fracas

The Nuts and Bolts

Tracy Beatie was born a woman, but desired to become a male. Her breasts were surgically removed but she kept her vagina. Bi-monthly testosterone injections later, Beatie was now a transgender male and legally changed her sex to male. She was now a he.

Mr. Beatie then legally married a woman named Nancy. They wanted a biological child, but Nancy Beatie was unable to carry a child, so they decided Mr. Beatie should carry the child.

Before getting pregnant, Mr. Beatie stopped the testosterone injections and has stated that his body “regulated itself after about four months.” [A3] In fact, Beatie stated in his interview with The Advocate, “It had been roughly eight years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly. My body regulated itself after about four months, and I didn’t have to take any exogenous estrogen, progesterone, or fertility drugs to aid my pregnancy.“

For all the reasons you are here to either agree with me or to tell me I’m an ignorant fool, there was difficulty retaining a doctor willing to perform insemination and follow-up. The Beaties have said they performed the insemination on their own. Again, as stated by Mr. Beatie in the Advocate article, “In total, nine different doctors have been involved. This is why it took over one year to get access to a cryogenic sperm bank to purchase anonymous donor vials, and why Nancy and I eventually resorted to home insemination.”

The world, so it seems, is making an incredible fuss about the first pregnant man. Today, they will be guests on Oprah.

(Comment on this post…)

A Dissenting Opinion

Now I’m not attempting to discuss the issue of transgender individuals, the merits of whether or not same sex partners should have children or any other similar issues. I’m not interested in debating a plethora of folks who want to show up here and call me a bigot or freak all over my fraccy head because they think I’m discriminating against them. That is not the intent of this post, and I’ll warn you now that if you’re abusive here, you’ll be turfed out on your ever-lovin’ arse, never to be heard from again.

I’m simply interested in the technical issue here… that being the premise that Beatie, while pregnant… is a man.

I disagree.  

The Plain and Simple Facts

If you didn’t notice, there are some technical details in this story that are taking a back seat to the emotional aspects of this story. The idea that a man is pregnant has taken over for the emotional and shock value, the polarized feelings the very idea generates among people. While this is happening, not many are writing about the facts.

To become a man, Beatie chose surgical removal of her breasts and took testosterone injections. Nowhere have I read that Beatie has had reconstructive surgery to equip herself with a penis. So we know that to date, Beatie was a woman with uterus, ova, fallopian tubes and vagina intact, who was (legally) living as a man based on having removed breast tissue and taken testosterone injections. We also know that in order to conceive, Beatie had to stop the testosterone injections in order to return to a normal menstrual cycle. At that point, all that would be left of the transformation to being a male, would’ve been the fact that Beatie’s breasts were removed.

Bully for her. Removal of breast tissue does not alone quantify one as being a male, for if it did then all women who’ve undergone such surgery to save their lives from the likes of cancer, should be able to register themselves legally as male.

Logic, fact and common sense dictate that Beatie is a woman, living as a man. While the news stories, stations, mags and papers are eager to report this story with Beatie being the first pregnant man, the reality is that Beatie’s choice to discontinue the treatments that afforded her the status of being a man, meant that Beatie returned to being a woman in order to carry a child. Granted, she is a woman who looks like a man, but again, the facts are that Beatie is currently once again, a woman. Beatie may choose to indentify as a man, dress and act as a man and prefer to think of herself as a man (as do many transgender and transsexuals) but Beatie is while pregnant… a woman.   

And while the media chooses to cash in on the shock value of the story as a means to sell papers, gain viewers and pad the pocketbooks of their brass, many an average Joe or Jane out there understands exactly this. If comments to the pregnant man reports out there are any indication, Sam and Suzy Q. Public understand.

At news.com.au, reader Randy had this to say:

“Wow, you mean that a human with ovaries, a uterus, a vagina and capable of having periods was able to conceive a child? Holy crap! Why wasn’t my conception covered by the worlds media? Great for her if she wishes to live as a man, but biologically speaking, pre-operation as she is, this is a woman. The only way to get pregnant was to stop taking her hormone therapy and without it will eventually loose all the features that made her a “man.” The levels of testosterone she was taking to get her bodies own testosterone levels to that of a man prevented her menstrual cycle and thus prevented her from becoming pregnant. So by definition, as a man, with testosterone levels as they are it would be impossible for my body to conceive and carry a child. So, along that line, carrying and conceiving a child means you are a woman. Not being negative, its part of what makes woman the wonderful beings they are, and is what this pregnant “man” in reality is.”

At  The Huffington Post, reader TheBlueGoose had this to say:

“First, this is not a story about pregnant man. Rather, it is the story about a pregnant woman. The fact that the woman had her breasts amputated and took drugs to grow a beard does not make her a man…

This reminds me of a man that my daugher knows: He has a penis. He takes some hormones so that his beard is reduced. He wears dresses sometimes. He has sex with both men and woman. My daughter persisted in calling him a woman. I asked the obvious: When he is having intercourse with a woman, and when his penis is inside her vagina, would you still call him a woman? … In this case, the woman is pregnant! There can be no more obvious proof that she is a woman.”

More Legal Shmozzles

Because it is obvious that loss of breast tissue does not automatically designate one to be male instead of female, it stands to reason that when Beatie made the choice to revert back to being a female, ‘his’ legal status as a male should be called into question.  Because Beatie chose to become a female again in order to carry this child, it remains that Beatie (whose name was Tracy prior to but Thomas after) and ‘wife’ Nancy are currently living as same gender partners. It was noted by another reader to one of the popular stories, that the State in which they live is not a State where same-sex marriage is legal. So Thomas and Nancy are once again living as when they were Tracy and Nancy. The legal question then, is whether their marriage is currently legally valid.

I don’t presume to decide those things, I just point out the facts and raise the questions. If you can offer your opinion without abusing me for pointing out the factually obvious, please feel free to do so. If your only means of replying will be to call me something idiotic, then I suggest you find yourself another spot on the interweave to act like an ass.

Heaven knows there are plenty of those places. Please see below.

A) Assorted news links for this story:

1. http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/03/25/oregon-man-pregnant-mr-beatie-is-expecting-a-baby-girl/
2. http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=391879
3. http://advocate.com/issue_story_ektid52664.asp
4. http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=18574

B) Assorted research links:

1. Medical Definition of  Female
2. Medical Definition of Male
3. Medical Definition of Intersex
4. APA Definitions for Transgender and Transsexual

C) Other places (some of) you may feel more at home at:

1. Asshole
2. 2006 Asshole of the Year Awards
3. Are You A Certified Asshole?
4. So You Want To Be A Troll