Editor, the Gauntlet,
[Re: “Check your gear,” letter, Nov. 30, 2006]
Sylvia Bertolini, who identifies as a former homosexual, makes the claim in her letter that no one is born “gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered or other.”
Unfortunately, that is not true. While I cannot speak to the whole of the “transgender” spectrum, there is strong evidence that transsexualism is a congenital condition that is present from birth. People who are transsexual have a brain that is sexually differentiated and at odds with their body, and they undergo medical treatment to bring their bodies and minds into alignment. This treatment includes both hormone therapy and surgery to change the genitals to those of the appropriate sex. Part of this treatment includes the requirement that they spend at least a year living full time as their target sex. That includes going to the appropriate bathroom.
So, things are not as simple as people like Ms. Bertolini would like to make them out to be. Oh, and I should add, there is not a single documented case of a person who is truly transsexual ever being cured by any means, whether psychological or otherwise.