Shouldn't that be July 3??? Not June? Anyway, he delivered by C-sec...my friend works at the hospital in Bend OR and told me that it wasn't a vaginal birth (duh) and what other way would you get it out.

I know this isn't pc but why are we not viewing gender identity as mental illness and looking for a cure?

I don't think gender identity is a mental illness at all. And what do they need a cure for? Thomas seems to be a leading a fine life.
I say congrats to the new family!

congrats i think if they are happy then why shouldnt i

I wish the media would stop referring to him as a "he" because "he" is a "she". She gave birth to a baby girl today.

That is sick and wrong. Hi kid, I'm your dad AND your mom and your other mom is with a man/woman. We can't figure it out! I'm the first pregnant man in the world and I'm not even a man. I went on Oprah to wh*re myself out.

"pregnant man" ????it was a "pregnant confused woman with issues" she isnt a man.

I feel sorry for that child.

I'm just getting annoyed with the whole "man" thing, that is not a man, and he never will be so I dont get the whole media attention over a born female giving birth. This is just making everyone all confused.

This is not a mental illness, so therefore you can't "cure" him. Some people really think that they were born in the wrong body and they would prefer to be called by the gender that they really think they are. Case in point, this guy. He was born a woman but now he is a man. As long as he is a loving and supportive father then who are we to judge him?

gay people raise children all the time, i agree as long as you are a good parent who cares, i grew up with this guy who hated his mother for being gay leaving his dad, why because people told him that is how society should be a man and a woman, now as an adult he says that was the best gift he could have ever received and wished that he hadn't focused on having two moms as a bad thing, because he appreciates both his mothers

After you choose to be a man...be a friggin man, don't give birth!

btw my friends biological mom had the sex change its funny he still calls her mom and she looks more manly tham any man ive seen, i still call her ma'am she laughs

This thing is a woman. Damn I could cut my hair short grow a beard and look like a man with my woman parts all in tact. This isn't some phenoemeom..(Spelling).this biatch got pregnant just like the other millions of chicks out there.

While I think this is a little odd (and they should have fun explaining this to the little girl later in life), the birth of a baby is always happy in my book.

congratulations to the family. judging them or feeling sorry for them only perpetuates the negative stigma. i wish them the best.

Haha Bluestar! I agree...if you wanted to be a man so badly, the be one! Why didn't the 'woman' of the relationship have the baby? I would like to say I'm happy for them...but I see years of theapy in this family's future.

letsgetloud, I'm jealous that you can grow a beard because I've been trying for years to achieve that

Maybe his wife/partner couldn't have a baby, which is why he decided to carry one for them. Who cares what his reasons were - I'm sure he'll be a wonderful parent. Needless to say I don't see anything wrong with this...it's a little different than the way most people go about it, but that doesn't make it bad. And for the people who are confused, they refer to him as a man because that is what he identifies his gender to be, even though sexually he is a woman (i.e. the definition of sex and gender are different).
I'm just glad that the child was born to a set of parents who wanted him/her, and will cherish the gift. Not all kids are so lucky.

To the first poster, who has a friend that works at the hospital and disclosed private medical information... your friend could, and should in my opinion, be fired. HIPPA. google it.

Well not a full Beard,but I am pregnant myself right now and for some reason I am getting alot of chin hair

everyone just hold your breath for the book that will come out of this.

These people are well known for cashing in on thier situation.

i want to be happy for everyone for going after what they want in life, even if i don't agree with it or think it's weird or even gross. this situation is so complicated, it's just far beyond the ability of the average person (including me) to grasp or comprehend. my main concern is that the baby is raised well and doesn't have a media circus surrounding him/her.

caterpillar girl: "these people"? nice. sorry, but making stereotypical statements like that one just kinda negates everything else you say. "these people" are just that - two people. they do not represent anyone else, not even other people who have gender identity issues and/or who have had reassignment surgery.

YY - I think you are twisting Cat's words. She never said "these people" in ref. to ALL transgendered people, only "these people" in reference to "these people" who have gone a media tour and gone on Oprah and sold their story before... so why is it unfair to assume they would jump at the chance to cash in on it again?

- that last quote on these people... i think when Cat said these people, she meant directly these two people.

But correct me if I'm wrong Cat.

I hope she's healthy! That's all I can say.

They'll be on Jerry Springer in a few years.

Cabaker No youre right, these people meant...those two people not the whole transgendered community, but YY will jump on any chance to demonize me, i am used to that.

I was listening to an NPR piece on this story the other day and they had a couple of psychiatrists on talking about it.

One was saying how there is nothing "wrong" with transgendered people...that they truly feel as if they are something other than what they are and deserve to have surgery to feel as such.

The other psych. was arguing that we should be treating transgendered people with therapy and/or medication because it is a disorder. He said "what if someone came in and said they didn't want their left arm anymore. that it didn't feel like it was an authentic part of them. would the doctor cut it off? no! they would send the person to get psychiatric treatment."

Interesting...but the line gets blurred with things like plastic surgery, etc...

I agree Brendelwoman, and in my DSM from my psych days these issues are classified as such. That show they did on NBC about the little kids with the disorder made me feel so sad

I don't get why the first post says "Duh" for it being a c-section. The person in question has a fully functioning vagina. Also, like another poster said, your friend sharing that info is highly unethical and they should be fired immediately. Hopefully the information will get back to the hospital so they know how untrustworthy their employees are.

And I am underwhelmed with emotion over the birth announcement.

And yes, these people - as in this couple, as Caterpillar Girl's post quite obviously meant rather than transgenders altogether - are clearly in it for the cash payout.

congrats!

So he has not had a sex change operation? I guess I had assumed he did, and was confused because I thought well if they gave him a penis then wouldn't they have "removed" the vagina?

I do wonder then if the publicity they are trying to get from their story is for future surgeries maybe? Not that I think that's wrong, I'm just curious.

Not sure why it is a big deal that a woman with facial hair that calls herself a man that has a baby is a big deal. She is not a man, so who cares?

should read: 'PRE-OP TRANSSEXUAL gives birth...' i have nothing against people who have gender identity issues (hey, its probably not their fault) but this is blatant media manipulation for profit. I bet after the first book they will write another book about how they raise the child.

well i am happy for them. i think being transexual is something between them and god, i've got nothing good or bad to say about it, im nuetral!

im happy for both parents very much!

My child saw this story on the evening news. Now I have to explain to a 6.5 year old how men can have babies...NOT.

haha *gasp* Woman gives birth to baby girl! News at 11!

cab! My thoughts exactly!

oh shepirate, you are spot on. this stuff is between them and God, and we are just observers. I am happy for them as long as they are happy, and from watching them on the Oprah show they seem like they'll be conscientious parents. it all sounds a little wierd to me, but it's not my business.

Thomas is not a "pre-op" transgender. Thomas specifically did not have gender reassignment surgery because she wanted to leave open the possibilty of having children. Which makes this ongoing drama... stupid. Cab said it best - Woman gives birth! SHOCKING!

I don't think this couple is necessarily "well known for cashing in on thier (sic) situation." Perhaps they feel slightly obligated to come forward with their unorthodox way of bringing a beautiful baby into the world in the attempts to destigmatize familial situations that involve transgendered parents.
Clearly there is still a long way left to go.
Maybe they felt that they couldn't keep the secret from their neighbors forever and they wanted to tell the story on their own terms and show the world that they are a loving family as opposed to being ridiculed in the press right from the start.
Especially in light of the earlier post with the flagrant HIPAA violation they were probably right to believe their story would be publicized despite their earlier attempts at discretion.

Gender identity is such a complicated thing. Interesting argument mentioned by Samherlihy (29), but i'm not sure if gender identity, which consumes your whole being and psyche and how you relate to the world, is quite the same as wanting a body part removed (and there ARE people who desire such things).

IMO, their arrangement is a little odd. If Thomas Beattie had already identified himself as a man, they could have adopted or opted for surrogation. If he had already conformed to the norms of being a man – Hey he wears a beard! – then having a baby is decidedly unmanly!

That said, people have a right to lead the lives they choose. Who are we to judge.

i don't judge, so congrats!!

SuzieQ:

"- I'm sure he'll be a wonderful parent.
I'm just glad that the child was born to a set of parents who wanted him/her, and will cherish the gift."

Good grief. What of these people's actions, and for yy I will point out that I am speakingn of these two particular women, leads you to believe they will be such great parents? Going on every show you can get on and talking to anyone who will listen and print does not seem like people who are just happy to be having a baby. Seems like people who need attention. Who may, nay, probably are doing it for the wrong reasons. If they truly wanted a normal life for their child, they wouldn't put it out to the world like this.

I don't understand why the media has made such a big deal about this. These people are attention seekers. I'm shocked they didn't have cameras in the delivery room. If they're happy and comfortable with their choices why must they continue to throw it in our faces?
Go away live your life raise your kid. PERIOD.

Great Sommelier:
Lots of people go on talk shows (including celebrities) and talk about their personal lives and their children, and it doesn't necessarily mean they are just in it for attention. My guess is that they first decided to have a child, and only then did they decide to go on Oprah to share their story because like katedavis said, the public may have found out anyway (hello HIPAA violation!). So this way they are in control of the way we receive the news, and it helps to put a face on transgendered people - a necessity (I think) in this country, where they are still stigmatized on a regular basis.

BTW, what constitutes a "normal life" for a child? Everyone is raised differently, by people with different values/cultures/etc. If you're going to question their motives for going on a talk-show to share their point of view, then you should probably start questioning every celebrity that talks about their pregnancies and children on these same shows.

For those that don't think this is a mental illness, I guess I just don't understand why it wouldn't be. These people suffer until they are given surgery or hormones. They think they are something they are not! We acknowledge body dysmorphia as a mental issue, so how is this different?

Now we're letting 8 year olds decide if they are transgendered and forcing schools to accommodate it. So in my opinion we have gone from total intolerance and wrongful hate to total tolerance. I think it would be nice if there was a middle ground between total intolerance (I don't preach hate or violence because that is ridiculous) and an investigation into what is making the mind think they are not the sex they were born.

Oh, I don't know suzieq, not having the whole world know your "father" gave birth to you. Not having the media hound you. Shall I go on?