Re: RARA-AVIS: Noir Manifesto

From: Ivan Van Laningham ( ivanlan@pauahtun.org)
Date: 30 Oct 2005


Hi All--

DJ-Anonyme@webtv.net wrote:
>
> miker wrote:
>
> "Evidently, there's no reason to stop there. I dropped by the Borders
> bookstore yesterday and noticed a poster for a new play in town, Chicks
> with Dicks."
>
> Hate to tell you, miker, but that's usually a reference to
> hermaphrodites.
>

Well, no. "Chicks with dicks" usually means "she-males," in the vernacular. I.e., pre-operative MTF (male-to-female) transsexuals who've been taking estrogen and other medications and have developed female secondary sex characteristics, but who, for one reason or another, have decided not to have genital surgery. There are many reasons not to have the surgery, but a major one is cost; it's upwards of $50,000, and insurance almost never pays for any of it. Additionally, there may be a long time between initial treatment with hormones and the surgery, because the person's physician may recommend they spend a year or more living as the desired gender. The person needs to be absolutely certain; once they get the genital surgery, they can't go back.

"Hermaphrodite" is not a very accurate term, either; it implies that the person has full, functioning male and female genitalia. That is almost never the case; usually, the person will exhibit a complex of characteristics, often with one set of traits mostly dominant. "Intersexed" is the preferred term; it doesn't have the baggage other terms do.

Metta, Ivan

---------------------------------------------- Ivan Van Laningham God N Locomotive Works http://www.andi-holmes.com/ http://www.foretec.com/python/workshops/1998-11/proceedings.html Army Signal Corps: Cu Chi, Class of '70 Author: Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

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