New Presentation: “Disordered or Just Different? Myth, Science, and Sexuality”

I will be a speaker at the first annual conference of the Center for Inquiry/Chicago on Saturday, April 24th. The theme of this conference is: “Dangerous Nonsense - Exploring the Gulf between Science and its Impostors.” This theme is the perfect context for my talk entitled “Disordered or Just Different? Myth, Science, and Sexuality” that will focus on the scientific evidence on core sexuality obtained over the last fifty years and the medical profession’s treatment of intersex, homosexual, and transsexual peoples.

Here’s a conference description and schedule:

The Center For Inquiry/Chicago First Annual Spring Conference:
Dangerous Nonsense: Exploring the Gulf between

Science and its Impostors

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago 60601

26th Floor - Conference Room

Bunkum grows like a weed in American culture - whether it's climate change denial, conspiracy theories, or healing by prayer. Some ideas are not only nonsense, they are dangerous nonsense, with serious implications for our lives. In this age where misinformation can be spread more easily than ever before, understanding the role of the scientific process in human affairs is critical to our survival. This conference will present top scientists in biology, physiology, and physics, each of them gifted at explaining both the science and its impostors of their respective fields. Join us and gain valuable insight into exploring the world through science and reason.

Conference Schedule

8:30 a.m. Check-in and Registration

Optional: Set up your evening dinner reservation with a nearby restaurant

9:15 a.m. Welcome - the Center For Inquiry/Chicago Board

9:25 a.m. Dr. Massimo Pigliucci, Professor of Philosophy at the City University of New York

“Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell the Difference Between Science and Bunk”

10:25 a.m. Coffee Break

Dr. Pigliucci will also be available to autograph his new book

10:45 a.m. Dr. Veronica Drantz, Professor of Physiology at DePaul University’s College of Nursing

“Disordered or Just Different? Myth, Science and Sexuality”

11:30 a.m. Dr. Michael Albrow, Nuclear Physicist at both the Tevatron (Fermilab) and the Large Hadron Collider (CERN)

“What's True and What's Untrue in Physics Today”

12:15 p.m. Announcements

12:20 p.m. Lunch on your own

(Your packet will include lunch options in the immediate vicinity)

1:40 p.m. Dr. Ron Pine, Explorer, retired biology professor, and debunker of Intelligent Design “Intelligent Design or ‘No Model’ Creationism: Why It Can't Qualify Even as Pseudo-Science”

2:25 p.m. The Mentalist “Mystopher” & Carolee

“Serving Fork-Fulls of Magic and Imagination”

3:00 p.m. Dr. Dario Maestripieri, Professor of Comparative Human Development, Neurobiology, Evolutionary Biology, and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago

“What Primatology and Evolutionary Psychology Tell Us About the Evolution of Human Behavior”

3:45 p.m. Coffee Break

Dr. Pigliucci will also be available to autograph his new book

4:05 p.m. Panel Discussion with all of our presenters

“The Future of Science and Science Education in the U.S.”

5:15 p.m. Adjourn

Post-Conference

5:30 p.m. Optional: Post-Conference discussion and drinks (cash bar) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (directions included in your packet - it’s about a block away)

6:30 p.m. Optional: Dinner (your cost) in downtown Chicago - some of these will be “hosted” by CFI/Chicago Board members (your packet will include a selection of places and cuisines)

Late Optional: Music clubs (your cost) - some of these will be “hosted” by CFI/Chicago Board members (your packet will include a selection of places and musical styles)

Learn more about the speakers here.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

Ending Professional Bigotry Against Transsexual People

In this video I present the scientific evidence showing that transsexuality is a natural variation and that transsexual people are simply different, not disordered. Consequently, the American Psychiatric Association should remove "gender identity disorder" from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. My thanks to Chicago's Gay Liberation Network . This video of the cable television broadcast is in FOUR PARTS.
PART 1


PART 2


PART 3


PART 4


References specifically referred to in this video are (in order of mention):

• Zhou, J.N., Hofman, M.A., Gooren, L.J. and Swaab, D.F.. A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality. NATURE, 378: 68-70 (1995)
• Kruijver, Frank P. M., Zhou, J., Pool, Chris W., Hofman, Michel A., Gooren, Louis J. G and Swaab, Dick F. Male-To-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers In A Limbic Nucleus. J CLIN ENDOCRINOL METAB, 85: 2034-2041 (2000)
• Garcia-Falgueras, Alicia and Swaab, Dick F. A Sex Difference In The Hypothalamic Uncinate Nucleus: Relationship To Gender Identity. BRAIN, (Nov 2, 2008)

Milton Diamond Reviews A Half Century Of Science On Sexual Development

Clinical Implications Of The Organizational And Activational Effects Of Hormones

Milton Diamond, who I regard as the most important figure in modern sexology, has reviewed the scientific history of the nature-nurture debate about sexual behavior. This is a wonderful summary of the science, the theories, and the medical controversies regarding intersexuality and transsexuality written by a leader in the field. Below is the abstract of Dr. Diamond’s article, “Clinical implications of the organizational and activational effects of hormones” which was published in the journal Hormones and Behavior in March 2009.

"Debate on the relative contributions of nature and nurture to an individual's gender patterns, sexual orientation and gender identity are reviewed as they appeared to this observer starting from the middle of the last century. Particular attention is given to the organization-activation theory in comparison to what might be called a theory of psychosexual neutrality at birth or rearing consistency theory. The organization-activation theory posits that the nervous system of a developing fetus responds to prenatal androgens so that, at a postnatal time, it will determine how sexual behavior is manifest. How organization-activation was or was not considered among different groups and under which circumstances it is considered is basically understood from the research and comments of different investigators and clinicians. The preponderance of evidence seems to indicate that the theory of organization-activation for the development of sexual behavior is certain for non-human mammals and almost certain for humans. This article also follows up on previous clinical critiques and recommendations and makes some new suggestions."

This is the paper to read if you are looking for a quick way to be brought up to date on the evidence for the “organization-activation theory” of sexual development and an understanding of the controversies on “core sexuality”. Here is the complete article entitled Clinical Implications Of The Organizational And Activational Effects Of Hormones.

"Gender Puzzle" - What is a female? a male?

Here is the summary of the documentary "Gender Puzzle".

"Are we on the cusp of discovering what determines gender? The old mantra - all girls have XX chromosomes and all boys have XY - is no longer reliable. Scientists are now looking beyond chromosomes to "brain sex" and the role of newly discovered genes. By studying transsexuals and people on the gender extremes, they believe they can unlock the gender puzzle. This high-quality documentary looks at the new and challenging science of gender.



Tall, thin and strikingly beautiful, model Christie North always felt female. But when she was 15, she discovered she’d been born with male chromosomes. “There was no mention at school that there can be mix ups with your chromosomes”, she complains. “Many people have the same problem – more than you think.” As well as girls with XY chromosomes, one in 500 born with a double XX as well as a Y. Most only find out about their condition when they try to father children and discover they’re infertile. Until the 1990s, gender was largely about chromosomes. But this principle was challenged when a new gene was discovered which is needed to start the process of ‘maleness’. “I think we’re starting to understand how the brain is hard-wired differently between males and females”, explains Prof. Vince Harley. Scientists are now looking at a further 54 genes which are turned on differently in males and females. They may help to explain why people identify as one gender or the other, regardless of chromosomes. There is a small but growing body of evidence that transsexuals’ brains are hard-wired in the uterus to be either male or female. A Dutch study found that male-to-female transsexuals have the same brain features as other women instead of being identical to men’s. “There is a public perception that transsexualism is a lifestyle choice”, states Prof Vince Harley. “To reaffirm a biological basis is quite empowering for them.” These discoveries are starting to redefine the gender debate. In the 60s and 70s, it was believed the nature of a child’s upbring had such a strong influence that an intersex condition could be corrected through the right upbringing. The child was allocated a sex, underwent genital surgery and was then raised in its assigned sex. But many of these children had a traumatic childhood, unable to reconcile their identity with their bodies. For them, the ‘brain sex’ theory makes perfect sense. The theory of brain sex is also challenging the law. ‘Kevin’, a transsexual, was threatened with imprisonment if he married his female partner. He successfully contested this by providing the court with evidence suggesting a biological basis to his transsexualism. In his verdict, Justice Richard Chisolm concluded: “In view of all the evidence, the things that characterise transsexuals are as much biological as mental.” Far more controversial than adults changing gender, is the issue of teenagers who want to. “All the medical evidence indicates that the earlier children with transsexualism receive treatment, the better their lives are”, reasons lawyer and transsexual Rachel Wallbank. But others disagree. “You’re wondering all the time whether the young person actually has enough life experience to make that judgement”, states Craig Andrews. He runs a support group helping transsexuals and is concerned about the increasing number of young people who want treatment. As science discovers more about what determines gender, making these decisions may become a little easier. But for now, we are only just starting to understand just how complex the biology is."

And here is the complete transcript of this video.

See my PowerPoint slides for more information on intersexuality and transsexuality.

"Science and Sexuality" Presentation at Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

My presentation entitled "Science and Sexuality" will be given as a workshop at the National Womyn's Music Festival (aka MichFest) which runs from August 4th through the 9th in the woods near Walhalla, Michigan.
The evidence presented in my PowerPoint slides will be thoroughly discussed and additional information not in the slides will be woven into the talk. As always, questions and discussion will follow the presentation.

Here are the details:
Event: Workshop entitled "Science and Sexuality"
Day: Thursday, August 6th
Time: 3-5pm
Location: MichFest near Walhalla, Michigan
Site: Media Tent

MichFest is the first and the biggest of all women's music festivals and is attended by thousands of women from all over the United States who will coalesce in a tent city that pops up overnight in the woods of northern Michigan for the thirty-fourth year this August. As a largely lesbian event, this is a great venue for reaching a large number of women who already know the pains of being sexually different in a binary gender culture. If the MichFest audience receives the scientific information about intersex and transsexual persons as sympathetically as the audience at the National Women's Music Festival in Wisconsin did just a few weeks ago, then I will be very pleased.

Five Genders of Indonesia

Sex is biological. Gender is defined by culture. There are five genders in Indonesia. These Indonesian transsexuals seem comfortable with their somatic selves. Is this because the culture "welcomes" them and they are not forced to fit themselves into one of only two categories?

Chaz Bono Was Never a Lesbian!

According to my interpretation of the scientific evidence (see PowerPoint slides), Chaz is a transman since he has a male (androcentric) identity). But since he is still gynephilic (attracted to women), Chaz is actually heterosexual. One must have a female identity to be a lesbian. Now that Chaz has come to grips with his “felt sexual identity,” the lesbian designation is automatically negated. The only change that’s happening is that Chaz’s gynemorphic body is now being altered to be more andromorphic.

Transsexuals versus the World Health Organization and the ICD

Revision Suggestions for Gender Related Diagnoses in the DSM and ICD
Here is the transcript of the talk as it was given at the 2009 World Professional Association for Transgender Health conference in Oslo, Norway on June 19th, 2009 by Randall D. Ehrbar, Psy.D., Kelley Winters, Ph.D. and R. Nicholas Gorton, M.D.

Transsexuals are considered disordered not only according to the DSM of the American Psychiatric Association but also according to the ICD, the international standard diagnostic classification of the World Health Organization and to most psychiatrists around the world who use the ICD for all general epidemiological and many health management and clinical purposes.

It's incredible that psychiatrists still cling to a policy that is refuted by science and is abhorrent to all people who celebrate human diversity. The intelligence and courage of transsexual people who, in spite of being so abused throughout the world and throughout their lives, fight for their dignity and rights is testimony to the healthiness of transsexuality itself.

Transsexuals versus the American Psychiatric Association

A Lesson for American Psychiatrists!

Hear Kelley Winters Ph. D. speak at the American Psychiatric Association DSM Protest. Her identity is not disordered! And here is what Madeline Deutsch MD told the APA. Her identity isn't disordered either!

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and provides diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. It is consulted not only in the United States but around the world in varying degrees by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.

It is gratifying to see that Dr. Ecker is among those trying to get psychiatrists to "face the facts" about sexual identity.
Read about the presentation by Dr. Sidney W. Ecker, MD, FACS to the American Psychiatric Association on May 18, 2009 in A. E. Brain's blog.
Dr. Ecker's "Brain Gender Identity" list of scientific references
Dr. Ecker's PowerPoint slides on "Brain Gender Identity"

Read the letter I wrote to the American Psychiatric Association regarding the designation of transsexuality and gender variance as disorders!

Down with "Zucker, the _ucker"!
Professor Lynn Conway has filed a formal complaint against Dr. Ken Zucker. Sure, Zucker tries to scare and shut up his critics. Even he must know that his theories are goofy and the science on sexuality is against him. Dr. Zucker does harm! Here is the background explaining why the world would be a better place without him.

8 Biology Of Sexual Identity

Part 8 of "Science and Sexuality." Is sexual identity a biological reality? How does it develop? What determines a person's sexual identity?

8 Biology Of Sexual Identity

View more OpenOffice presentations from drdrantz.

My letter to American Psychiatric Association regarding the 5th edition of DSM

June 2, 2009

Veronica Drantz, PhD
Professor – School of Anesthesia
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Evanston, Illinois

Alan F. Schatzberg
President
American Psychiatric Association
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209


Dear Dr. Schatzberg:

The upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual offers The American Psychiatric Association an opportunity to reclaim its compassion for human dignity and its mandate to do no harm. As a physiologist who has been following the research pertaining to the issue of sexual/gender identity, I am registering my dismay at the continued categorizing of transsexual and other gender variant people in the DSM as mentally disordered.

The scientific evidence that core sexual identity is biological and innate comes from multiple sources and is overwhelming. Moreover, transsexual persons have atypical brain structure and function that correspond to their felt identity. There is no scientific support for considering transsexuality “per se” as a psychiatric disorder. While transsexuality may not be common, transsexual people are natural and merely different. It is my ethical responsibility as a biologist to point out that diversity is the rule in nature and to insist that the psychiatric profession understand that differences are not necessarily disorders. Natural variations in sexuality are many and include the transsexuality that should be expected and celebrated in any population. The psychiatric profession needs to minimize the damage to its credibility in the eyes of the scientific community by doing its part to change the culture that persecutes transsexual people. The APA should learn from its past mistreatment of homosexual people and take the lead in educating the public about the natural variations in human sexuality rather than continuing its horrific complicity in societal discrimination against transsexual and other gender variant people.

1. I insist that the elected leadership and Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association issue a position statement making clear that gender identity and expression which differ from assigned birth sex do not, in themselves, constitute mental disorder and imply no impairment in judgment or competence.

2. I urge the APA to issue a statement clarifying the medical necessity of hormonal and surgical transition treatments for those who suffer painful distress with their physical sex characteristics that are incongruent with their persistent gender identity. While it is a shame that the APA is not leading this cause, it can at least follow the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association in this regard.

3. I advise the American Psychiatric Association to follow the example of the American Psychological Association in encouraging legal and social recognition of all people that is consistent with their gender identity and expression. The APA should affirm in a position statement the dignity and legitimacy of individuals who have transitioned their social gender roles, regardless of their physical anatomy or assigned birth sex. Surely, psychiatrists can help the public understand the important distinctions between the biological terms such as male or female and cultural terms such as man or woman.

4. In addition to the above three requests, I ask that the APA scrutinize the reasons for giving Dr. Kenneth Zucker and Dr. Raymond Blanchard such inordinate influence in the DSM revision process. The bizarre and mean-spirited theories of Zucker and Blanchard are refuted by the scientific evidence and do real harm to people who simply don’t conform. Their arrogance and unscientific attitude should not be tolerated in a profession that claims to be based on science and compassion.

It is my hope that the APA will revise the DSM in a fashion that is consistent with the evidence from all the sciences. It is time for the APA to officially take a stand that celebrates the natural sexual diversity of our species and promotes human dignity and freedom.


Sincerely,

Veronica Drantz, PhD

Sexual Identity is Biological & Innate!

Questions: Is Sexual identity a biological phenomenon or a cultural/psychological construct? Is sexual identity innate or is it learned? Now we know! The science is in! SEXUAL IDENTITY IS A REAL BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON AND IS INNATE!
When I first wondered about this issue, little scientific evidence was available on sexual identity per se. In 1965, Milton Diamond published his legendary challenge to John Money's goofy
"psychosexual neutrality-at-birth" theory. Much science has been done since then, some of it by Diamond who, having the evolutionary perspective of a biologist is a proponent of the "sexuality-at-birth" theory.
The scientific evidence is compelling, coming from many different avenues and all of it pointing in the same direction. While the molecular mechanisms are not yet entirely clear, there is a clear answer to the question: "Is sexual identity innate or learned?" The simplest explanation for all of the evidence is in keeping with Diamond's theory: Sexual identity is biological and innate!

After a long hiatus (due to all sorts of personal distractions), I will soon be posting about issues that spring from the important realization that sexual identity is biological and innate. Some of these issues are:

• The significance of the fact that sexual identity is a biological phenomenon and innate - why haven't biologists picked up on this important biological fact? Everyone has a sexual identity!
• Why we should be grateful to transsexual people for teaching us about our human nature
• Why medical science needs biologists. Biologists recognize the value of differences and celebrate diversity but medical doctors pathologize/medicalize differences and attempt to "fix" them. Transsexuality is uncommon but not necessarily a problem for anyone.
• Why transsexuality is a biological variation and transphobia is a cultural disease!
• The treatment of trans people: Should we change the body or the culture?
• Why it was inevitable that a biologist (Milton Diamond) would be right and a psychologist (John Money) would be wrong when theorizing about sexuality (even though psychologists pretend to understand behavior)
• Why parents, educators, and medical professionals need to know that sexual identity is innate
• Why, as a biologist, I can say: It is possible to be a man and a female at the same time. Similarly, it is possible to be both a woman and a male.
• Exactly what is sexual identity? On the brain systems level, cellular level, molecular level?
• What is the neurological relationship between sexual identity and sexual orientation (also innate)?
• What about intersex people?
• The political and social justice issues regarding sexual identity
• Gender binary?...The only thing binary about gender is gamete production (egg or sperm)!

Please feel free to post any questions you would like me to address.

Heterosexuals need defense from "Gender Theories"

Pontiff equates gender theories with threat to rainforests!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/23/pope-gender-sexuality?commentid=109df3f9-2adf-443b-a94a-b0837e08b74a

This message from the Holy Roman Poop, ... er ...I mean Pope, is so stupid! As if the Catholic Church has never cared about the well-being of the planet! As a biologist, I know that the primary problem of our planet is human overpopulation. It is irresponsible reproduction by heterosexual people that has caused destruction of the rainforests and all the rest of the global ecological calamities. No other institution has fostered irresponsible reproduction as much as the Catholic Church by condemning birth control and resisting the freeing of females from male-controlled reproductive policies. Of course the truth or facts have nothing to do with religion. Religion is all about mind control and the 24/7 behavioral control of the believers to serve the agenda of the hierarchy. And the Catholic Church hierarchy is comprised of male-bodied, male-identified, misogynists with purported heterosexual orientation.

The following paragraph about the holy roman poop's xmas message concerning "queers" is from the 12/27/08 blog of the remarkable Zoe Brain: http://aebrain.blogspot.com/ (emphasis mine).
"The pope was not talking about "transgender" or even "gender theory". He was talking about the concept that gender is distinct from physical sex. He denied this concept as merely an artifact of Man's Pride (for want of a better term), the same urge that led to the Tower of Babel.Theologically speaking - and how else could the Pope speak, he professes that there are men, and women. Nothing else. Men are attracted to women, and women to men. That is the natural order of things. There is no "gender", only sex. He states that all other things that appear to contradict a strict Male/Female binary, such as Homosexuality, or "women born in a man's body", "post-operative transsexuals" or any body not obviously male or obviously female, are all against the natural order of Creation, and dangerous. All such are artefacts of Human origin, perfect Divine creations spoilt by Man. Intersexed people may be explained away as the result of Man's tampering with the environment, with chemical and possibly spiritual pollution."

So the concepts of "sexual identity" and "sexual orientation" as neurological/biological phenomena independent of the genitalia are threatening to the Church. Yippee!!! And you know what happens when a religion makes a statement about the natural world - science eventually investigates and disproves that idea. Now we all know that the earth moves around the sun; Copernicus and Galileo were right and the bible was wrong. And the biblical Adam & Eve binary sexual system is as unnatural as the sun moving around the earth. The very existence of gay people, transsexual people, and the many types of intersex people refutes the "gender binary" and this obviously threatens the Poop.

In the last twenty years or so, a lot of groundbreaking research on homosexual, transsexual, and intersexual people has been done and a compelling scientific picture of sexuality has emerged!!! There are at least three separate dimensions to sexuality: one for the body, one for sexual identity in the brain, and one for sexual orientation also in the brain. Everyone occupies a point somewhere on each of these three continuums.

Should Doctors Still Consider Transsexual People to Be Suffering a 'Disorder'?

The fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will soon be published, and with it come a slew of updates for medical professionals on what, exactly, "disorders" are. Whether somebody's mental state is considered a disorder isn't a silly little matter of clarifications; it can have consequences on insurance coverage, power of will questions, and stigmatization. The debate rages on for whether things like shopping addictions and binge eating should be included as official disorders, but for our kind, whether transgender people should be included — for "suffering" from a genderidentity "disorder" — is a heated exchange.

Reports the NYT <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/health/18psych.html> :

The debate over gender identity, characterized in the manual as"strong and persistent cross-gender identification, " is already burning hot among transgender people. Soon after the psychiatric association named the group of researchers working on sexual and gender identity, advocates circulated online petitions objecting to two members whose work they considered demeaning.

Transgender people are themselves divided about their place in the manual. Some transgender men and women want nothing to do with psychiatry and demand that the diagnosis be dropped. Others prefer that it remain, in some form, because a doctor's written diagnosis is needed to obtain insurance coverage for treatment or surgery.

"The language needs to be reformed, at a minimum," said MaraKeisling, executive director of the National Center for TransgenderEquity. "Right now, the manual implies that you cannot be a happy transgender person, that you have to be a social wreck.

"Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychoanalyst and member of the sexual disorders work group, said that, in some ways, the gender identity debate echoed efforts to remove homosexuality from the manual in the 1970s.

After protests by gay activists provoked a scientific review, the"homosexuality" diagnosis was dropped in 1973. It was replaced by"sexual orientation disturbance" and then "ego-dystonic homosexuality"before being dropped in 1987.

"You had, in my opinion, what was a social issue, not a medical one; and, in some sense, psychiatry evolved through interaction with the wider culture," Dr. Drescher said.

Dec 18, 2008 · posted by David Hauslaib
Tagged: Health, Medicine, TransgenderCopyright 2009 Jossip Initiatives
http://www.queerty.com/should-doctors-still-consider-transgenders-to-be-suffering-a-disorder-20081218/

7yr. old Jazz's thoughts on being a Transsexual Child

"Why won't the world let everyone be who they are?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S5usRgY720

Zucker, Blanchard, Bailey: A travesty of science & medicine!

Zucker, Blanchard, and Bailey's misguided and unscientific attitude toward transsexuals and homosexuals reflects their ignorance of biology!

http://transactive.blogspot.com/2008/05/dsm-v-kenneth-zucker.html

http://waitingfordorothy.blogspot.com/2008/05/anti-trans-moron-appointed-as-head-of.html

Transsexual Children - Out of the Shadows

All parents, teachers, health care providers and anyone else who deals with children should know the "Bill of Rights for Transgender Children."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2EV3w2QxII

Beyond Gay & Straight - Muxes of Mexico

"Muxe" is a zapotec word pronounced Moo-shay
See a slide show about the muxes of Mexico and read comments from their parents.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/weekinreview/07lacey.html?_r=1