6 ms·

Chelsea Manning is a woman, and suffers from gender dysphoria. The Army has made quite a few mistakes in the aftermath of the leak, but "turning him into a 'wom

Chelsea Manning is a woman, and suffers from gender dysphoria. The Army has made quite a few mistakes in the aftermath of the leak, but "turning him into a 'woman'" is not one of them. If anything, they have no idea how to cope with someone who needs hormone replacement therapy or SRS.

sheraz 10y ago
No. Manning is not a woman. He is biological male who has been psychologically damaged from years of solitary confinement in prison (and probably before as well). That the US government paid for his "reassignment" is a tragedy on top of a tragedy. If you thought Manning needed suicide watch in prison, he's going to need it even more on the outside. See this from NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364939 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364939 Quoted from link above: > Conclusion: Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group.
- etjossem 10y ago
  Manning has felt female since 2009 and possibly earlier. While on leave, she was incredibly comfortable with this gender identity, "trying to blend in as a bored woman looking for something interesting to do even though I was actually exhilarated." After the leaks (but before going to prison), she wrote: "I wouldn't mind going to prison for the rest of my life [for leaking information], or being executed so much, if it wasn't for the possibility of having pictures of me... plastered all over the world press... as [a] boy... [...] the CPU is not made for this motherboard..." The absolute worst disservice we - as random onlookers - can do to people with gender dysphoria is to deny their sense of self. Please try not to.
  - sheraz 10y ago
    Feeling female and actually being one are two very different things. I do not deny that gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis, but that does not mean we should enable an unhealthy behavior. Rather, it is something that should be treated, and I do not think that self-mutilation is the answer (especially when funded by tax payers). Furthermore, all of this because of his "feelings"?? Are you kidding me? The west is sliding backwards into a adolescent world of feelings and identity crises. Facts be damned, satire be damned, and rational thought be damned.
    - etjossem 10y ago
      > Feeling female and actually being one are two very different things. Feeling female can be an early indication that you are a woman. > I do not deny that gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis, but that does not mean we should enable an unhealthy behavior. On the off chance you actually care about Chelsea Manning's health, please stop referring to her as "he."
      - hnbro 10y ago
        what does "feeling female" mean?
        etjossem 10y ago
        In this case, it's simply a quote from a counselor Manning spoke with, describing the moment when Manning first identified herself as female. [1] This situation is typically referred to as gender dysphoria - the mismatch of sex assigned at birth with gender identity. For some trans people (Manning included) the most effective ways to resolve gender dysphoria may include hormone replacement therapy or surgery. There are lots of good articles on this if you want to read more about it, including a very good piece by a clinical psychiatrist for the NYT. [2] [1] http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/index4.html http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/index4... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/richard-a-friedman-how-changeable-is-gender.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/richard-a-...

sheraz 10y ago

No. Manning is not a woman. He is biological male who has been psychologically damaged from years of solitary confinement in prison (and probably before as well). That the US government paid for his "reassignment" is a tragedy on top of a tragedy. If you thought Manning needed suicide watch in prison, he's going to need it even more on the outside. See this from NIH: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364939 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21364939 Quoted from link above: > Conclusion: Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group.

etjossem 10y ago
Manning has felt female since 2009 and possibly earlier. While on leave, she was incredibly comfortable with this gender identity, "trying to blend in as a bored woman looking for something interesting to do even though I was actually exhilarated." After the leaks (but before going to prison), she wrote: "I wouldn't mind going to prison for the rest of my life [for leaking information], or being executed so much, if it wasn't for the possibility of having pictures of me... plastered all over the world press... as [a] boy... [...] the CPU is not made for this motherboard..." The absolute worst disservice we - as random onlookers - can do to people with gender dysphoria is to deny their sense of self. Please try not to.
- sheraz 10y ago
  Feeling female and actually being one are two very different things. I do not deny that gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis, but that does not mean we should enable an unhealthy behavior. Rather, it is something that should be treated, and I do not think that self-mutilation is the answer (especially when funded by tax payers). Furthermore, all of this because of his "feelings"?? Are you kidding me? The west is sliding backwards into a adolescent world of feelings and identity crises. Facts be damned, satire be damned, and rational thought be damned.
  - etjossem 10y ago
    > Feeling female and actually being one are two very different things. Feeling female can be an early indication that you are a woman. > I do not deny that gender dysphoria is a clinical diagnosis, but that does not mean we should enable an unhealthy behavior. On the off chance you actually care about Chelsea Manning's health, please stop referring to her as "he."
    - hnbro 10y ago
      what does "feeling female" mean?
      - etjossem 10y ago
        In this case, it's simply a quote from a counselor Manning spoke with, describing the moment when Manning first identified herself as female. [1] This situation is typically referred to as gender dysphoria - the mismatch of sex assigned at birth with gender identity. For some trans people (Manning included) the most effective ways to resolve gender dysphoria may include hormone replacement therapy or surgery. There are lots of good articles on this if you want to read more about it, including a very good piece by a clinical psychiatrist for the NYT. [2] [1] http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/index4.html http://nymag.com/news/features/bradley-manning-2011-7/index4... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/richard-a-friedman-how-changeable-is-gender.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/opinion/sunday/richard-a-...