GLB, But What About T?

I heard about this on NPR, but there are several articles available on the Internet.  Have a look at this one:

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/01/18/berkeley-may-pay-for-sex-change-surgeries/

Apparently, some California cities are determined to be everything that the rest of the country believes them to be.

My objection here is not that governments are recognizing and respecting people who don’t fit into the norm.  That’s as it ought to be.  I’ve written before on the question of gay marriage, expressing my support for it.  Sex reassignment surgery is something else entirely.

What’s the difference?  Orientation and marriage are behaviors.  Since gay or straight relationships cause me no harm, I have no wish to interfere in either kind.  I’m glad when any two individuals find each other and form a bond together.  But a person’s sex is fundamental.  When it comes to sex, we are what we are born.  A person is XX or XY.  Yes, there are rare cases in which a person is born with some genetic abnormalities that require medical treatment, and I support our healthcare system providing that, but I don’t see why a city government is considering spending its citizens’ money on what is effectively a cosmetic surgery.

This is not a suggestion that we treat transsexuals rudely.  Again, as long as you don’t harm me, I have no problem with what you do, particularly in your private life.  What I do want is clarity in our thinking.  What it means to be male or female is a complex question, but this kind of foolishness doesn’t help matters.