How Sex Changes A History of transsexuality in the United States(169)

Summary:
Christine Jorgensen went on to develop a mantra that she used on friends, interviews, her writing, and in public. Her mantra was that all human beings are both make and female. She explained during an interview that the most a person can be at a certain sex is 80 percent. In her case she was more of a woman than a man. "Her vision of overlapping sexes" was like history repeating itself with the theory of human bisexuality from the early 20th century European science. She took this from the doctor that treated her in Denmark and Harry Benjamin who treated her in the United States.
On the other hand, other doctors and scientist felt that Transvestism and Transsexuality was a mental illness. The cure would be to see a psychoanalyst and to go through psycho therapeutic treatment, in order to eliminate the mental illness. Because of this, the United States the Psychological positions seemed to predominate throughout the 1950s. However Scientist that proved that every man and every woman was somewhat a hermaphrodite. Which is when the two sexes are part of the human. The reason as to why they felt that every human was so is because, just as Jorgensen had suggested the human s a mic of female and male traits. The predominant trait demonstrates the sex of the human.

Harry Benjamin said in 1954 that "Originally sex is always a mixture of male and female components"(Meyerwitz 106). He also stated that therapy was useless as a cure for transsexuality. On the other hand, Psychiatrist Emil Gutheil responded by saying that there was something other than biological factors leading to transvestism and transsexuality. That something involves "six psychopathology factors," which were :

1. Homosexuality "with an unresolved castration complex" 
2. Sadomasochism 
3. Narcissism
4. Scopophilia
5. Exhibitionism 
6. Fetishism   

The different stances about transsexuality, and transvestism come from the two thoughts about what can be the actual cause of people wanted to change their sex. Some doctors felt that something was wrong with the body, that is why they try to modify it in order to have it match the sexuality in the mind. On the other hand  Psychoanalyst and physiologist felt there was something wrong with the way the patient was thinking; their mentality had to be changed or at least adjusted in order to match their body. This is an example of how there was a battle between the psychoanalysts and the doctors. Both groups were trying to find the cure for transsexuality and transvestism . While one felt that medical intervention was wrong the other felt that psychoanalytic or phychotheraputic intervention will be wrong. Turns out, this was an ongoing battle. For decades the two groups have been challenging each other in various areas. The question, however, was always the same. Was the origin of this problem psychological or biological?  

Quote:
"Some transgendered people worked to educate the doctors. In San Francisco, Louis Lawrence devoted herself to teaching medical authorities ad scientists about transvestites and transexuals"(Meyerowitz 154).

Reaction:
This reminded me of the gay straight alliance,GSA, in my school. Through activities like the day of silence, they teach people within the school to respect and appreciate people that are different than them when it comes to their sexuality. Just as these transgendered put effort into explaining who they were and  what it actually mean to be a transsexual/ transgender from a primary source.