Transgender Voices

I have a confession to make.

I have not been sleeping well lately.  Something has been bothering me, nagging me to my core.

I have been thinking about the plight of transgender people, and about how they are in a terrible fix because their voices do not match their surgically altered bodies.  I have thought about how awkward it must be, how self-conscious they must feel, when their voice sounds like a woman, and their body is that of a man, or vice versa.

But now my world has brightened.  I learned via the front page of the Life section of the News and Record this morning that a program at UNCG is dealing specifically with this issue.  An AP writer filled us in on the details.  We can all take pride in the fact that our tax dollars are being used at one of the branches of our state university system to deal courageously with this problem, which had heretofore been neglected.

Now the transgendered can feel more... integrated.  And we all can sleep better at night.

Comments

[Roch101]

Dear Dr. Compassion, do you know that the people enrolled in these classes did not pay enough to cover their costs or more?

[Joe Guarino]

No, but I somehow doubt that they did.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

When I first read this, Joe, I chuckled - knowing that you must have had a bad day/weekend.

Interestingly enough, on a kind of related topic, the other night, a nurse who moonlights at a prison told me that the taxpayer pays for all associated meds for prisoners in the midst of gender re-assignment too.

[blah blah blah]

WOW... This Roch101 guy, isnt he supposed to be some great thinker or something of the sort in our area??? And he ask if the cost of tuition pays for the classes??? If that were the case why would there be a state college system that is supported by the...wait for it...STATE?
Am I just one of the uneducated, unwashed masses that dont have the knowledge of how our state college sytem works?

[Roch101]

"And he ask if the cost of tuition pays for the classes?" No I didn't. I can see why you do not want to be identified.

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

Oh I dunno, Roch. Maybe he/she doesn't want to be identified because he/she doesn't want to be target practice for you and your progressive pals.

[bubba]

"I can see why you do not want to be identified."

Yes, of course.

In your childish sense of "justice", one of your recurring themes is identifying people, isn't it?

It's no surprise that everybody is so easily able to identify you by your obsessively anal behavior.

[Spag]

The most interesting part of the article was learning that women use a lot of adjectives. I tested the theory by spending a few minutes on Facebook and it's true.

[Joe Guarino]

Well, I guess the article then served a legitimate purpose after all, Sam.:)

[blah blah blah]

Hey Roch nice job of trying to twist your way out of whatever it was you were trying to say! In the future please be very specific with ANY comment you make. So... what did you mean by "do you know that the people enrolled in these classes did not pay enough to cover their costs or more?"? Is there some other cost associated with taking college courses that I, a parent with two children currently enrolled in our state college system, am unaware of?
And on another note, not all of us want to be identified, maybe we have family names that would immediately identify us and overshadow our comments. Maybe we work for corporations that we dont want to entangle with our views. Not everyone is blessed with being self employed. But hey, whatever makes you feel better about yourself. If taking shots at me for wanting to remain anon does that for you I am more than obliged.

[Brandon Burgess]

"Maybe we work for corporations that we dont want to entangle with our views."

--Yes I can understand that some folks actually make a living by working with gays, liberal blacks, liberal christians, police officers, etc... who might be offended by a business partner who views them as a lower class of people.

[blah blah blah]

Exactly what I was trying to convey Brandon...NOT! The corporation that I work for pays me well enough to afford my family and I to live the lifestyle we live. I highly respect the people I work with (and to your point Brandon, an overwhelming majority are not WASP). As a corporation we are on the cutting edge of our field, why would I disrespect my fellow team members and the company that provides the means which allow me to live like I do by putting my name out there were it would surely be used by someone (read Roch) to bring some kind of divide to our team.
As arrogant as this sounds, on a personal level I dont see things the same way as some of my fellow co-workers, so be it. That doesnt mean we cant have a productive corporate relationship regardless of how I feel. I know this kind of thinking is sheer lunacy to those of you that want to use identity to keyhole everyone. (ie. He's white so he must be racist, he's a Christian so he must hate homosexuals, he's black so he must vote democrat). This kind of thinking makes me sick! Regardless of what side of it you fall on! And yes Brandon and Roch its like a pancake, regardless of how hard you press it and flatten it out, it still has two sides.

[Brandon Burgess]

"...keyhole everyone. (ie. He's white so he must be racist, he's a Christian so he must hate homosexuals, he's black so he must vote democrat)."

--That isn't what is happening here. Just hang around for a while, you'll see what I mean. My comments are based not on stereotypes but on the articles, posts and comments presented here and on other local conservative blogs.

[Brenda Bowers]

I was so happy to hear from our lovable, verbose, chauvinist, over-bearing, over-whelming, bipartisan, nit-picking legal eagle. This is exactly why I love Spag! :) BB

[Brenda Bowers]

Yes, I know. Only one of those adjectives describes Spag. LOL that's why I love him! BB

[blah blah blah]

Brandon please clarify for me exactly what this means? "Yes I can understand that some folks actually make a living by working with gays, liberal blacks, liberal christians, police officers, etc... who might be offended by a business partner who views them as a lower class of people." It certainly sounds kinda like stereotyping without any first hand information, but I could have misread.

[Jim Langer]

Joe, I have noticed that some non-transgendered people have voices that suggest they may be in need of such a "fix". And have you ever heard of true genetic hermaphroditism?

[Joe Guarino]

Jim, I agree with your first statement; and yes, I have heard of hermaphroditism. But I don't think those entities are what this article-- and the program described therein-- was addressing.

[Brandon Burgess]

Blah, I'm referring to the fact that most of the bigots in the blogosphere post anonymously.

It's not that you misread; maybe you haven't read enough. Like I said, hang around and you'll see.

[Jim Langer]

But, Joe,can real men have high voices?

[Roch101]

"those entities."

[Dr. Mary Johnson]

" . . . most of the bigots post anonymously"

Interesting statement, Brandon. Do you care to identify those who don't?

Jim, some of the "realest men" I know have high voices.