Inbox: Students need to examine science behind transgender

Joe Bailey
Guest Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
April 12, 2005

http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/12/425b6
6d25f173

On Feb. 16, the Emerald published a news article, a column, and
an editorial, all focusing on transgender identity. Each piece
portrayed transgender people as victims of bigotry. In the
editorial, advocating legal protection for transgender people,
The Emerald wrote: "We must educate ourselves about this issue."

I agree wholeheartedly.

A full understanding of this issue can only be gained by
exposure to diverse viewpoints, like that of Paul McHugh,
Director of Psychiatry at John Hopkins Medical School. McHugh
states that, "We in the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Department
eventually concluded that human sexual identity is mostly built
into our constitution by the genes we inherit and the
embryogenesis we undergo" (First Things, November 2004). He
views transexuality as a serious medical condition, writing that
"We have to learn how to manage this condition as a mental
disorder" (The American Scholar, Autumn 1992). A mental
disorder? Such a statement would be denounced as hate speech on
this campus. But McHugh's claims do not arise from hate, they
arise from science.

If the Emerald wants to educate the campus on transgender
identity, it will need to discuss the issue in depth. And if
that offends transgender people on this campus, so be it. The
role of a university is not to tolerate all ideas and
lifestyles. Rather, the proper role of a university is to
examine all ideas, celebrating the good and discarding the bad.
Debunking the myth that transexuality is natural would be a good
place to start.

--Joe Bailey, Freshman
© 2005 Oregon Daily Emerald