Anatomically Female But Still A Man
By Roberta Angela Dee

There is sex and there is gender.
Sex refers to the anatomy. Gender refers
to the psychology. So, it is the psychology one must examine when
considering the functional gender of an individual who has undergone sex
reassignment surgery (SRS).
I spend a lot of time on the internet. By chance I came across a web site
put up by a transsexual doctor. She had her Glamour Shot photograph inserted
into her home page along with the announcement that she was a post-operative
transsexual.
Needless to say, her announcement would intrigue any writer. It especially
intrigued me.
Can you imagine any woman wanting to announce to the world that she once had
a penis? It's unthinkable. For anyone who was actually female and needed
such surgery, they'd most certainly want to keep it a secret. I seriously
doubt that they would erect a web site to announce, to millions of strangers,
that they once had a male member. I believe they'd be a little more
discreet. Don't you?
Well, I don't like to judge anyone prematurely. So, I also read the
doctor’s account of her surgery. It read like a Steven Spielberg movie. I'm
sure that some of it was real. I’m sure that it was at least based on the
actual events that surround this kind of surgery. However, it carried an
element of melodrama that seemed less than appropriate.
Anyway, as I browse, I'm still basically intrigued by this intricate web
site with links to other web sites -- including TG Forum. And then I come to
the creme de la creme of transgendered web sites -- something I've seen
nowhere else on the internet: actual photographs of a transsexual’s vulva --
downloadable and in living color!
I immediately click my mouse to move to that page of the doctor’s web site,
and lo and behold, there they are: two vulvas, side by side. This is
absolutely incredible and it's not even X-rated.
The doctor asserts that we cannot distinguish between the vulva of the
genetic female from the transsexual construction. And, guess what? She's
absolutely correct! But wait! I'm not looking at a real vulva, I'm looking
at two scanned photos of questionable resolution. And, I'm looking at them
on a computer screen.
For goodness' sake, it could be a cow's vulva. I doubt that even an
experienced gynecologist could distinguish the difference through this media.
So what exactly is the good doctor's point?
Is she trying to say, "Here are two vulvas, look at them and if you can't
tell the difference, it means that I'm a woman."
I'm sorry but this doesn't impress me as being typical female behavior, nor
particularly feminine. Can you imagine a biological female putting up a web
site to show photographs of her vulva before and after a hysterectomy?
So, again, in defining what it is (or is not) to be a woman, I'm led to
examine the behavior of the individual. Sometimes I conclude that just
because it looks and quacks like a duck, it's still not a duck.
I know several post-operative transsexuals. Surgery was right for them. As
far as I'm concerned they were women even before they had the surgery. After
the surgery, however, they didn't go running around town shouting, "I'm
post-op! I'm post-op!" They resorted to living lives as much as that of a
biological female as anyone could imagine. Their transsexuality became a
past issue -- best forgotten and certainly not announced to millions of
people over the internet.
Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? Perhaps. My own past
is certainly not unblemished and some might recall photographs of me that
have appeared in various magazines of questionable repute. However, those
magazine catered to a particular audience and the audience was a lot smaller
than the internet. Furthermore, the photos depicted a woman in the way a
woman might appear in a men's magazine. I did not provide close-up
photographs of my sexual organ for public display. So, there is a difference
-- a significant difference.
I recognize that this is my opinion and that someone else might believe that
the doctor is performing a valuable service for transgendered or transsexual
communities. I'm just having a difficult time determining what service the
doctor provides. I do know that some parents might be upset by the free
access to these pages.
In any event, my purpose is to write about my experiences in a way that
hopefully benefits others. Still, there are limits as to how much I feel it
is reasonable to share with millions of people. There is a certain deceny
and intelligence involved. It goes along with being private.
Maybe I'm old fashioned and not quite ready for the information
superhighway. Maybe I just need to be quiet and sip tea with women who don't
discuss their past lives as men.
I am a writer and like most writers I live for the feedback from Readers like
you. Please take a few minutes to comment on "Robert Angela Dee's Opinion."
I can be reached at RADANGLE@aol.com. Thank you.
Roberta Angela Dee
RADANGLE@aol.com
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