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This American Life Broadcast: "81 Words" how the American Psychiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness

beckscafe — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:00:01 +0000

This American Life, the public radio program that does in depth stories on various topics, is featuring an audio program on how the American Psychiatric Association changed its view on homosexuality in the DSM. The story is fascinating in how it tells the story of how the APA slowly made their change, how gay activists helped that move, and, mostly, how courageous APA members and interested parties actually changed the APA’s view from inside the APA itself. It wasn’t so much pressure from the outside as it was a realization from within that being gay was not a disease.

You can listen to the teaser promo here: “81 Words”

Here’s a synopsis:

Act One.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declared that homosexuality was not a disease simply by changing the 81-word definition of sexual deviance in its own reference manual. It was a change that attracted a lot of attention at the time, but the story of what led up to that change is one that we hear today, from reporter Alix Spiegel. Part one of Alix’s story details the activities of a closeted group of gay psychiatrists within the APA who met in secret and called themselves the GAYPA … and another, even more secret group of gay psychiatrists among the political echelons of the APA. Alix’s own grandfather was among these psychiatrists, and the president-elect of the APA at the time of the change. (24 minutes)

Act Two.

Alix Spiegel’s story continues, with a man dressed in a Nixon mask called Dr. Anonymous, and a pivotal encounter in a Hawaiian bar. (30 minutes)

You can listen to This American Life broadcast here: “81 Words: The Story of how The American Pyschiatric Association decided in 1973 that homosexuality was no longer a mental illness“.

Male & Female Interpretations

beckscafe — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 22:18:52 +0000

THINGY (thing-ee) n.
female: Any part under a car’s hood.
male: The strap fastener on a woman’s bra.

VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
female: Fully opening up one’s self emotionally to another.
male: Playing ball without a cup.

COMMUNICATION
(ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon)n.
female: The sharing of thoughts & feelings with one’s partner.
male: Scratching out a note before suddenly taking off for a weekend with the guys.

BUTT (but) n.
female: The body part that every item of clothing manufactured makes “look bigger.”
male: The organ of mooning and farting.

COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
female: A desire to get married and raise a family.
male: Not trying to pick up other women while out with one’s girlfriend.

REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
female: A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
male: A device for scanning through all 75 channels every 2 minutes.

TASTE (tayst) v.
female: Something you do frequently to whatever you’re cooking, to make sure it’s good.
male: Something you must do to anything you think has gone bad, prior to tossing it out.

(From Dr. Dialtone’s Amazing website (and it really is amazing!))

Lahey Clinic article on Transgenderism

beckscafe — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 05:53:21 +0000

There is an interesting artilce on Transgenderism (gender dysphoria) in the Lahey Clinic Fall 2005 Journal. The clinic actually features this article, and you can read it at this link here. I was referred to it from doing some reading at Andrea Jame’s outstanding TS Roadmap.

The article does a good job of outlining the potential sources for our being transgendered as well as the ethical issues in intervening in children who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria. There are other good insights in the article as well, such as the authors opinion that psychological issues (such as depression, fairly common in the trans-community) are really a result of not dealing constructively with a person’s gender dysphoria.

Click here for this excellent article, from this well respected medical institution in New England

4-2-2008 Update
There is a nice Q&A Interview on the author of this Lahey Clinic article, Dr. Norm Spack. It was done in Boston.Com. You can reach the Boston.com Article by clicking here.

NDRI: The Transgender Project

beckscafe — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 17:34:23 +0000

If you live in the New York Metro area, you might want to consider being a part of the Transgender Project.

The project, funded by the NIH, is designed to:

describe the economic, social and personal, family and workplace experiences of male to female trans-persons, how these experiences change over the course of our lives, and the impact of these experiences on our mental and physical health.

This sounds like a worthwhile study that will produce some very valuable information on the transgendered community. If you live in the NY Metro area, go have a look, sounds like you could be a part of history if you do!

Gay rights bill passes in Washington State

beckscafe — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 06:36:47 +0000

Over at Scobelizer, there is a terrific, peaceful, comment debate on the Gay Rights bill in Washington State. The bill passed (see link here) but the debate on the comments section is both respectful and thought provoking, regardless of which side you are on.

Have a lookie at the link and the debate by clicking here.

My Husband Betty

beckscafe — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:31:00 +0000

Helen Boyd is the author of one of the best books on dealing with living with someone with who is transgendered from the spouse’s (most particularly the wife’s) perspective. If your married, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to understand your spouse’s point of view, it goes a long way to helping you both communicate on your very real transgender (GID) issues. Whether your male-to-female or female-to-male I’d suggest you take a look at her book. This book was very important to me in understanding my wife’s point of view. For my wife, she was able to at last read something from another genetic woman who’s husband is transgendered and who did not necessarily think their situation was all "wonderful" nor all "terrible". It’s well researched, well written, and well worth reading.

Helen’s journal, (en)gender, is at this link here.

You can buy the book from Amazon at this link here.

Gender Therapists – how do you choose?

beckscafe — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 04:41:00 +0000

One of the things I’ve done right in my gender journey is to seek out a qualified therapist who has experience dealing with gender related issues. A qualified gender therapist can be a true oasis for you when you are first dealing with suspected gender issues. They can be an anonymous sounding board, provide guidance on what to do, help you evaluate options, help keep your marriage together if your married, and, help you get to the root of your gender issues (because maybe you aren’t transgendered, but it’s a symptom of another issue,perhaps abuse when you were younger).

One of the questions I often hear is “how do I find a qualified therapist”. This is an important point as most therapists do not have experience or education in dealing with transgender patients. If you end up choosing such a therapist, you may find you spend more time educating your therapist about what your dealing with rather than getting the help you need. That’s a bad deal (unless you are charging them $150 per hour, then you have a good gig going). There are two things you need (1) a list from a qualified source and (2) references from people where you live…

Both of these will drive you mad if you are in the closet – which is where all of us generally start, wondering what is going on inside us
while finding our lives spinning increasingly out of control. Let’s talk about these two points as they are the critical first step to getting your going forward – which is what you must do. Generally speaking for most trans-folk, sitting back is not the best option.

Let’s take point (2) first then point (1) second (confused yet?). If you can get a suggestion from a live person, that is best. But, you
might not be able to get a reference from another trans-woman or trans-man if your in the closet; you simply won’t know anyone to ask and you might not even know where to begin. That’s where some chat lines and Yahoo groups can be invaluable since you can interact with real transgender men and women who’ve been there, done that and are in the midst of it. Generally speaking, a yahoo group that caters to transgender folks where you post a question are less intimidating than a chat line. Also, there are more transgender writers of blogs out there today and many of those authors are living, breathing people who more than likely will help you or give you some of their life’s knowledge if you ask them.

Now onto point (1) regarding a list of qualified sources. One of the best lists, perhaps the best, is done by Dr. Becky Allison, M.D.. Her list is sorted by state and country and is made up of referrals done to her by other trans-folk. You can reach it by clicking this link here. I started with her list when I had reached the literal end of my rope and knew that I had to start talking to someone. Another list that parallels Dr. Allison’s, though primarily targeted at New England, is Laura5′s resource site. You can reach her site at this link here.

What I did that may help you, is that I just randomly chose three – and then I prayed and hoped I’d find the right one who would take me seriously. It turned out I did not have to worry. My first call to my first therapist was met with someone who was heartfelt and made me feel like I was not insane. Those put me right at ease and opened a little door to my closet that had been pretty much closed and locked up to that point. I put things a bit backwards and actually found out later that other trans people I had met and become friends with used my therapist. That was a nice confirmation but likely would have been better had I found out up front.

And don’t be afraid to try out one or two or three till you find the right one. You are the consumer here. These are your dollars your spending and your health you are dealing with. I started with one who was outstanding for me, but, my spouse did not click with that therapist, so off to look for another. The second one was a good fit for us both.

Many insurance plans will cover your talking to a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker who specialized in gender issues, but, here’s the catch, you will likely have to ask your therapist to report it as depression. Frankly, such a diagnosis will not be very far from the truth anyway for many of us since depression is a symptom of Gender Identity Dysphoria (GID). And, it will more easily be covered by your insurance and, be less likely to cause someone to wonder what is going on with you as your medical bills are filed and paid for by you or your insurance.

Some additional resources that may be of help to you and well worth reading on this topic:

How to tell if your therapist sucks like a bilge pump? Click for this story here
Andrea James @ TS Roadmap with advice on therapy: Click for this story here
A Teen’s Guide to Choosing a Therapist: Click for this story here.
Youth Resources Guide for Trans-Teens. Click for their resource guide here.
TYRA Links for Trans-Youth Resources; please click here.
If you live in Massachusetts, MTPC has put together an excellent list of therapists and their contact information. Some of this is duplicated in Dr. Becky Allison’s list but there is additional information that you may find helpful. You may reach the MTPC list at their Wiki here.

12/23/2009 Update
Changed trans-youth guide to a new set of more helpful links for transgender youth under the TYRA umbrella

7/6/2009 Update
The link to “A Teen’s Guide to Choosing a Therapist” was blocked. It has been replaced with a link to the Youth Resources Guide for Trans-Teens which also has the article, “A Teen’s Guide to Choosing a Therapist”. We have also added the MTPC guide to therapists in Massachusetts.

4/14/2008 Update
Diane Ellaborn, LICSW, a well respected gender therapist in Massachusetts, wrote an excellent article to help teens choose a therapist. We’ve included it above under “A Teen’s Guide to Choosing at Therapist”.

4/1/2007 Update
The site, Laura5, has been permanently disabled by the owner.

Jennifer Lee Jackson – Mormon and Woman

beckscafe — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 04:30:11 +0000

I was actually looking from some funny (and relatively clean) jokes and stories to post up when I found this interesting article about Jennifer Lee Jackson, a transgender woman who is now full time. That story at NPR is at this link here and an article at SLMETRO is here.

What makes her story different is that she’s the first Mormon I’ve ever read about who’s transitioned. Her story sounds like many of ours who are trans (whether Male-to-Female or Female-to-Male). But her being a part of the Mormon church is an interesting piece that is well worth reading. Sadly, she was ex-communicated. This is also a common theme among many of us who are transgender and belong to a faith community of some type. Generally speaking, we get the axe. I’m not sure why this is. If one were a Christian, say, then decided that Christianity was simply groundless and then committed to preach a different alien gospel in that church body, well that would certainly be grounds for expulsion. But, to try and be a healthy whole person, follow the teachings of Christ, and then be tossed? Quite a puzzlement.

Why be just one gender?

beckscafe — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 16:48:00 +0000

Link: Macleans.ca | Why be just one sex?.

Macleans is Canada’s premiere monthly magazine and a great read. I live in the U.S.A., but with friends in Canada, it’s hard not to peruse their periodicals from time to time to see how life is with our Northern neighbor.

Among my friends is “Sally”, one of the people written about in the story at the link above. I am very proud to know her. She is a personal inspiration to me, and to others. Pull up a mug of cocoa and read the story at the link above to learn a bit about her, and about being transgendered in Canada.

HBO: Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She

beckscafe — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 13:25:56 +0000

Link: HBO: Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She.

I noticed this documentary while at tsroadmap. This looks very interesting, hopefully HBO will do a good job of showing a balanced view.