Comment on publishing my photo, Christianity Today, in “Evangelicals and Transgender Morality”

2016.05.21 Capital TransPride Washington DC USA 0395
2016.05.21 Capital TransPride Washington DC USA 0395 (View on Flickr.com)

Good news, the information behind your article is all wrong, moral dilemma averted

Thanks for publishing my photo Christianity Today (@CTMagazine). Since the post doesn’t allow for commenting, I’ll post my comment to the article (Where Evangelicals Stand on Transgender Morality | Gleanings | ChristianityToday.com) here, which is:

Greetings Christianity Today,

Thanks for publishing my photograph of an all gender restroom. I’m a physician based in the world of science and I can offer you some good news based on my reading of your article.

Putting aside your use of inappropriate language to describe this population, the survey you’re describing is flawed and asks the wrong question.

If you’re worried about the morality of “changing gender” then you need not worry, because gender identity is something that doesn’t change in the transition process. What a transgender person is accomplishing through medically supervised hormones and surgical procedure is aligning their gender with its expression and physical characteristics. That’s why it’s called “gender affirmation” or “gender confirmation.” There’s really no such thing as “gender reassignment.”

Understanding then, that a person isn’t changing gender or identifying with a different gender should help you. What a person is really doing is identifying with their gender, and living authentically in that gender thanks to medical support and science. Therefore, the moral conundrum you’re writing about doesn’t seem to exist.

I hope that helps you, feel free to use my photographs in the future to encourage dialogue and support of this community (and the converse, you’re not licensed to use them if you support misinformation or 20th Century thinking).

If this is still confusing to you, let me know and I can provide more education to you and your staff.

Also, please review (and use) the GLAAD style guide designed for journalists so you can use accurate terminology in your writing.

All the best & thanks for the opportunity to comment.

-Ted Eytan, MD

3 Comments

Ted Eytan, MD