Transgenderism is a Biological Impossiblity

An article republished in the Wall Street Journal from 2014 by Dr. Paul R. McHugh regarding transgenderism has sparked an Internet wave of both support and opposition.

McHugh is a former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins and studied transgenderism for 40 years. In his article and his book, The Mind has Mountains: Reflections on Society and Psychiatry, Dr. McHugh basically asserts that the current politically-correct indulgence of individuals claiming to be transgender is a mistake. Sex change, he says, is "biologically impossible" and transgenderism is a mental disorder that should be addressed with appropriate treatment. McHugh writes, "We psychiatrists, I thought, would do better to concentrate on trying to fix their minds and not their genitalia."

Post-surgery data collected by a colleague of McHugh suggests that while most patients did not regret changing their genitalia, "in ever other respect, they were little changed in their psychological condition" and "had the same problems with relationships, work, and emotions as before."

McHugh concludes that "We have wasted scientific and technical resources and damaged our professional credibility by collaborating with madness rather than trying to study, cure, and ultimately prevent it."

The reprinting of the Wall Street Journal article was promptly hailed by conservative groups and vilified by liberals. The Huffington Post quickly posted an article with a series of talking points to argue against McHugh's position. These points mainly circled around the approved psychiatric definition of a mental disorder, quoting various scholarly journals. The LGBT Weekly ran an article declaring that McHugh flies in the face of current medical practice, which supports sex reassignment and its coverage by health insurance.

The Transadvocate agreed that McHugh is not in alignment with his medical peers and presented more scholarly journals to support this position. The Transadvocate went on to dispute McHugh's claim that is not advisable to give puberty-delaying hormones in order to facilitate sex reassignment later for pre-pubescent children who believe they are transgender.

Whether one believes transgenderism is a mental disorder or a healthy expression of individualism, the complications of biological males assuming female roles and the reverse are quickly entering our lives. Last week, Nattaphon "Ice" Wangyot, an Alaskan high school senior who identifies as female won two medals at an important state championship, drawing criticism from her biologically female peers, who don't have the advantage of muscle mass that testosterone produces. Wangyot now takes hormones to suppress her testosterone.

See also:

Exercise Guru Richard Simmons Will Become Transgender Woman at 67. http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/06/09/people/report-exercise-maven-richard-simmons-is-transgender-transitioning-to-a-woman/1358.html

Girls Object as Transgender Student Competes in Alaska State Track Meet. http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/06/08/sports/transgender-female-wins-two-medals-at-alaska-state-track-andamp-field-final/1369.html