but much depends on what sort
Should Christians endorse Gender
Reassignment Surgery (GRS) as
an option for transsexuals?
By ROLAND CHIA
I THINK it is best if
we begin with a working definition of transsexuality. A transsexual
person is someone who is uncomfortable with the behaviour required
for his or her chromosomal gender. In other words, a transsexual
is someone who rejects his or her biologically and genetically
determined sex, and prefers to live as a member of the opposite
sex.
Studies conducted in the US show that the incidence of transsexuality
is relatively low: about 1 in 30,000 males, and 1 in 100,000 females.
In the UK, the incidence of transsexuality is less than 0.003%
of the population.
There is no consensus on the cause and origin of transsexuality.
Most studies maintain that feelings of discomfort, known as gender
dysphoria, begin from childhood. Studies have also indicated that
transsexuality could possibly be associated with clinical, behavoural
and family factors, but none of these is conclusive. No clear
reproducible sex hormone abnormalities are found in transsexuals.
That is why those undergoing Gender Reassignment Surgery (GRS)
must be treated with adequate sex hormones for the target sex.
Studies conducted on identical twins seem to indicate that transsexuality
has no genetic basis either.
Historically, transsexuality has been considered as a psychiatric
condition. But since GRS became available in the 1970s, transsexuality
has been relabeled as a medical condition.
Can the Bible provide guidance on transsexuality? We must begin
with what the Bible has to say about human sexuality and reflect
on the specific issue of transsexuality from that standpoint.
Genesis 1 provides the clearest statement regarding gender, that
human beings are created as male and female (v 27). This basic
statement also means that a person's sexual identity is biologically
determined and part of who he or she is.
Genesis 2:18-25 sets out God's ideal for sexual relationships:
they should be monogamous, heterosexual, and open to the possibility
of procreation. This is the creational ideal with regard to human
sexuality, and God's people are expected to live according to
this ideal even in this fallen world. That is why any breach of
sexual differentiation, like cross-dressing, is an abomination
to God (Deut 22:5).
This ideal, as we know, is disrupted by human rebellion which
led to the Fall. Sin did not only alienate human beings from their
Creator; it also brought about a perversion which touches human
nature in every aspect. In the case of transsexuals who feel that
their bodies and sexual identities are at variance, the distortion
is more pronounced, making their struggle more intense. But the
distortions, contradictions and ambiguities brought about by human
rebellion touch every single human being.
Should transsexuals seek therapy for their condition? Of course
they should, but much depends on what sort of therapy is sought.
Since the emergence of sex-change
surgery in the early 1970s, many transsexuals have undergone this
almost irreversible procedure, in which extensive plastic surgery
is performed, and extensive preparation and follow-up required.
In the past, the accepted medical wisdom is that GRS should be
the absolute last resort. But more recently, "transgender"
activists, who are often allied with gay liberation movements,
have argued that transsexuals are entitled to whatever surgery
they want. GRS has also become more common because of medical
centres in countries like Thailand, which would perform the surgery
with "no questions asked" for anyone who can pay for
it.
GRS is not an option for transsexual Christians seeking therapy
because it transgresses the divine creational ideal for human
sexuality and sexual relationships.
The Bible appears to favour the view that human sexual identity
is determined biologically. Put in modern scientific terms, human
sexual identity is built into our constitution mostly by the genes
we inherit and the embryogenesis process we undergo. According
to this view, transsexuality is not deterministically enforced
genetically or biologically, but rather has a psychological origin.
This means that transsexual operations will not correct the profound
psychological disquiet experienced by transsexuals.
Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Jon Meyer at Johns Hopkins found
very little change in the psychological condition of post-surgical
transsexuals, despite their claim of being happier and more fulfilled.
On the basis of such research, hospitals like Johns Hopkins have
stopped performing gender reassignment procedures in adults with
sexual dysphoria. Similarly experts in the field at the Portman
Clinic in London no longer make such procedures available because
they believe that offering GRS to transsexuals is preying on their
delusional fantasies. For these doctors transsexuality is a form
of psychiatric condition called "autogynephilia" which
is a kind of sexual misdirection which is manifested in cross-dressing
and which eventually leads to the surgical option. To provide
surgical alteration of the body is therefore to collaborate with
a mental disorder rather than to treat it.
Christians suffering from sexual dysphoria should seek psychiatric
help. The Christian community should never agree that transsexual
operations be allowable for Christians. But it should at the same
time be willing to support the Christian transsexual who is willing
to work patiently through the issue.
Readers who are struggling with gender dysphoria or who have family
members or friends facing this problem may contact Choices for
assistance (website: www.choices.org.sg; Telephone: 6274 1475).
Dr Roland Chia is Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Lecturer in Historical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Theological College.
QUOTE:
GOD'S IDEAL FOR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
Genesis 2:18-25 sets out God's ideal for sexual relationships:
they should be monogamous, heterosexual, and open to the possibility
of procreation. This is the creational ideal with regard to human
sexuality, and God's people are expected to live according to
this ideal even in this fallen world. That is why any breach of
sexual differentiation, like cross-dressing, is an abomination
to God (Deut 22:5).