a penis so messed up, it can't be fixed. THAT'S what they were told. Now they're troubles and worries have been compounded, and they're going to wonder how in the world their little boy is going to function normally. And then, Ta da! someone comes up with a solution.
Plus Money isn't even a medical doctor, so he shouldn't be giving advice on removing body parts and putting on new ones, or anything like that, since he is a psychologist. I'm surprised the parents went for such an insane idea. I mean I know in the 60s people were not as open minded as they are today, but even so, these parents are way too open minded, to the point of destruction. Maybe they already thought their child was destroyed, and this was the best solution?
I mean the parents thought well our son doesn't have a penis, so the only way he can live happily now is if he turn him into a girl. However, didn't they think that there is no way he can probably pass as a girl? He's still going to look like a male, and have a more male voice most likely I would assume. The boy was put on estrogen when he hit puberty. He developed female physical characteristics. He would've been growing breasts, and no Adams apple. Etc.
And I feel that female hormones can only do so much. I just feel the parents are either crazy or dumb, You're looking at this with 20/20 hindsight. for thinking this could actually work to the point where the risk is worth the reward.
Plus why is the law that parents are allowed to decide things like this, when the child is of no age to consent anyway?
Really? Parents make those kinds of decisions all the time. Babies are born with abnormalities every single day, and those parents have to make those life and death decisions for those babies. You can't wait until the kids are "of age".
If you waited until the kids were "of age" kids wouldn't get vaccinated cause shots hurt. They'll say no to the dentist, cause it's scary. They'd die from peanut allergies because they eat a snickers bar, etc.
Yes I understand that, but by making this type of decision you are adding on more abnormalities, not fixing any. Adding on a fake, synthetic vagina, to a male body is a BIGGER abnormality, than a penis that is not working properly. So they decided to replace an abnormality with a much BIGGER abnormality, and that I do not understand how the parents couldn't see that.
It just doesn't compute to me cause it's two different things. Fixing a penis, is a very different thing that being transformed into a female. Two very very different things, so why did the parents think that one had anything to do with the other? You said
Quote:
Now they're troubles and worries have been compounded, and they're going to wonder how in the world their little boy is going to function normally. And then, Ta da! someone comes up with a solution.
This isn't a "Ta da!", this a "WTF!".
I'm surprised none of the other doctors on this recommended to anyone in the medical field that the parents were mentally unfit, since they are making a crazy decision, and that this needed to be stopped.
Yes I understand that, but by making this type of decision you are adding on more abnormalities, not fixing any. Adding on a fake, synthetic vagina, to a male body is a BIGGER abnormality, than a penis that is not working properly. So they decided to replace an abnormality with a much BIGGER abnormality, and that I do not understand how the parents couldn't see that.
It just doesn't compute to me cause it's two different things. Fixing a penis, is a very different thing that being transformed into a female. Two very very different things, so why did the parents think that one had anything to do with the other? You said
This isn't a "Ta da!", this a "WTF!".
I'm surprised none of the other doctors on this recommended to anyone in the medical field that the parents were mentally unfit, since they are making a crazy decision, and that this needed to be stopped.
YOU know that NOW, from looking back on it. The parents were in the thick of making tough decisions. The parents were told the penis was irreparable. This psychologist comes along...someone presumably smarter, better educated, more knowlegeable of the subject...I honestly think it's very very plausible that the parents were doing the right thing at the time.
YOU know that NOW, from looking back on it. The parents were in the thick of making tough decisions. The parents were told the penis was irreparable. This psychologist comes along...someone presumably smarter, better educated, more knowlegeable of the subject...I honestly think it's very very plausible that the parents were doing the right thing at the time.
Yep. Time is the factor here. When this happened back in the 60's, there was nothing to go off of. Today, there's some data to research and make an informed decision on. At the time, the parents had the crackpot theories of Money to go off of and that was it.
As for the reconstruction, there was a lot of improvements in plastic surgery between 1965 and 1985 as well. Reconstruction may not have been possible at the time.
This case is much the reason we DO have some research on things now. So, while it was horrible that it happened, a whole lot was learned from it.
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