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Daddy, the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine Page 1 of 3 HOME ABOUT ADVERTISE CONTACT WRITE FOR MOXY MOXY SHOP CONTRIBUTORS Search Moxy... GO Featured I Wish I Knew Editor's Letter How to Profiles and Q&A's Foreign Correspondence Top 10 News & Views Breaking In You are here: Home // Featured // Daddy, the Childbearer Daddy, the Childbearer Posted by Dorothy Crouch on Nov 24, 2011 | Leave a Comment Picture this—you’re shopping for the perfect gift to bring to your best friend’s baby shower. You notice a man and wife walking the aisles, their backs toward you. When they turn to face you, you see the enormous, pregnant belly—being carried by the husband, not his wife. Do you feel indifferent, shocked, surprised or simply happy to see a loving, expectant couple? As transgender individuals allow themselves the freedom to transition from female-to-male or male-to-female, some still want to have biological children. For these people, the decision to become pregnant is not always easy and is often still met with resistance from the community. In the 1994 film Junior, Arnold Schwarzenegger played a scientist who becomes pregnant while conducting research to guard against miscarriage. Six years later, Matt Rice and his boyfriend, Pat Califia , both of whom are transgender men, were raising their son together. They did not adopt, nor did either of them have a child from a previous relationship—Matt carried their baby. There is also the story of Thomas Beatie , a transgender man from Oregon, who chose to become pregnant in 2008 after marrying his wife, Nancy. Following a hysterectomy, Nancy was not able to conceive the children that she and Thomas wanted to have. The couple is now raising three children, all of whom were carried by Thomas. On the Fence? After enduring the difficult therapy of transitioning from female-to-male, why would a transgender male wish to keep his female reproductive organs? For outsiders who don’t know the science behind the process, it could seem like these men are confused about their gender. The men are, at times, accused of keeping a safety net by retaining their uterus and ovaries, while trying out life as a man. This is not the case, says psychotherapist Dr. Christine Milrod . “Most transmen don’t want their ovaries because high testosterone [administered for transition therapy] levels could lead to ovarian cancer,” says Milrod. The risk means most of these men don’t want to keep their female reproductive organs, but some have no choice but to keep them. “It’s sad, because most insurance companies will not pay for hysterectomies. As a practitioner, I find it unconscionable that insurance companies will not protect Become one of our sponsors today! FOLLOW US SUBSCRIBE You can subscribe by RSS or Email to receive the latest news and breaking stories. POSTS COMMENTS Enter your email... Sign up FEATURED PRODUCT: BREAKING IN YOUR KITCHEN: ‘ CAUSE A GIRL’S GOTTA EAT
Transcript of HOME ABOUT ADVERTISE CONTACT WRITE FOR MOXY MOXY...
Daddy the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine
Page 1 of 3
HOME ABOUT ADVERTISE CONTACT WRITE FOR MOXY MOXY SHOP CONTRIBUTORS Search Moxy GO
Featured I Wish I Knew Editors Letter How to Profiles and QampAs Foreign Correspondence Top 10 News amp Views Breaking In
You are here Home Featured Daddy the Childbearer
Daddy the ChildbearerPosted by Dorothy Crouch on Nov 24 2011 | Leave a Comment
Picture thismdashyoursquore shopping for the perfect gift to bring
to your best friendrsquos baby shower You notice a man and
wife walking the aisles their backs toward you When
they turn to face you you see the enormous pregnant
bellymdashbeing carried by the husband not his wife Do you
feel indifferent shocked surprised or simply happy to see
a loving expectant couple
As transgender individuals allow themselves the freedom
to transition from female-to-male or male-to-female some
still want to have biological children For these people
the decision to become pregnant is not always easy and
is often still met with resistance from the community
In the 1994 film Junior Arnold Schwarzenegger played a
scientist who becomes pregnant while conducting
research to guard against miscarriage Six years later
Matt Rice and his boyfriend Pat Califia both of whom
are transgender men were raising their son together
They did not adopt nor did either of them have a child from a previous relationshipmdashMatt carried their baby
There is also the story of Thomas Beatie a transgender man from Oregon who chose to become pregnant in
2008 after marrying his wife Nancy Following a hysterectomy Nancy was not able to conceive the children that
she and Thomas wanted to have The couple is now raising three children all of whom were carried by Thomas
On the Fence
After enduring the difficult therapy of transitioning from female-to-male why would a transgender male wish to
keep his female reproductive organs For outsiders who donrsquot know the science behind the process it could
seem like these men are confused about their gender The men are at times accused of keeping a safety net by
retaining their uterus and ovaries while trying out life as a man This is not the case says psychotherapist Dr
Christine Milrod
ldquoMost transmen donrsquot want their ovaries because high testosterone [administered for transition therapy] levels
could lead to ovarian cancerrdquo says Milrod The risk means most of these men donrsquot want to keep their female
reproductive organs but some have no choice but to keep them ldquoItrsquos sad because most insurance companies
will not pay for hysterectomies As a practitioner I find it unconscionable that insurance companies will not protect
Become one of our sponsors today
FOLLOW US
SUBSCRIBE
You can subscribe by RSS or Email to receive the
latest news and breaking stories
POSTS COMMENTS
Enter your email Sign up
FEATURED PRODUCT BREAKING IN YOURKITCHEN lsquo CAUSE A GIRLrsquoS GOTTA EAT
Daddy the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine
Page 2 of 3
Share this Facebook 1 Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Print
transmen from exposure to increased risk of ovarian cancer [As a result] there are many transmen who walk
around with ovariesrdquo Though keeping their ovaries might pose a health risk some transgender men use this
seemingly negative situation and try to fulfill a different desiremdashbecoming a parent
A Rare Choice
For many transgender people the prospect of bearing their own children is not an appealing or possible process
Though transgender women are not able to bear their own children Dr Milrod encourages them to store their
sperm before they receive estrogen therapy which will render them sterile Many of her clients who are
transgender women are not interested in the process of reproduction opting instead for adoption or dating
someone who has children from a previous relationship
The feelings of many transgender men toward the issue of giving birth are similar to those of any other man ldquoThe
vast majority of transmen are indistinguishable from any other XY individual or genotypic malesrdquo explains Milrod
ldquoIf you ask them if they want to give birth they say lsquoAbsolutely notrsquo and look at you like yoursquore crazy lsquoI am not a
woman I donrsquot want to go through thatrsquordquo
The Right to Choose
For the minority of transgender men who decide to become pregnant the issue seems to be that their wife or
girlfriend faces reproductive challenges Within relationships that are not typical according to societal gender
roles the choices these transgender men make are the ideal type of commitment that many women seek in a
male mate They are able to provide the means to a common goal that is shared with their partner ldquoOpportunity
makes us want to do things that we are not able to and [eventually] we find out we can Maybe if more men could
give birth they would The socialization of men religiously socially historically and to a certain extent
evolutionarily men tend to distance themselves from females Thomas Beatie said lsquoI have seen life from both
sides nowrsquo He figured out that he could do it I donrsquot think itrsquos weirdrdquo says Milrod ldquoItrsquos about people who want to
have babiesrdquo
It is impossible to not feel compassion toward people who simply want to build a family While a family-centered
lifestyle is not for everyone these are people who genuinely want to grow that part of their lives Prior to becoming
pregnant the few men who decide to conceive children usually conduct detailed research and take the necessary
steps to ensure the safety of their baby These steps include researching sperm donation and reducing their
intake of testosterone which ideally results in menstruation signaling that the body could be ready to become
pregnant
Despite thorough preparation and sufficient love for their children not everyone is comfortable with idea of a
pregnant man Barbara Walters made her feelings quite clear to Thomas Beatie in a 2008 interview saying ldquoYou
make a great many people uneasyhelliphere is a man with facial hair with a moustachehellippregnant It is a disturbing
picturerdquo To this Dr Milrod replies ldquoTo some women pregnancy looks strange anyway To me his pregnancy was
not weird He wanted itrdquo
Article written by Dorothy Crouch for Moxy Magazine November 2011 Image courtesy of Flickr user G u i d o
Leave a Reply
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Daddy the Childbearer
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Copyright copy 2010 Moxy Magazine All rights reserved Based on a theme by Theme Junkie Logo and tweaks by
Daddy the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine
Page 2 of 3
Share this Facebook 1 Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Print
transmen from exposure to increased risk of ovarian cancer [As a result] there are many transmen who walk
around with ovariesrdquo Though keeping their ovaries might pose a health risk some transgender men use this
seemingly negative situation and try to fulfill a different desiremdashbecoming a parent
A Rare Choice
For many transgender people the prospect of bearing their own children is not an appealing or possible process
Though transgender women are not able to bear their own children Dr Milrod encourages them to store their
sperm before they receive estrogen therapy which will render them sterile Many of her clients who are
transgender women are not interested in the process of reproduction opting instead for adoption or dating
someone who has children from a previous relationship
The feelings of many transgender men toward the issue of giving birth are similar to those of any other man ldquoThe
vast majority of transmen are indistinguishable from any other XY individual or genotypic malesrdquo explains Milrod
ldquoIf you ask them if they want to give birth they say lsquoAbsolutely notrsquo and look at you like yoursquore crazy lsquoI am not a
woman I donrsquot want to go through thatrsquordquo
The Right to Choose
For the minority of transgender men who decide to become pregnant the issue seems to be that their wife or
girlfriend faces reproductive challenges Within relationships that are not typical according to societal gender
roles the choices these transgender men make are the ideal type of commitment that many women seek in a
male mate They are able to provide the means to a common goal that is shared with their partner ldquoOpportunity
makes us want to do things that we are not able to and [eventually] we find out we can Maybe if more men could
give birth they would The socialization of men religiously socially historically and to a certain extent
evolutionarily men tend to distance themselves from females Thomas Beatie said lsquoI have seen life from both
sides nowrsquo He figured out that he could do it I donrsquot think itrsquos weirdrdquo says Milrod ldquoItrsquos about people who want to
have babiesrdquo
It is impossible to not feel compassion toward people who simply want to build a family While a family-centered
lifestyle is not for everyone these are people who genuinely want to grow that part of their lives Prior to becoming
pregnant the few men who decide to conceive children usually conduct detailed research and take the necessary
steps to ensure the safety of their baby These steps include researching sperm donation and reducing their
intake of testosterone which ideally results in menstruation signaling that the body could be ready to become
pregnant
Despite thorough preparation and sufficient love for their children not everyone is comfortable with idea of a
pregnant man Barbara Walters made her feelings quite clear to Thomas Beatie in a 2008 interview saying ldquoYou
make a great many people uneasyhelliphere is a man with facial hair with a moustachehellippregnant It is a disturbing
picturerdquo To this Dr Milrod replies ldquoTo some women pregnancy looks strange anyway To me his pregnancy was
not weird He wanted itrdquo
Article written by Dorothy Crouch for Moxy Magazine November 2011 Image courtesy of Flickr user G u i d o
Leave a Reply
Enter your name (Required)
Enter your email (Will not be published) (Required)
Enter your website (Optional)
RECENT COMMENTS
Kim on New TV Shows Worth Watching
Joel RockHard on New TV Shows Worth Watching
Melissa Breau on Where Are Gen Y Guys
Lindsey Donner on Where Are Gen Y Guys
ipad 2 on Writerrsquos Week Contest Winner
RECENT ARTICLES
Daddy the Childbearer
New TV Shows Worth Watching
Where Are Gen Y Guys
The New Look of Nursing
How to Sew a Hem
ARCHIVES
Select Month
Daddy the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine
Page 3 of 3
Submit Comment
Please Confirm you are NOT a spammer Please Confirm you are NOT a spammer
Notify me of follow-up comments by email
Notify me of new posts by email
ABOUT MOXY
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FOLLOW US
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PostsComments
ARCHIVE
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Copyright copy 2010 Moxy Magazine All rights reserved Based on a theme by Theme Junkie Logo and tweaks by
Daddy the Childbearer | Moxy Magazine
Page 3 of 3
Submit Comment
Please Confirm you are NOT a spammer Please Confirm you are NOT a spammer
Notify me of follow-up comments by email
Notify me of new posts by email
ABOUT MOXY
MoxyAdvertiseContactContribute
FOLLOW US
FacebookTwitter
RSS FEEDS
PostsComments
ARCHIVE
Select Month
Copyright copy 2010 Moxy Magazine All rights reserved Based on a theme by Theme Junkie Logo and tweaks by
