Court Allows 17-Year-Old To Remove Breasts
Posted by Amber Robinson at 11:40 AM on May 4, 2009
The family court of Australia has ruled that a 17-year-old girl may have her breasts removed so she can be more like a boy.
The teenager had been diagnosed with “gender identity dysphoria”, at a young age, a psychological condition in which a person has the normal physical characteristics of one sex but longs to be the opposite sex.
‘Alex’ has been on court-ordered hormone medication from the age of 13 to prevent menstruation and breast development. She has been on court-ordered hormone medication from the age of 13 to prevent menstruation and breast development. She seeks a double mastectomy to make it easier for her to pass as a boy, a procedure usually banned for under-18s.
Justice Diane Bryant said that it was important that the surgery was done sooner so as not to constrain Alex socially. She had to avoid being hugged by friends, could not go to the beach and had to wear binding. “So it was quite an impediment to his social development, which everyone thought was very important.”
“It’s a year when he’s really cementing his friendships with peers that will stand him in good stead for moving into university and the wider world, and it was very important to him that he be able to do that confidently as a boy,” said Bryant.
Although Alex is very clear about his desire to live permanently as a man, some are concerned that gender identity dysphoria is a a psychiatric disorder requiring counselling, not surgery.
Ethicist Nick Tonti-Filippini said that “What you are trying to do is make a biological reality correspond to that false belief.”
What a complicated situation. Alex’s case is not without precedent though – last year I read about German pop singer Kim Petras who had gender reassignment surgery at 16.
If I ever have to face this issue as a parent, I trust that I will be able to support my child’s wants and needs in regards to their gender.
I find it offensive that this article (as have other articles I’ve read around the web) refers to this young man as “she.” His friends, his lawyer and the court all refer to him as “he.” Why can’t the media grant him the same courtesy?
Thank you for your comment. It was not our intention to offend and I apologise if we have done so.
We have tried to follow the standard practice of referring to Alex as ’she’ in relation to her born biological status and ‘he’ when talking about Alex’s social status. It can become quite confusing when quoting other media reports and referrring to court transcripts.
“Ethicist” Tonti-Phillipini is a paid apologist for the Catholic Church.
Ironically, he is notorious for stating that 75% of the scientists in Australia are “Rogue” and paid apologists for the groups they work for – while he himself is not.
Omitting that he is an assistant professor at the John Paul II Institute, lecturing in:
* Foundations of Christian Moral Life
* Theological Bioethics
* Theology and Practice of Natural Family Planning
is unsurprising though, as it would be a bit of a giveaway that he is toeing a party line.
I am under the impression that the psychological/medical concensus is that gender identity dysphoria is cured by a sex change – as in, Alex is a boy, and even if certain court records are ignorant and disrespectful to this fact, media reports should not follow THEIR lead.
Put it this way – if you were reporting about a hermaphrodite’s latest novel, you wouldn’t say “s/he” referring to their diet (because that’s physical) and “she” in referring to their writing (because that’s social). You’d just use the right pronoun.