The Third Sex
Thailand is home to a large number of "lady boys," or "katoey" in Thai. This is a term that covers anything from a transvestite to a man who has undergone a full sex change. Thailand is now becoming the world leader in sex change surgery.
What are the ethical considerations of the “third sex”? Are we not just ignoring the underlying psychopathology? After all, there are only two sexes; male (46 X, Y) and female (46 X, X).
Anything else is a deliberate distortion of the truth. Changing the outward appearance does not change the chromosomal makeup of the individual.
But in the name of tolerance, we are denying these individuals an opportunity to live a more normal life.
Thailand's health chiefs have recognized the growing problem and recently barred hospitals and clinics from castrating would-be "lady boys" amid growing concern about the operation being seen as a cheap and quick alternative to a full sex change.
A full sex change therapy requires rigorous physical and mental evaluation of the patient and if doctors do not comply, they could face up to six months in jail.
The senior health official has admitted that policing the temporary ban might be difficult as cosmetic removal of the testicles was such a quick operation taking only 15-20 minutes and easy to conduct in secret.
But just as everywhere, it is a buyers market and lower end clinics have responded to the demand from teenage boys to look more like girls by posting Internet advertisements offering castration for as little as 4,000 baht ($125).
You can do all kinds of body work, engine modifications, and fancy paint jobs to a Volkswagen, stick a Porsche emblem on the front and convince yourself you have a Porsche, but the car is still a Volkswagen.
We need to help these people with their underlying psychopathology rather than just tolerate their poor decisions.
What are the ethical considerations of the “third sex”? Are we not just ignoring the underlying psychopathology? After all, there are only two sexes; male (46 X, Y) and female (46 X, X).
Anything else is a deliberate distortion of the truth. Changing the outward appearance does not change the chromosomal makeup of the individual.
But in the name of tolerance, we are denying these individuals an opportunity to live a more normal life.
Thailand's health chiefs have recognized the growing problem and recently barred hospitals and clinics from castrating would-be "lady boys" amid growing concern about the operation being seen as a cheap and quick alternative to a full sex change.
A full sex change therapy requires rigorous physical and mental evaluation of the patient and if doctors do not comply, they could face up to six months in jail.
The senior health official has admitted that policing the temporary ban might be difficult as cosmetic removal of the testicles was such a quick operation taking only 15-20 minutes and easy to conduct in secret.
But just as everywhere, it is a buyers market and lower end clinics have responded to the demand from teenage boys to look more like girls by posting Internet advertisements offering castration for as little as 4,000 baht ($125).
You can do all kinds of body work, engine modifications, and fancy paint jobs to a Volkswagen, stick a Porsche emblem on the front and convince yourself you have a Porsche, but the car is still a Volkswagen.
We need to help these people with their underlying psychopathology rather than just tolerate their poor decisions.
Labels: psychology, sex change, tolerance
posted by Anonymous at 5:50 AM
3 Comments:
Regarding: "We need to help these people with their underlying psychopathology rather than just tolerate their poor decisions."
Seems like that is their business not yours. What gives you the right to decide what is a poor personal decision for someone else?
I think that as a medical professional, it would be his business.
As for anyone who really cares about people, we should all want better for them.
What is your problem?
We need to help these people with their underlying psychopathology rather than just tolerate their poor decisions.
Isn't it true.
You're talking about religious zealots, right?
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