Thomas E. Bevan - Being Transgender: What You Should Know

Being Transgender

What You Should Know

THOMAS E. BEVAN, PHD

FOREWORD BY DALLAS DENNY

Copyright 2017 by Thomas E. Bevan, PhD

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Graphics are used with permission of the artist, Patricia Bell.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bevan, Thomas E., author.

Title: Being transgender : what you should know / Thomas E. Bevan, PhD.

Description: Santa Barbara, California : Praeger, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016030447 (print) | LCCN 2016034762 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440845246 (hardcopy : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781440845253 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Transgender peoplePsychology. | Transgenderism.

Classification: LCC HQ77.9 .B48 2016 (print) | LCC HQ77.9 (ebook) | DDC 306.76/8dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016030447

ISBN: 9781440845246

EISBN: 9781440845253

20 19 18 171 2 3 4 5

This book is also available as an eBook.

Praeger

An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC

ABC-CLIO, LLC

130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911

Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911

www.abc-clio.com

This book is printed on acid-free paper

Manufactured in the United States of America

This book discusses treatments (including types of medication and mental health therapies), diagnostic tests for various symptoms and mental health disorders, and organizations. The author has made every effort to present accurate and up-to-date information. However, the information in this book is not intended to recommend or endorse particular treatments or organizations, or substitute for the care or medical advice of a qualified health professional, or used to alter any medical therapy without a medical doctors advice. Specific situations may require specific therapeutic approaches not included in this book. For those reasons, we recommend that readers follow the advice of qualified health care professionals directly involved in their care. Readers who suspect they may have specific medical problems should consult a physician about any suggestions made in this book.

E ven twenty years ago it was difficult for transgender and gender-nonconforming people to find information. Today we are in the news and on television and enjoying an until now unheard-of popularity. And yet many of us are unemployed and unemployable, denied public services, harassed, misgendered, and all too often murdered. It is still, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, difficult for us to come to terms with ourselves and make informed decisions about our lives.

Fortunately, we have a wide variety of allies, laws to protect us in some locations, and an explosion of material we can read, view, or listen to to help us make sense of ourselves.

Along with YouTube transition videos, blogs and vlogs, and social media we still have an old standbybooks. Books provide a level of detail unobtainable with other media and remain an essential component of our self education. Reading is still important. It will always be important.

Drawing upon her own experience and existing literature, Thomas Dana Bevan provides a narrative that can educate and inform trans people, allies, professionals, and the general public about who we are, why we are the way we are, and what we can do about it. Its all therefrom terms and their definitions to discussion of the roles biology and culture play in the development of transgender identity and expression, to ways to make sense of it all and deal with ourselves, here is a narrative with a positive message. And you know what? In a world that discriminates against us, we need positive messages.

Dallas Denny, MA

Transgender Educator and Advocate

Recipient Virginia Prince and Trinity Awards

I n spite of what some people say, being transgender does not mean that a person is broken or diseased or immoral or has made a conscious lifestyle choice. Being transgender is a natural behavior that is based on biology. It is part of the healthy diversity of nature that has allowed human beings to survive and be successful so far.

This book is about what science can tell us about being transgender, but even if you got turned off by your last science class in school, we will try to make the experience understandable and interesting. We will describe transgender experiences, including my own and others, to give the science context. Science provides facts about being transgender that are important to transgender people, parents, journalists, and the public.

Most important, this book seeks to provide reassurance to transgender people that they are not at fault for their transgender behavior which frequently violates the expectations of other people in the culture. Although life may be difficult for transgender people because of mistreatment, bullying, discrimination, and violence, transgender people need to know that they are basically complete, healthy, and blameless human beings.

As you read this book, you should understand that it presents a snapshot of the available transgender science at this time. You should expect changes in our understanding based on future science. Indeed, you should demand future science and increased understanding.

The paragraphs above were written in the summer of 2015. I write these last paragraphs a year later in a climate of hostility. Since last summer, both legal and cultural rejection has been fueled by the opportunity to make money and political hay by propagating lies about being transgender. As a result, I can no longer easily visit my family which requires driving across several states that now have laws rejecting my existence. In North Carolina, I cannot go to public restrooms at highway rest stops. In other states, I could be denied access to gas stations, restaurants, hotels, or other public accommodations if the management refuses to serve me on religious grounds. And there are many more discriminatory laws in the works, particularly in the states surrounding Georgia, where I live. Hopefully, by the time you read this, most of these laws will be struck down or rescinded after losing their power as wedge issues in the November 2016 election. It is still disappointing and stressful to me to know that some people do not welcome me in my own country.

I do have faith that all of this rejection will be overcome. All I can do is provide the scientific facts to help transgender people to deal with the next wave of rejection. I am reminded of the George Orwell quote:

In a time of deceittelling the truth is a revolutionary act.

George Orwell, 1984

I only intend to help people understand being transgender. I have never wanted to be a revolutionary. But by telling the truth based on science and facts, based on Orwells definition, I now have unintentionally become one.

I want to thank my children, Lesley and Cynthia, for their love and acceptance. Thanks also to Maggie and her family for their understanding. Special thanks to Patricia Bell for her excellent graphics and support. I want to thank Genny B. Jacks, Chelsea Rose Wendt, milesa phar and Carmel Greer for their encouragement. Thanks to Dallas Denny for her insightful forward. Finally, I want to express my love for my wife, Nancy, who continues to inspire me.