Strollerderby : testosterone

Dudes for Palin: Vote for the Hot Chick!

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:30:00 GMT

It may not surprise you to learn that, according to the New York Times, “dudes” constitute Sarah Palin’s most vocal supporters. But it may disturb you to learn what these men have to say about her.

Although Palin was ostensibly chosen for her anticipated appeal to women, the former beauty contestant has (gasp!) won over far more men than women, with her initial approval ratings at 44 percent among men and 36 percent among women. (Those numbers have since dropped considerably, down to 31 percent among men.)

Even as many conservatives fault Palin for being, to put it nicely, not “serious” enough, Joe Sixpacks can’t get enough of her. One of Palin's female supporters acknowledged that Palin rallies are about “70-30, maybe 65-35, men to women.” Among the shout-outs that Palin routinely receives at her rallies are cries of, “You tell ‘em babe!” and “You rock me out, Sarah!” Some men sport “Proud to vote for a hot chick” buttons, while others carry “Dudes for Palin” signs.

Palin apparently loves the testosterone-charged rock concert atmosphere of her rallies. After entering a rally to the heading-banging tunes of AC/DC, she told the crowd, “That was kinda cool.” She has also introduced her husband as “Alaska’s First Dude.”

At least one Palin supporter interviewed by the Times admitted that he came to a Palin rally “just to look at her.” He wisely chose to remain anonymous. Let’s hope he realizes that, just as it’s embarrassing to admit to supporting a political candidate simply because of her appearance, actually voting an inexperienced, scandal-plagued woman into the White House simply because she’s “beautiful” at a time in which our country is engaged in two wars, is widely hated throughout the world, and is in the early stages of widespread economic collapse, would be an unforgivably inane decision.

Dudes, if you want to stare at hot chicks, watch Desperate Housewives.

Photo: New York Times

Should Parents Delay Puberty for Transgender Children?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

In the aftermath of media hype about pregnant transgender man Thomas Beattie—much of which threatened to return the “freak” label to the trans community—NPR has run a fascinating story that explains gender identity disorder from the viewpoint of a family living through it.

According to Danielle and Robert (last names were omitted), from the time their son was two-years-old, he insisted on dressing like a girl. From the time he was old enough to talk, he told his parents, “I’m a girl.” Throughout elementary school, he frequently had temper outbursts so severe that his parents sought psychiatric help. Finally, at age 10, he was diagnosed with gender identity disorder, a label that came as a relief to his parents, who could finally stop asking themselves, “What have we done to make this child so unhappy?” And, sure enough, as soon as Danielle and Robert allowed their son to live as a girl, the fights and the tantrums stopped.

The gender identity disorder diagnosis also allowed Danielle and Robert to consider options that were not available only four years ago. By taking monthly injections of medication that stops the body from releasing sex hormones, transgender children are able to postpone puberty, while continuing to grow taller. Then, at around age 16, they may decide to transition to the opposite gender by taking either estrogen or testosterone. By the time they are fully developed adults, they are physically almost indistinguishable from the gender with which they identify.

It probably won’t come as a shock that this is a very controversial program. Not only does taking estrogen or testosterone before puberty cause infertility, but some specialists believe that children cannot know with certainty whether or not they want to live as the opposite sex.

But Danielle and Robert do not see this as a choice for their child, now called Violet. In response to people who say Violet is too young to know that he wants to be a girl, Robert says, “Well, when did you know you were a girl? When did I know I was a boy? I knew my whole life, I can’t tell you exactly when, but it wasn’t like I was 10 and realized, ‘Oh gee, I must be a boy!’”

I know many liberal-minded people who do not “believe in” being transgender—that is, they do not believe there is a biological basis for the desire to live as the opposite sex. What do you folks think of Danielle and Robert’s story?

Image: prunellavulgaris.wordpress.com

Pregnancy: It's Not Just for Women Anymore

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:47:00 GMT

An Oregon man has publicly announced that he is five months pregnant with a healthy baby girl. So all of those hypothetical “If men could get pregnant….” statements may get practically tested after all--although somehow I don’t think abortion is going to become a sacrament or maternity leave is going to last for two years for the sake of Thomas Beattie, a transgender man who had to go through nearly ten doctors before he found one who was willing to handle his highly unusual case.

I must admit that when I first heard about Beattie’s pregnancy claims on ABC, I feared for the reputations of transgender people everywhere: a man gets gender reassignment surgery, then gets artificially inseminated and broadcasts it on the Internet? Plus, according to ABC, a few of Beattie's neighbors were convinced the whole thing was a hoax. “I saw him the other day, and he didn’t look pregnant,” one said. (As I later learned, my concern about Beattie's outspokenness was shared by some in the trans community.)

But after reading Beattie’s moving first-person account published in The Advocate, I had a very different take. ABC failed to mention that Beattie’s wife is unable to carry a child, making their decision to have Beattie be the biological mother understandable. Furthermore, Beattie explains the logistics of his situation in such a way that it's clear this will be a very wanted baby. He has always identified as a man, and years ago underwent chest reconstruction surgery and began taking testosterone to appear outwardly as one. But he kept his female reproductive organs, so in order to become pregnant, all he needed to do was stop his testosterone injections. Not that he wanted to start getting PMS and cramps again, but hey, we all make sacrifices for our offspring.

Super Bowl Alternatives for Families

Karen Murphy — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 20:48:00 GMT

If you're like me, you're one of the approximately 136 million people who aren't going to watch the game. So what are you going to do?

1. Shopping. With all that testosterone busy cramming Buffalo wings into its collective mouth, there's plenty of room to spread out in the aisles of your favorite home improvement store, whose employees will likely be very happy to help you buy a lawn tractor or snow blower. Or anything.

2. Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl III". Be sure not to miss the kitten half-time show.

3. See a movie. Again, short lines make this an attractive option.

But what if you want to fake it, and seem like "one of the guys" come Monday morning, without having to be subjected to watching big guys in lots of padding jumping all over each other and running around in seeming random directions?

1. Since it's all about the commercials, you can watch them here on Sunday. Or go here now for a preview.

2. If you're serious about faking it, watch just the first half quarter, then have a look at ESPN.com before you go in to work Monday, and you'll likely have enough to go on. Trust me, hardly anyone will notice (they'll be too hung over).