[chumdawg]

Please. This situation is so transparent, it's hardly worth my time to explain it. But for the benefit of those who might be tempted to buy the bill of goods these people (and many others like them) are selling, here goes.

I read the scientific information at emedicine.com. The problem is that there is NO reason to believe that it applies AT ALL to this situation.

The child's parents told school officials that he had always considered himself a boy, rejecting feminine dress and name, and they were agreeing to raise him as a male.

What they DIDn't say was that the kid suffers from Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, or Congential Adrenal Hyperplasia, or any other initialism.

But they do try to justify:

The child's parents told the Eagle Tribune on the condition of anonymity that their child, who was born with the body of a girl, has never identified as a girl.

Ah, and now the word "identify" rears its ugly head. The scientific information is not about people with "the body of a girl." It's about people whose bodies themselves send mixed messages. The mixed messages in this case are clearly in the kid's head, not the kid's genes.

And who can blame the kid, really, when here's how people think these days:

Most parents who called, however, simply wanted to know which bathroom the child uses, according to Littlefield, who said he told them the youngster uses a separate bathroom, and people say, ''Oh, wow, that's cool."

''For the kids who aren't close to him, it was Phyllis and now it's Phillip," said Littlefield, using other names for examples. ''And it's OK. They want to know what's for lunch."

There is no longer any shock, nor any shame. Not in this, the 21st century! Be whoever YOU feel like being. Trust me, we won't give you shit about it! We might even give you your own TV show.

But back to the medical "professionals":

Dr. Norman Spack, clinical director of the endocrine division at Children's Hospital in Boston, said gender identity is formed at birth and is not a product of the environment. Much more research still needs to be done around how male and female brains differ and how transgenderism occurs, he said.

Huh. That's interesting. 'Cause here's what emedicine.com has to say about sex and gender:

Sex: All patients with AIS are chromosomally and gonadally male. However, separating the concepts of sex and gender is crucial with these patients. The term sex usually is based on physical attributes, while the concept of gender is based on an individual's self-concept and self-identification as well as the role an individual assumes in society.

Note that emedicine.com is talking about this AIS thing. On the subject of "transgenderism," here is what it has to say:

Searched Articles for "transgenderism." No exact match found.

No near-exact ones, either.

Luckily for the people of Methuen, though, expert medical advice is not needed by the esteemed staff of their school district:

If students bring home questions that parents cannot answer, he said, they should call the school to speak to a staff member familiar with gender identity issues.

Those who can't go to the Comprehensive Grammar School in Methuen are faced with situations such as these, according to emedicine:

[W]omen with AIS report difficulties identifying offices where physicians and staff are familiar with their condition. Many of these patients have been told that they really are not women but actually are men because of the presence of a Y chromosome and testes. These difficulties and doubts often cause shame and self-doubt as well as anger and frustration with a medical system they had expected to take care of them.

If it doesn't bother you that educators see fit to shape opinions about gender issues, I guess the following contradiction won't bother you, either:

The Methuen school has not discussed gender identity with students because ''it really is beyond the comprehension of a 9-year-old," Littlefield said.

But not for one remarkable two-year-old:

''Obviously in the beginning we dressed him as female," the mother told the Eagle Tribune. ''When he began identifying at 2 [as a male], he was ripping the dress off his back."

Idle question for you: how does a two-year-old know that people like him don't wear dresses?