Pregnant Man?: Find Out How It Happened

To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don't appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.

I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy...

Our situation sparks legal, political, and social unknowns. We have only begun experiencing opposition from people who are upset by our situation. Doctors have discriminated against us, turning us away due to their religious beliefs. Health care professionals have refused to call me by a male pronoun or recognize Nancy as my wife. Receptionists have laughed at us. Friends and family have been unsupportive; most of Nancy's family doesn't even know I'm transgender...

We are proud to announce that this pregnancy is free of complications and our baby girl has a clean bill of health. We are happily awaiting her birth, with an estimated due date of July 3, 2008.

Read more of the Thomas Beatie's story at The Advocate...

-or-

Check out this video coverage from CNN Headline News.

What do you think? Do you think this is wrong? Is it unnatural? Or do you think we need to expand our notions of gender? Thomas Beatie is "naturally" a woman, so is it really so "wrong"? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Comments

[sheila]

ok, but is his wife the father?

[noneofdabove]

artificial insemination

[anythinggoes]

Disgusting pervert

[JaseAllen]

Interesting that someone with the nom de plume "anythinggoes" would call Mr. Beatie a perv. Did I miss some dry sarcasm aimed at those expressing judgmental disgust, or ought you change your screen name to anythingDOESN'Tgo?

It's not something that /I/ would do, but what two other consenting adults do isn't really any of my business. Judge not, lest YE be judged.

[kcnativnla]

Uh...maybe I'm not significantly progressive enough, but when you're born a female, you're FEMALE. Just because you take hormones, cut your breasts off and start wearing jeans and wife beaters doesn't make you a man.

A woman is pregnant. Where's the "story" here?

[ZoeBrain]

Ah yes, Men are Men, Women are Women. *SIGH*. Not always.

There are men with 46xx (female) chromosomes who have fathered children. And women with 46xy(male) chromosomes who have borne them. And both men and women with 47xxy chromosomes. Most with such severe Intersex conditions are sterile, but not quite all.

My diagnosis in 1985, based on a simple examination at a Fertility Clinic, was "undervirilised male" , mildly Intersexed. In 2001, I fathered a child, with technical help, as I basically didn't have all the equipment needed, just marginally functional glands. In 2005, as the result of some spectacular somatic changes, and with extensive tests using better technology (MRI, Ultrasound, Karyotype...), the diagnosis was changed to "severely androgenised female". Very Intersexed Indeed.

I went from psychologically female, chromosomally male, somatically masculinised, endocrinally male, to psychologically female, chromosomally male, somatically feminised, endocrinally female. I started treatment shortly thereafter based on a standard Transsexual Male to Female transition model. That's really rare, one in several million: most Intersex conditions are far more common. 5ARD and 17BHDD for example, they both cause apparent Female to Male natural sex changes. That happens to about one man in 100,000.

[MekishikoNoNeko]

But, as you clearly exposed (or we may consider any other element or argument?) what you just lived is not a normal condition, does it?

Salute!

[niikeb]

Exactly, its not disgusting, its perfectly normal its not even newsworthy. Its a confused female who's eggs got fertilized in someway. Which tends to happen to most women. In fact I'm positive its happened to everyone of our biological mothers. Quite common. Now a pregnant MAN... Where would the baby come out of? Yes some people are hermaphrodites (I blame the steroids in meat and estrogen in water and chicken.) that might be more news worthy. But she is a she, its NORMAL.

[noneofdabove]

Some people are born with the wrong sex identity. the condition is not curable except for matching the body to the mind (sex change surgery). It's just a medical procedure that should be done at birth if science could test for the condition in babies. Society at large is very prejudiced against this issue because it involves sex. Nobody questions treatment for cancer or diabetes, or heart disease but many bristle when one of these poor people seeks remedy to their disorder.

I just hope there is a God and he is taking notes of all the cruelty down here

[MekishikoNoNeko]

Cruelty exists with or without God, what your talking about it's only a human concept and behaviour.

What you just said by making a comparison between cancer or diabetes, some may consider and label it as a fallacy, and that's because when you change your gender, your biological life is not threaten by any desease, rather contrary, it's only a switch between your actual look and what you want to look like, you can say it in other words: simply a choice.
It's a bit cruel from your part to compare this issue with a well known desease like cancer or even AIDS with an aesthetical, social and psychological problem like this.

Lets leave behind the taboo issue about sex. Lets say, for instance that someone is borned with a wrong sex identity, You can not consider that like an abnormal situation? And, if so, people who suffer it, may not show any element of a disordered kind of behaviour? And people who can't "be fixed" stays sane?

But let´s read between lines, you compare cancer with wrong sex identity, and you labeled it as a disorder...

Salute!

[DoctorHeart]

I am so disappointed. From the headline I thought maybe science had found a way for men to get pregnant.

What a great thing that would be.

Go.For.It, all you reproductive scientists.

I'm a woman , btw.

[situationcritical]

Believe me, straight women sooooo should not want men to get pregnant. You're sending way too many of them across to our side as it is now.

[Bystander]

Sounds like the perfect liberal "evolved" man...a boob with no nuts. Fortunately, they don't procreate.

[desthmoneses]

they do now :)

[Bystander]

I don't think a jumble of body part fragments qualifies:)

[jneems]

"liberal evolved man"? As opposed to what? Conservative bathroom stalkers? Give it a rest.

[desthmoneses]

for some reason none of this disturbs me at all, maybe I'm just more mature than every one else here.

[zitlight73]

I hope he opts for caesarian.

[biglover]

LOL ROFL!!!!

[rmetz74]

Doesn't bother me either. We've tinkered with nature when it comes to everything else in our lives (pets, food, the environment itself), it's pretty ridiculous/hypocritical to take offense at human beings doing the same with their own bodies. Live and let live!

[greymen]

What a great guy for doing that for his beloved!

[MikeDu]

This may be more common than we think. i see 'pregnant' guys shuffling around shopping malls all the time! That is a funny picture, though - how many dozen of times have we seen a pregnant woman doing that EXACT same pose (including cropping off the head)?

[letreasonprevail]

Can a baby be healthy if the womb has been exposed to lots of testosterone?

[indie17]

I don't think people realize that 1 in 25,000 births are hermaphrodite. Here is an example at the link below. I know that the person in the above article is a different case, but even biologically gender is not always defined.

http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/BornHermaphrodite/

[TellingTruth2Kooks]

This isn't anything New!
I am pregnant with a baby Elephant I think?
At least that's what I think as I can see his Trunk hanging out!

[JohnhusseinCT]

Another liberal freak show.

[MikeDu]

Uh... liberal? Explain that 'liberal' link. Is the person against Bush's torture camps? Pro worker's rights? Against corporate oligarchs holding the reigns of political power? If you're equating dubious sexuality with 'liberals' I've got two names for you: Roy Cohen; j. Edgar Hoover.

[biglover]

And let's add, Larry Craig, Ken Mehlman, that other pedofile from Florida who resigned in shame last year (can't remember his name - there are so many)

[dsm]

Bah it was Arnold's idea

[Mike169]

Now we can have abortion on demand!

[wheelskeepturning]

Who cares. Just because a woman decided to become a man (but still keep her female parts) does not qualify as "A man having a baby"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[aquarius2001]

That is so disgusting!!!!!

[ptillen]

Disgusting?? Why??? Because this person decides out of love to bear a child so that this couple can raise it in love? Would that all births were so disgusting.

[johnmorgan]

You're being very judgemental without giving any logical reason.

[klondiker]

I guess the argument is really between biological definitions of gender and sociological/psychological definitions of gender. Biologically, this person is a female, but sociologically he identifies with being a male. Gender in many ways is a social construct, and it would be useful to understand the social influences on gender. Biology, while important, is not the only thing that defines gender.

[niikeb]

I hate to break it to you but gender is BIOLOGICAL. Thats its only purpose. Once you start saying we can redefine facts, you get people who think that a bird is a cat. There are some things that just are facts.