Parents: 4th-Grade Girl To Become Boy

WCVB-Boston ^ | 3/4/2005 | Associated Press

[cwiz24]

Parents: 4th-Grade Girl To Become Boy Mom Says Youngster Has Male Brain

METHUEN, Mass. -- A fourth-grader who was attending a Methuen elementary school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy.

The parents of the 9-year-old child said the youngster was born with the body of a girl, but the brain of a boy.

They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request. The parents have even changed the child's name.

The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune that the family made the decision after consulting with medical professionals. She said the child is still biologically a girl.

The mother has requested that the family not be identified to protect the child.

School Superintendent C. Phillip Littlefield said there is nothing harmful about the child being in the school.

[gc4nra]

Didn't a Dean at Harvard get in trouble for saying male and female brains are different?

[Marysecretary]

How sick is this? I know that this happens, probably more frequently than we'd like to know about. I saw a feature on this one night and a five year old boy thinks he's a girl. It's really sad. It's hard on parents, not knowing what to do. I think it's a demonic spirit attacking these children, but try and convince anyone of that--whew.

[Marysecretary]

It's the child who decided s/he was a boy, not the parents. There are children who feel like they're in the wrong body and it often happens when they are 4-5 years old. It's so sad.

[Boardwalk]

Cool! I didn't realize strap-on spelled backwards is no-parts!

[JimRed]

Or the first game of skins against shirts...

They don't do that any more around here; they use colored scrimmage vests so the fat kids don't have to be embarrassed.

[GraniteStateConservative]

You were Wild Bill Hickock in a past life.

[Boardwalk]

LOL!

[Marysecretary]

It starts sometimes as young as 4 or 5. These kids WANT to change their identity/sex. It's not the parents who are at fault. The child him/herself makes them miserable until they do something. They had a documentary about this a short while ago and the parents are devastated.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Actually, I think he's right. It's supposed to rhyme with other real surgeries: hysterectomy, appendectomy, lobotomy, etc.

[D Rider]

Wait till he/she is 12 and his/her period starts. Then we can really talk about hormonal issues.

[Marysecretary]

No, it isn't. It's not usually the parents' fault. The child feels this way and it's devastating to parents. I have watched a number of shows on this and other weird subjects and there's no reasonable explanation for why a 4 or 5 year old thinks they are in the wrong body. It's very sad for the parents as well.

[ApplegateRanch]

At least YOUR parents didn't try to superglue a hot dog to the front of you.

Put a sock in it!

Two, if she's a braggert.

[Boardwalk]

Eventually, we may be the first man to ever give birth.

[xusafflyer]

I immediately thought of a man named Jane from Firefly.

[TheOtherOne]

METHUEN -- A fourth-grader who was attending a city school as a girl before February vacation has returned to school as a boy.
     The parents of the 9-year-old say their child was born with the body of a girl, but that his real gender is male. They have asked that he be referred to and treated as a boy by teachers and other students, and school officials are accommodating the request.
     The child's mother told The Eagle-Tribune newspaper that the family made the decision after consulting with medical professionals. She said the child has not undergone any medical procedure to change his sex physically.
     "My child has the brain of a boy," said the mother, who asked that her family not be identified. She said that her child has never identified as a girl and at 2 years old did not want to wear girls' clothing.
     The mother said that she and her husband at first thought of their child as a "tomboy." But as he kept insisting he was a boy they sought medical help. Eventually, they reached the decision to change his gender identity at school, including his first name.
     School Superintendent C. Phillip Littlefield said the Comprehensive Grammar School is making "reasonable changes to accommodate the child." He said parents, some concerned, have called the school as they learned of the change.
     Littlefield said the school is being "open and honest" with parents with questions.
     "There is nothing harmful about this youngster being in school," he said.
     The mother said that she hopes her child is accepted for who he is. "These few parents who are upset about it, I'd love to talk to them," she said. "My child is not a threat."
     "I've never dealt with anything like this before," Littlefield said. "But we have unquestioned responsibility for dealing with the specific needs of this youngster."

[D Rider]

Eventually, we may be the first man to ever give birth.

And he'll probably get pregnant due to a 9th grade gym class.

[ThreeYearLurker]

Then you are a mutant. But that is not the issue in this case. If someone thinks they are a different gender than their chromosomes imply, then they are not "transgendered", but seriously mentally ill. If you think otherwise, then you should start a thread on Jada Pinkett Smith.

[lonevoice]

I thought that all the Liberals at Harvard had decided that there was no difference in the brains of boys and girls, hence the Summers fiasco. Isn't Harvard also in Boston? These people need to get their stories straight.

Harvard consensus that there's no difference between male and female brains

Methuen, Mass elementary school accommodates "boy's brain that was born in girl's body"

Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) needs a bra

John Kerry (D-Mass) has a body that would suit any high fashion runway model

Don't drink the water in Massachusetts.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Wait 'til the pissing contests in the boys' restroom . . .

Seriously, though, unless it has been conclusively determined that the girl is physiologically and/or chromosomally of mixed gender (and the article sounds as if that is not the case), this is an extreme step which is bound to cause her serious harm. Why not just be supportive of her tomboyish tendencies, let her choose her own clothes, and let things develop as they may? Even if she's being taunted for not acting like a normal girl, it's not like she won't be taunted even more by the little boys who clearly already know that she lacks the obvious signs of being a boy. And switching her official gender in the middle of the school year, without even changing schools?!?!?!

Legendary transsexual/tennis player/ophthalmologist Renee Richards wrote and spoke extensively about her experiences, and always said she would never really be sure that the sex-change was the best approach, and while she felt that most likely there really was something physiologically abnormal about her gender status, she hoped that medical science would eventually find a better solution. Richards, however, made her drastic choice as an adult, and one with a world-class medical education (Yale) and reputation as a leading ophthalmological specialist. Having a bunch of adults basically impose the idea of a sex-change on a pre-pubescent 4th grader is really outrageous -- even though no surgical steps are being taken (yet), the psychological impact will be irreversible.

[mafree]

Once they attach a penis, she'll be able to parallel park, ride a motorcycle, and do all kinds of manly things.

As a female who flunked parallel parking (got the license anyway) I must laugh instead of flaming you.