'Pregnant Man' given birth to a girl

An American man who was born a woman before undergoing gender realignment surgery 10 years ago has given birth to a girl.Thomas Beatie, who is legally male but decided to keep his female sex organs despite chest reconstruction surgery and testosterone therapy, gave birth at an Oregon hospital on June 29, People magazine reported. The baby was conceived through artificial insemination using donor sperm and Beatie’s own eggs.

It said 34-year-old Beatie had given birth naturally, not by Caesarean section. “The

only thing different about me is that I can’t breastfeed my baby. But a lot of mothers don’t,” it quoted Beatie as saying.

Michael Dillon of UK was the first ‘man-made man’

What is transsexualism?

Intersex or transsexualism is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male i.e. an innate gender identity opposite to the genital sex of their bodies. Studies reveal that it is seen in about 1 in 11,900 males and 1 in 30,400 females. Although most infants appear to be either normal boys or girls, various genetic and developmental effects can lead to infants having ambiguous genitalia, or the genitals look correct for one gender but are not consistent with the infants genes or the child’s genes are more complex than just XX or XY, making it difficult to predict the child’s gender identity.

Dealing with such individuals entails a diagnostic assessment, psychotherapy, real-life experience, hormone therapy, and surgical therapy. Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is a dramatic and irrevocable final step in male to female gender transition (or vice-versa) and is undertaken only after a comprehensive evaluation by a qualified mental health professional as it requires change in the genitalia and other sex characteristics.

When was the first sex change operation done?

Michael Dillon of Britain was the first manmade man. His surgery to change his gender (13 operations between 1946 and 1949) is considered the first of the modern era because of its surgical sophistication and its early use of testosterone. After the transformation from Laura to Michael, Dillon became one of the first scholars in the world to work out a classification system for sexual identity and sexual desire.

In 1952, Christine Jorgensen (earlier George) became the first transsexual in the US to publicly announce her change of sexual identity. She scandalized America in the uptight ‘50s when sex was still in the closet.

How does a male change to a female?

Doctors have to create a vagina and that is created under the scrotum. They fillet out and preserve the penile skin and the scrotal skin. Then, they make an opening behind the prostate and the urethra and a vagina is created in front of the rectum. But transwomen don’t get a new uterus or an ovary. The vagina is lined with the penile skin that is left. The scrotal skin is used to make the labia and the lips of a vagina.

How does a male become a female?

In a female to male operation, doctors have to remove the uterus and ovaries, and then the breasts. Then they close the vagina and reconstruct a penis. There are several ways of reconstructing a penis and having a urethra or a passage through which the urine passes. One of them is surgically reconfiguring the clitoris to mimic a phallus. It takes about a year to do these four-five surgeries.

Can people have sexual intercourse after a sex change?

In both the situations, one can definitely have sexual intercourse. Male to female is a more satisfying surgery both in terms of the physical appearance and sexual satisfaction, than the opposite way. Female to male is more difficult.

After sex change, can a woman become a father and can a man become a mother?

Biological sex remains the same whether one has a male to female transformation or female to male. Biological sex means XY and XX chromosomes will remain the same so a man cannot become a mother after a sex change. A woman who has become a man, however, can give birth if she has chosen not to remove her female reproductive organs. In order for the transman to conceive, hormone therapy has to be stopped.

What is the appropriate age when the sex of a person can be changed?

The age issue is very important. The operation is usually not done before adolescence. It is done mostly after the age of 21 and not after 40-45 years of age.