Christians: Gender Identity Disorder and Homosexuality Reworded?

Question

***PLEASE READ ALL DETAILS***
Ok let me start by clearly defining what Gender Identity Disorder is:
"Gender identity disorder (GID) or transsexualism is defined by strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one's own assigned sex"
Symptoms
Children:
- Express the desire to be the opposite sex
- Have disgust with their own genitals
- Believe that they will grow up to become the opposite sex
- Are rejected by their peer group and feel isolated
- Have depression
- Have anxiety
Source: http://psychologytoday.com/conditions/genderid.html
MORE DETAILS TO COME:

To be clinically diagnosed with GID:
A. Must persistently and strongly identify with the opposite gender (aside from desiring any perceived cultural advantage of being the other gender). In children, the disturbance is manifested by four (or more) of the following:
1. Repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is the other sex.
2. In boys, preference for cross-dressing or simulating female attire. In girls, insistence on wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing.
3. Strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex roles in make believe play or persistent fantasies of being the other sex.
4. Intense desire to participate in the stereotypical games and pastimes of the other sex.
5. Strong preference for playmates of the other sex.

I want to focus on the REAL LIFE situation of this been diagnosed in young children. This is a extremely rare condition. In some cases they can be diagnosed with such earlier than age 6 and have symptoms are clearly seen in toddlers.

For some real life stories see the documentary with Barbara Walters on 20/20 below: (P.S. there is 5 clips but it is worth your time to watch this!)

Clip 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utpam0IGYac
Clip 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8F9CaPyQz8
Clip 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W17z6KeiNY
Clip 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSkQlWUX_eI
Clip 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib_yE5WILJc

Now if you actually watch these clips are do a little research on your own you will find this is a real disorder. Not some affliction from the devil. Gender Identity Disorder is simply a disorder that some children are born with. Their brain identifies them with the opposite sex they were assigned biologically from birth.

In some of the specific cases of Children being diagnosed with GID the children were already acting out and dressing as the opposite sex they were biologically born with. Some of the parents are already planning for hormone therapy and believe that surgery is in their future. (when they are 18)

So now to the question… In a case when a baby is born a boy yet quickly identifies himself with the female gender. This child not only wants to be the other gender, nor does this child just like feminine things, this child says that he is a girl even though this child was born with male body parts. The child is diagnosed with GID.

The parents try to treat the disorder by allowing the child to dress as a female and play with other females and female toys and taking the kid through therapy to deal with self-esteem and other GID issues. When this child becomes an adult (age 18) every that encounters this child believes this person is a girl. Someone falls in love with the girl, learns that this girl has male body parts or used to have male body parts and they become a couple.

Is this relationship considered homosexual?
Is this relationship considered sinful?
Does this demonstrate that the issue of homosexuality is not as black and white as some make it?

***PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND UNLESS YOU HAVE READ ALL THE DETAILS & YOU HAVE A DECENT UNDERSTANING OF GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER***

~~~~~I know i know, too many details...lol~~~~~

Thank You!

I know my details are way too long. But I needed to be clear. I want to thank you for your considerations on this subject and got some good well thought out answers minus a few. A MUCH better response then the last time I asked this question.

Thank You. My rewording seemed to help.

Answer 1

I likely have a better understanding than most regarding this disorder.

Here are some more facts to consider though:

First, some states will issue a new birth certificate after surgery which states the new sex instead of birth sex.

Second, there are many intersexed people, who are somewhat between male and female. Some believe transsexualism to be just part of this spectrum.

Third, it is considered generally poor ethics for a person who has gone so far in reassignment to enter a deep relationship without letting their partner know such details of their life. It does happen though.

Fourth, it takes a special person to remain in a relationship with a transsexual individual. It takes an open mind and a sexually mature individual.

Far too many people seek transsexuals because of prurient and deviant reasons. Stay away from this sort. Still, any relationship is a special gift, and if it works out, is a blessing.

As far as your question, one needs to recognize that it is purely a matter of perspective. Many Christians will tell you that a male in relationship with a male-to-female transsexual is a homosexual relationship. I personally disagree, though I don't think homosexual relationships to be wrong.

A male-to-female (MTF) transsexual is simply a woman who was born with male genetalia. This does not alter the fact that the person was essentially female in their psyche.

Nobody can answer this question in a definitive fashion; it is too subject to the feelings and attitudes of those involved.

To all the idiots who call transsexualism a sin, they really need to look at their Bibles which say nothing about it. This is an idiotic stance taken from an ignorance of both scripture and the nature of the condition. I'm quite certain that if a child was born to one of these morons, and found to be intersexed, that they would likely seek correction for the condition and not say simply "God doesn't make mistakes."

Answer 2

I have seen the Barbara Walters video's. And here is my opinion on it. First of all, who on this earth has seen a 6 month old baby choose any sexual anything??
Now I will address the parents in these cases. Children at a certain age when they are toddlers will ask about who and what they are. As they have found their unique boy or girl parts. And what to know what they are for.
What would happen for instance if a couple decides that they don't want that sex of a child. And from a very very young age start to dress, refer to and show to others this child in the opposite sex then what they are. That child would think two things, first they were created wrong, and second that they should be fixed to correct the problem.
Like I have mentioned this would be since the child could recall. So that the child would "think" these things. But in reality it is taught that this was true. I don't think it is a problem with the children in this, but with some very sick parents.
God doesn't make mistakes, and to declare you are not the right sex. And that you are in the wrong body implies that. This isn't a physical issue like a Downs child is. But something that I fully believe is a nurture issue. That this society is now holding in high regard.

Answer 3

wow, I don't really know how to answer this question. But I've heard of this disorder and believe it is real and the only explaniation I can give is that we live in a sinful world and b/c of that sin, stuff like this happens. Kind of like the fact that we don't understand why cancer happens but it does.
Now, for the question whether it's a homosexual relationship, that's also hard to answer b/c the disorder is real. It's crazy that this person is born with a girl mind but with boy body parts, but I really believe that if their mind is telling them that they are female then they really are. As for the partner, he did not know at first that she was really a boy and if he doesn't care then it shouldn't matter b/c he is strait.
When I first heard of this disorder I was appaled and did not really know what to think about it and how could God allow this to happen. But like I said, it's a sinful world and so bad things like this happen. I may be totally wrong in my answer but it's easier to believe that a child at that age have that disorder instead of an adult b/c when they're only 4 or 5 years old saying that, you know somehthing has to be wrong somewhere b/c at that age the opposite sex still has cooties! lol. If it were an adult you would just think they were crazy or something.

Answer 4

I'm having a hard time sorting out your question, but one thing that strikes me is that there are very few things in this world that are strictly black and white. A few other thoughts:

As far as GID goes, I understand it fairly well, and I only know the secular point of view. I've never heard a Christian response to it, so the only Christian response I have is my own.

One thing that troubles me is why are young children obsessing about their private parts and their sexuality? This in and of itself screams a psychological problem to me, not a biological one.

I have watched lots of documentaries about transgendered people who get operations to become the gender they believe and feel that they are. Across the board these people seem very, very unhappy, and they blame it all on society's misunderstanding of them. But then at the end of the documentaries, after years and years of therapy specifically for transgendered people, spending thousands of dollars in surgery, and finally making their dream come true, these people are no happier! They say they are, but the sadness in their eyes and their flat affect remains.

If this were a disorder, wouldn't therapy and surgery free them from their pain? But it doesn't.

Sexuality is extremely complicated, as are hormones, human development, and the mind/body connection. Such problems are best left to the experts.

Bottom line, I stand by what I know is true: Homosexuality is a misuse of human sexual behavior and desire, transgendered people are tortured souls, and the only answer is loving people as God loved us and seeking His help for everything we face.

Oh, and what I said at the beginning, the world is rarely black and white.

Next time, be a little more concise in your questions, okay?

Answer 5

I don't see why the relationship would have to be classified as homosexual. After all, aren't we human beings more than the color of our skin or the parts of our bodies? If we truly identify as the sex we were not born as, and we feel like a man when we were born with female parts, does that make us less of a woman or more of a man? The psychologists will certainly find this question food for thought. That being said, I don't think that homosexuality is a sin. It's not a choice, it's something we are born as, so how can being ourselves, who "god" made us, be wrong? Wouldn't it be a bigger issue to this "god" that we are denying who we are, who he/she made us to be? Any deity that is worried about what I do in the privacy of my own bedroom is not okay with me. And a little creepy. And no, I'm not an atheist. I'm agnostic. I guess this makes me a sinner as well.

Answer 6

You are absolutely right. Homosexuality is not the cut-and-dried, black and white, male/female with female/male issue that some people think that it is. Gender itself is not as easy as just male/female when you come right down to it. And gender roles within society are even more flexible, especially when you compare different cultures and societies.

However, attempting to get the kind of people who actually believe that homosexuality is a sin to see that it is anything but a sin issue is an uphill, probably losing battle.

Those people will always see anything different from their pre-conceived notions of acceptable male/female behaviour as inherently icky. By definition, their minds are already closed to different conceptions of reality - regardless of how much evidence is presented contrary to their dogma.

Answer 7

I absolutely agree with you. I think that this creates a grey area in homosexual vs. not. But you know what - God did not want that person to become confused. I have seen it as a birth defect - the boy was intended to be a girl, but genetics got mixed up or something went wrong. God didn't intend that.

I believe in a God who loves, a God who understands situations like this. I don't think humans are qualified to make the call whether its wrong or right. Only God can make that call.

And God will not turn away those who love Him and believe on Him.

Answer 8

May i pose this to you. This is a result of the sin entering the world. And though this people receive this disorder as you called it. There is also shock therapy, which can reset the mind, and the desires are gone. Note that the shock therapy does not work in reverse

Answer 9

If you really want people to respond in a sensible fashion the I respectfully suggest that you shorten your question, statement, declaration, comment etc., to about five lines.

Answer 10

Love is love, "homosexual" and "heterosexual" are just labels. So technically I would say it's homosexual, but it really doesn't matter.