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[Willfor]

Neonivek, this is a video about sex and gender identity that might help you not to have to make up words. 4 minutes long.

[Neonivek]

I think you're asking if being transgendered is a birth defect.  I dunno, what do you think?  Usually "birth defect" means "the kid is not going to be able to survive in the world it's been born into."

What do you think people usually do to babies that have birth defects?

No a Birth Defect is when something goes wrong during any part of the reproductive process. A baby with a green spot on his belly would have a birth defect and they run the gambit of being entirely harmless and transitory to being deadly.

What people USUALLY do to babies with birth defects is dependent on the birth defect and there may not be anything required.

Since there is no polite way to ask without making it more confusing. I asked, believing the board has the maturity and capability to understand that I am genuinly wondering.

As for that video Willfor that isn't exactly what I am asking unless it is embedded in there. I am mostly looking for a yes, no, its complicated, or that there are many camps.

[PanH]

Technically, someone goes wrong during the reproductive process (or sometimes before). In most cases, there's the presence of a pair of XX and XY.

[Max White]

I think you're asking if being transgendered is a birth defect.  I dunno, what do you think?  Usually "birth defect" means "the kid is not going to be able to survive in the world it's been born into."

What do you think people usually do to babies that have birth defects?

What? I beg to differ. I'm blind in one eye and have been since birth. It is a birth defect, and I survive pretty damn well.
My parents asked the doctor if there was anything that could be done, he shrugged and took a sip of coffee, we moved on, so I guess that is what people usually do?

Point is, birth defect doesn't imply life threatening defect.

[Neonivek]

Technically, someone goes wrong during the reproductive process (or sometimes before). In most cases, there's the presence of a pair of XX and XY.

Ahh ok thanks. I was just wondering since you never know.

Also thanks for the Video anyhow Willfor.

[Max White]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klinefelter_syndrome
Is that any use to you Neonivek?

[kaijyuu]

Being transgender can be thought of as a birth defect, yes. It is fixed, of course, by changing the body to match the mind.


Also, concerning younger kids, puberty blockers are safe and reversible. If in a few years they don't give up wanting to be the gender that doesn't match their genitals, you can be pretty damn certain the kid is transgender and needs to go through the treatments.

What isn't safe and reversible is letting them go through "normal" puberty and have body changes they can't fix later.

[RedKing]

I think you're asking if being transgendered is a birth defect.  I dunno, what do you think?  Usually "birth defect" means "the kid is not going to be able to survive in the world it's been born into."

What do you think people usually do to babies that have birth defects?

What? I beg to differ. I'm blind in one eye and have been since birth. It is a birth defect, and I survive pretty damn well.
My parents asked the doctor if there was anything that could be done, he shrugged and took a sip of coffee, we moved on, so I guess that is what people usually do?

Point is, birth defect doesn't imply life threatening defect.

+1

I've got a floppy heart valve, a pectus excavatum, and Marfanoid habitus. All stemming from genetic defects.
My daughter may have some of the same....they often don't show up until later in life. She also had to have strabismus surgery at age 2 to avoid going blind in one eye (ambylopia), again from a genetic defect.

I have friends who had a son with a terminal defect (Type 1 SMA). I mean, what were they supposed to do?? They cared for him and tried to make him comfortable (and spent a shitload of money doing so) until he died two days shy of his first birthday. Hell of a thing, but that's what people do. Even when it's a life threatening defect, the answer is not always "discard, try again".

[Vector]

Ah, okay, now I think I understand.  Throughout my childhood my mother informed me that if I'd had a known birth defect, she would have gotten an abortion.  You can imagine why I haven't told her about the non-neurotypical thing, or the bisexual thing, or, or.

[RedKing]

And there are certainly people who do that. Heck, I think my friends might have done that had they known in utero. It was terrifying for them when they got pregnant again with twins, because they knew there was a 1-in-2 chance (1-in-4, x2) they'd go through the same hell again or be faced with an incredibly difficult decision. They dodged that bullet, but wound up with micropreemies, one of whom is going to have problems his whole life because of complications from only being 1 pound or so and born two months too early. Life's a royal bitch that way.

It's one thing to make that decision prior to a child being born. But once the child *is* born....I've heard of some people who had, say, kids with Down's syndrome that was undetected before birth and gave them up for adoption because they didn't want a "broken" child. I can intellectually understand that, but the parent in me is mortified at that.

[Neonivek]

The child in me is mortified at that too. Sometimes it feels like the worst thing there is, is simply being unloved.

[kaijyuu]

What isn't safe and reversible is letting them go through "normal" puberty and have body changes they can't fix later.

The trauma of spots?

For MtF, hormones can't fix: hair on the chest, deepening of the voice, masculine bone structure, increased height, and a few other things.
For FtM, hormones can't fix: breasts, feminine bone structure, reduced height, lack of hair, and a few other things.

Surgery can only fix some of those, too.


Going through the wrong puberty affects your body permanently.

[Korbac]

The child in me is mortified at that too. Sometimes it feels like the worst thing there is, is simply being unloved.

 

Redking, since I am a bit weird I did some reading on your conditions. The floppy heart valve sucks (depending on severity). My friend had Cavernus Excavitum and it never bothered him at all, but I suppose it all depends on the severity.

The marfanoid habitus at least on the surface doesn't really seem like a defect, just an 'alternative' evolution of a human, with the longer limbs and all until you look at the complications, whoops.

[Dutchling]

wat

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Ah, okay, now I think I understand.  Throughout my childhood my mother informed me that if I'd had a known birth defect, she would have gotten an abortion.  You can imagine why I haven't told her about the non-neurotypical thing, or the bisexual thing, or, or.

That would explain why you've brought that up a lot. I don't know of any polling studies, but I can't believe that most people would get an abortion just because of a non-life threatening abnormality.

It's one thing to make that decision prior to a child being born. But once the child *is* born....I've heard of some people who had, say, kids with Down's syndrome that was undetected before birth and gave them up for adoption because they didn't want a "broken" child. I can intellectually understand that, but the parent in me is mortified at that.

I don't even like children and I'm mortified at that. It isn't excusable to abandon a child because of a birth defect unless you don't have the resources to care for them because of their condition.

I don't have any major genetic defects, but I do have a couple of strange minor ones. Vasovagal Syncope and conscious control of my inner ear muscles come to mind. I also am fairly certain that my eyes shift between green and blue in a cyclic manner, which may or may not have anything to do with genetics. Personally, I chose to blame all of this on my mother smoking during pregnancy because I can.