Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wikigendering



image borrowed from bing


Wikigendering

“It’s not complicated. It’s not a neurosis. It is
a genetic mix-up, a birth defect like many others.”
--Chaz Bono

PFC Bradley Manning,
one day after being sentenced
to 35 years in prison,

announced on the
Today show that she identifies
as female, and wants

to be known
as Chelsea Manning, & that
he/she suffers with

“gender identity disorder”.
Manning requests that
we pay for some

sex-change surgery.
Good luck with that,
Chelsea.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets MTB

Would you like to hear the author read this Flash-55 to you?

27 comments:

Brian Miller said...

well you dropped right into controversy now didnt you...i am all for people being themselves or getting where they need be...that being said, its a cosmetic surgery right now, so its on the own dime...until that is changed...i am intrigued, i have heard of the disorder, but really know little about it...is it in the new DSM?

Brian Miller said...

and hey drop a link to g for me too would you...i really want to honor him today...as he has been like a pops to me...

Mary said...

I don't think taxpayers should have to pay for this. If he wants to pay his own bill, fine. But I doubt that is what he/she has in mind. Sigh.

Claudia said...

i wonder if you can cure that with a surgery...honestly...i doubt it

aka_andrea said...

Very controversial topic to cover in 55 words! While I believe that everyone has the right to be whoever they are, they also have to be responsible for whatever that entails. Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill on this one~

Beachanny said...

Just read that story -well told in 55. Excellent work there Glenn.

Anonymous said...

A controversial topic embedded in these few words; great work!

brudberg said...

I must say I had missed this twist to the Manning story. Sounds controversial .. also from liberal Sweden... :-)

Laurie Kolp said...

I heard that, too.

steveroni said...

You handled this well, GB. Since I also have not "been there, done it" I really cannot grasp the mental twists which accompany such a human ordeal--change. Wondering if in future, there will be lines waiting for these operates.

Maybe in the end, we'll be looking for a cure for heterosexuality?

Sometimes I believe there is no "gender" in the afterlife, or sex, as horrible as that sounds. But if God has something better, He has SURE kept it secret.

I TALK TOO MUCH!

Scarlet said...

I just learned of this now ~ A weird request to me ~ Good to see you packing it in 55 words, this is a change but well done ~

Kathy Reed said...

...challlenging subject..and you gave it such oommph! I would not want to be in her/his shoes at all and think there are too many life and death situations where taxpayers' money needs to go before this....

Anonymous said...

Very topical and controversial! And asking the taxpayer to pay for surgery is a bit much.

Buddah Moskowitz said...

Holy smokes you packed a lot in here. Great, especially the cynical ending.

Ginny Brannan said...

I am all for being who you are meant to be, just not on MY dime!! Timely, and well captured.

Margaret said...

...I emphasize. But where is the money for taking care of the mentally ill, the cancer patients with no insurance, the child who needs a desperate operation and parents with no money... the list of things that WE can pay for does have a limit....

I DO feel sorry for people in this situation, but the ugly word here is we must prioritize, as money does run out...

You know how to yank a chain in 55 words!

Jeff said...

Terse, pointed language, very well done. It sounds a little sarcastic at the end, but perhaps there is a hint of genuine well-wishing? I wish her the best, at any rate. Nice work!

Anonymous said...

Certainly a controversial 55, not sure where I'd sit with this one but either way I wish her well.

Wyeth Bailey said...

Well, tell us how you really feel! :) I know way more about this subject than I wish I knew. I have a close friend who is an activist trying to slow these processes that make troubled men into instant women.I was surprised to see as little support in comments here for how this man describes his situation, but I am not outraged. What I am learning as I read more is that there is a small population born intersex (anatomically and hormonally), and a small segment that suffer from gender dysmorphia. But together, these are a small part of the number of men having this surgery. Also, increasingly, these men are keeping their penises and demanding to be treated as women and access women-only space, from bathrooms to radical feminist festivals with long histories of allowing only women. See, if a hetero man is friends with a gay man, or a female-to-male transexual, he is applauded for being open minded. No one expects him to consider dating or sex. But an alarming number of men who have surgery, including those with all the man parts intact, are outraged that lesbian women won't date them or have sex with them. They call these women transphobic. And the LGBT community, long liberal and laissez-faire, are siding with these transwomen against women-born lesbians, and piling on to call themtransphobic. The language is downright Orwellian. I was born a woman and identify as a lesbian. I have had one serious relationship with a man, and his being a man didn't bother me. I loved him. But I have been called transphobic by people for saying I find mysef not sexually attracted to transwomen. I'm guessing the guy consciously or unconsciously hopes for a softer sentence in women's prison.It's not the first time. There's a person in a large women's prison who as a man, raped and killed women, but his needs to express his sexual identity trump the safety of women in prison.

Now all together, let this post be an object lesson in brevity. You know you all wish I had stopped at 55 ;-)

Anonymous said...

Controversial little piece - and certainly not to be paid for by the community. Perhaps he felt safer behind bars being a female than a male?

Anonymous said...

55 words and a whole lot of controversy, Glenn. Sometimes I wonder why people say the things they do, when they do. Maybe I'm just a hard-bitten cynic.

Susan said...

Really? How could I miss this? True or not, it rocks in this offering.

TCPC said...

controversial! recall similar news about Martina Navaratilove but she/he did not go on air, i guess

Anonymous said...

Aren't you the bravest of the bunch!!! I remember early in high school when I found out that some men were paid more than many women in the same jobs. At first I thought the universe made a mistake! Ha Ha Well done! Maybe I can get a change paid for to make more money. mmm.

Mystic_Mom said...

If only surgery could cure what lives in the mind - great write here. You dove in that's for sure, and in 55 you covered a lot of ground!

Unknown said...

Apparently, it's not covered under the G.I. Bill (which henceforth wishes to be known as the G.I. Wilma). Be who you need to be, but not on me. Brilliant commentary, Glenn!

Anonymous said...

Controversy aside, paying for what amounts to cosmetic surgery is way past what should be expected. Psych help? Sure- it's a hugely complicated issue. Brian- it was in the DSM IV but in DSM V was removed, replaced by what is called gender dysphoria. In an ironic twist, I got this information from... wait for it... Wikipedia.