Thomas Beatie, known as the pregnant transgender man, has third child

COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 07:  Thomas Beatie (R), Nancy Beatie and daughter Susan Juliette  pictured during the RTL 2008 review show on December 07, 2008 in Cologne, Germany.  (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/Getty Images)
I know a lot of you would like me to put man in quotes in the title, because technically Thomas Beatie isn’t a “man,” he’s a person who identifies himself as a man and has legally declared himself a man (thus being able to legally marry his wife) but still retains female reproductive organs. So Beatie has most of his original female parts, and that has enabled him to have a now third biological child when his wife, who had a hysterectomy due to severe endometriosis, is unable to. The Beaties welcomed a little boy yesterday, who will join his sister Susan, 25 months, and brother Austin, 14 months. Thomas and Nancy have been busy lately:

Transgender male Beatie shocked the world in June 2008 when he became the first man to have a baby—and two years later he’s already on baby number three!

“He’s got light brown hair and blue eyes. He’s very handsome and adorable, and he’s big and healthy,” revealed a source close to the family, who added that Beatie was only in the hospital on Sunday, July 25 for 24 hours before he was discharged.

“With their first child, Susan, Thomas was in the hospital for four days, and the next time with Austin he was there for two days,” our source said of Beatie’s time at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, OR, where he gave birth to all three of his children naturally. “This time, their son was completely healthy so there was no reason to stay longer.”

But, believe it or not, Thomas almost didn’t make it to the hospital. Already passed his due date, Beatie was having contractions every five minutes on the day he went into labor.

“It was a very quick labor. He nearly didn’t make it to the hospital and almost had him in the car!” our source revealed.

Beatie and his wife Nancy already have two kids, daughter Susan, 2, and son Austin, 1, who are adjusting very well to their new baby brother and are enjoying quality family time together.

“They’re staying private right now and spending a lot of time at home getting to know him,” the source said. “It’s happy bliss. They’re soaking up all the love.”

[From Radar Online]

After seeing this couple on Oprah when they were pregnant with their first child I really warmed to them. Oprah interviewed the Beatie’s neighbors in Oregon and they said they had no idea Thomas was biologically female until they learned that he was pregnant. Thomas and Nancy seem like kind loving people who are committed to each other and to their children. Now they have a third one just a couple of years after their first! What’s more is that Nancy, Thomas’ wife, has been able to breastfeed by taking hormones and inducing lactation. Would Gisele Bundchen give them a pass?

Thomas is no longer the only pregnant transgender man to speak to the media. A transgender couple in California had a baby boy named Miles in March. Both parents look like big biker guys, but were born female.

COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 07:  Thomas Beatie pictured during the RTL 2008 review show on December 07, 2008 in Cologne, Germany.  (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/Getty Images)

COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 07:  Thomas Beatie (R), Nancy Beatie and daughter Susan Juliette  pictured during the RTL 2008 review show on December 07, 2008 in Cologne, Germany.  (Photo by Patrik Stollarz/Getty Images)

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86 Responses to “Thomas Beatie, known as the pregnant transgender man, has third child”

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  1. bellaluna says:

    If he still has women’s parts, he is not a pregnant man!

    Not being hateful, just being truthful.

    EDIT: There you go, @ embertine, quotations removed. FYI, quotations are used in other ways, i.e. while he refers to himself as a “he”, he isn’t, because if he was, he wouldn’t be physically able to be pregnant/give birth. Well said, @ trillian!!

    As I wrote above, “NOT being hateful, just being truthful.” Since he has operational ovaries, he is still not a man, though he may choose to identify himself as one.

  2. trillian says:

    Geez, this “guy”. You can’t have your cake and eat it. You feel like a man and want to be one – fine with me. But “becoming a man” and “having three biological children” are mutually exclusive. SHE either can’t make up her mind or is just in it for the publicity.

  3. embertine says:

    Wow, that is a lot of kids in a short space of time for any couple. Three children under three! My ovaries shrivel just thinking about it!

    P.S. bella, referring to a transgender person’s preferred gender in inverted commas is actually kind of hateful. Please, do a little reading, get a little empathy.

  4. kelbear says:

    He is not a man!

  5. LOVE ANGELINA says:

    Thank you Embertine I agree. Thanks for not putting it inverted commas CB, I find it rude. I respect the way a person choose to ID themselves and its just rude to make constant reference to what they choose not to be.

    Anyway congratulations to them. They seem like a sweet family. Good for them.

  6. meme says:

    I have to go with Bellaluna – not a he if one can have children. Fact.

    Update: Isn’t gossip in and of itself rude?

  7. Alexa says:

    The pic of what must be their first child – a daughter – is so incredibly adorable!! What a gorgeous baby! Wishing all the members of their family a long, healthy, fulfilling life!

  8. Kolby says:

    Sex and gender are separate. I have no problem with someone with female reproductive organs identifying with the male gender. This person is a happier, more productive and loving human being living the life of a man. It’s not our repsonsibility to tell him one way or another the way he should feel about himself. Those are my two cents.

  9. This drives me batshit insane. I get angry thinking of all the truly transgender that work so hard for acceptance and understanding and this WOMAN comes and muddles it all up for publicity. My God, this isn’t news. A butch lesbian gave birth to a few kids. My butch partner gave birth to our second child. I am sure many people were a bit confused as most people assume she is a man, she dresses in a masculine style and has short hair and in most instances fills he “male” role, like cutting the grass and taking out the trash. (NOT that I think a woman can’t or shouldn’t do those things, just that in life those are largely seen as man duties.) Doesn’t mean that she was a pregnant man!
    @Kolby – I have no problems with what gender she identifying with the male gender. Living as a man, even. However, there is a difference in identifying and being. She isn’t a man, physically. She just isn’t. Men, born men or made into actual men, cannot have children.

  10. stinabelle says:

    There’s a whole lot of transphobia in this post. If he identifies as a man, then he’s a man. Plain and simple. It’s not your place to police a person’s sexuality.

    Congratulations to him and his wife.

  11. embertine says:

    LFM: Your partner presumably still identifies as a woman, so that is kind of different.

    No transmen are “actually men” in the true physical sense, as they don’t have a Y-chromosome. So does that means no transmen should be allowed to identify as male?

    Congrats on the birth of your second little one, by the way.

  12. Ellie says:

    while i’m sure my comments are going to ruffle someone’s feathers, i’m not trying to do so. i’m genuinely confused as to why someone would go through all of these painful surgeries to then turn around and backtrack. i completely support those who wish to be transgender and realize it’s a life-long struggle. however, part of me can’t help feeling they decided he would get pregnant so he could be the “first”

  13. bros says:

    thank you Kolby. Sex and gender are indeed not the same. Saying he isnt a man because he has female sex organs is not correct. his gender is male while still having some female sex organs. Many cultures on earth have several genders in their societies, not just man/woman binaries. I wish people would read more and have more anthropological and cultural knowledge before being so phobic about things that dont package nicely into your preconceived notions of the world.

  14. mln says:

    I known two transgender ‘men’ personally interestingly enough both of them changed their minds, do to the effects of testosterone and decided to go back to being ‘butch’ women. I am curious on the statistics in comparision to men to women.
    Knowing someone personally and having conversations on gender with one of them made me realize that sex and gender ARE different, I do think we are years away from having a real understanding of that as a society.
    No matter what difficulty on a personal level I have with someone doing something so extreme as surgery/taking hormones etc to change themslves in such an integral way, I wish this family luck. If they want children and can provide a loving home why not?

  15. snowball says:

    It’s all circular to me. This idiocy in having a difference between the legal and medical definitions of male/female – why bother making anyone declare? Who cares? Does it matter? I suppose to people obsessed with gay marriage, but outside of that, why?

    Whether this is a chick with a mustache or a guy with a uterus, what difference does it make? This nice couple has a new baby to add to their family.

    Maybe it’s because I’m living in white bread suburbia, I guess I don’t understand the need to stamp a “transgendered!” label on Beatie. I suppose I’d say Mr. Beatie if I had to address him (not really giving a crap about the transgendered part, sorry), but then again, aside from my Aunt Joann, I don’t know any women with that much facial hair.

  16. embertine says:

    snowball, that distant sussuration you hear is me cheering.

    🙂

  17. Sefa says:

    Ugh, all the comments refusing to refer to him as a man sans quotations or whatever make my stomach churn. I find it disrespectful and condescending. Not everything in nature fits cleanly in binary categories, especially not people. I respect this blog more for not doing so.

    Soapbox rant aside, I’m super-happy for the couple that they were able to do this and have happy, ADORABLE children.

  18. denise says:

    This is disturbing on so many levels. What the heck are those kids supposed to think?

  19. Des says:

    Ok, for all those people going on and on about what a horrible thing this person is doing to The Cause by being a woman who identifies as a man while giving birth AND all those who’re going on about how she’s not a man:

    A transgendered person doesn’t just walk into a clinic one day, get a different set of genitals and walk out with a different gender. It’s a process that takes YEARS and years of therapy and work. In fact, the actual “sex change” comes at the end of the process and there are plenty of transgendered people who havent had the operation. Your gender is not all about your genitalia.

    As for Thomas Beatie, the reason he’s having these kids is because of his wife. SHE CAN”T HAVE KIDS.

    If any of you had bothered to read up on the man before jumping on him, you’d have known that he was in the middle of his transition, had already undergone several procedures, and it had been years since he’d even had a menstrual cycle – but he and his wife wanted kids, and since she couldn’t have them, he chose to put an important part of HIS life on hold so they could have THEIR dream.

    It’s one of the most inspiring love stories I’ve ever heard.

  20. meme says:

    Don’t you think those kids will be a little freaked out to find out “Dad” gave birth to them but isn’t their “Mom”? It’s bizarre.

  21. Kolby says:

    I don’t know, Denise. What do most infants and toddlers think about?

    Edited to add: As long as their children are raised in a home that values love and understanding above all else, they’ll be just fine.

  22. denise says:

    @ Kolby

    Well obviously when they get a little older they will have questions, would’nt they? I mean dad gave birth to me? Huh? It’s really confusing and I assume even more so for a child.Comprende? A baby is always cause for celebration of course, but this is really odd.

    Yes Meme, I agree.

  23. RHONYC says:

    finally.

    a man who gets pms, menstrual cramps & the bloats.

    thank you god.

    🙂

  24. SammyHammy says:

    “If he identifies as a man, then he’s a man. Plain and simple.”

    No, I disagree completely. She was born female, has female reproductive parts and has given birth three times. That is FEMALE. If she actually has the surgery to become male, then technically she would become a he.

    And no, I am not a hater. I have a person in my family who went from male to female and everyone in my family, myself included, has accepted her and her husband completely and with open arms. But the difference is my cousin didn’t keep his penis and still insist on being called a “woman.”

  25. mel says:

    If she’s happier a man, so what, who am I to judge.

  26. Kolby says:

    Denise – it may be confusing for you, but why would it be confusing if you were raised knowing it? And it’s not like it’s going to be a regular topic at the dinner table, or anywhere else, for that matter. Thomas Beatie looks like a man, and will probably look even more like a man in the years to come. It will most likely be a non-issue.

  27. denise says:

    @ Kolby

    It’s odd, plain and simple. It would most definitely be awkward when the kids realize that their the only ones who were conceived in this manner. I’m sure they are loved and cared for properly, and that the parents are well intentioned.
    But what makes it more weird is that “thomas” wants to be seen as a man, but is clearly woman who gives natural birth.
    Yes Thomas gives the ILLUSION of a man , but is not living the lie.

  28. Iggles says:

    SammyHamm – Well, bottom surgery for male to female trans is lightyears ahead of the genital surgery for female to male surgery. I won’t go into detail here, but google it and you’ll see what I mean (not for faint of heart!).

    Bottom line, most transman do not undergo full transitions because the technology isn’t there yet. I have no problem with folks like Thomas identifying as a man. They may not be biological men, but their gender is male.

    For those of use whose biological sex is in alignment with our gender, we don’t realize how much of a privilege that is. Not every one is so lucky. While transgender folks have developed physically as the opposite gender, the number of intersex births are way more common than we realize. I heard that there are way more intersex people born than women who are over 5’10 tall. (Crazy right?). So not everyone fits so neatly into a box.

  29. Rin says:

    I understand that power of the mind and allowing people to believe in themselves and “be” whatever they want to be. If you want to live as a man or woman…more power to you.

    However, transgender surgery is cosmetic surgery. Until such time as doctors can make them sexually reproductive organs they are not truly becoming another gender through gender reassignment surgery.

    Take for example, the man who stopped taking his pills in Oz. He now has a beard, breasts and regrets.

    I am not entirely certain that the surgery is a good thing. Why not allow people to feel comfortable in the body they have. Why can’t you be a female that identifies with being male? What is male? What is female?

    I would love to look like Angelina Jolie circa 2003 but all the plastic surgery in the world won’t make me her. Instead of making people believe that surgery is the answer we ought to be telling them they are beautiful and unique just as they are.

    It is societal pressures which makes them feel they must change in order to be real.

  30. weslyn says:

    i have to agree with ellie (and yes, i read the story, background, etc.)..i wonder was the option to adopt/have a surroggate like other couples who can’t have children brought up…and as androgynous as we try to raise our children, we always end up asserting and identifying gender roles, so i’m going to guess it will be confusing for the kids and unfortunately, they will probably have to deal with ridicule and bizarre looks b/c everyone knows their story

  31. meme says:

    I wouldn’t think of raising my children as androgynous. Girls are girls and boy are boys. How boring if we all felt the same. And I don’t of any man who wants to see his toddler son in a dress.

  32. xxodettexx says:

    “How about none of the above? Make yourself happy, make your partner happy, have a happy family, don’t give a rat’s ass about what your neighbor or anyone else thinks?”

    @snowball, ITA! i would LOVE to see a world that accepting and loving in my lifetime, but that seems an impossibility

  33. canadianchick says:

    Congrats to their family! The transphobic comments on here are lame, but you’ve a right to your opinion.

  34. denise says:

    I agree Meme.
    I don’t raise my kids androgynous, I dont’ know anyone who does. Life is confusing enough.

  35. Sassy says:

    Jesus. What a lot of hate and ignorance in some of the comments.

    I say congrats to the family and my guess is, those children will be very well adjusted and certainly not think their lives are “weird.” Families come in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders – whatever. This family seems loving and open and I wish them well.

  36. CB Rawks says:

    “Girls are girls and boy are boys.”

    @Meme
    Regardless of how THEY feel about it, right?
    Because it’s actually their feelings about themselves that matter, not your feelings. And it’s absolutely NOT your place to tell them who they are.
    Yuk. I just pity any child born to rigid, insensitive, uncaring parents, who would try to snatch their Barbie doll away and try to glue a baseball mitt to their hand.

  37. lolo says:

    Aww wonderful (: congratulations!!

  38. original kate says:

    why do i smell a reality show coming?

  39. TheSerenityGarden says:

    Congratulations to Thomas and Nancy for the birth of their 3rd beautiful child. It is really great to see how happy and fulfilled they seem to be even though a lot of the world keeps putting them down.

    @Des Thank you for adding the additional information that I know many people are not a where of. I am sure that if Nancy had not had to have had a hysterectomy at a young age she probably would have had their babies and Thomas would have been able to continue his complete transition to male sooner. I Am sure that it was very difficult for Nancy to come to grips with the fact she would be unable to give birth when she had to have her hysterectomy. I was really pleased she was able to breast feed the babies.

    When I was 36 my Dr’s finally realized I had acute endometriosis plus cancer of the cervix and had to have a hysterectomy plus my ovaries removed. I was so thankful that I had already had given birth to both of my daughters.

    @RHONYC Lol Yes Thank You God I just choked on my coffee!

    What a joyous time for both of them to be able to share in creating the family they want. Blessings to the 5 of them.

  40. Adrienne says:

    I can understand that it’s hard for some people to accept the choices that this couple has made. But the point is, they’re not asking for your approval. This, in their minds, was the best way to make their family complete.

    It’s so easy to say, “just get the surgery and become a ‘man.'” But do you really know how much money, time, therapy, and effort goes into that process? It’s far from easy, and it is so unfortunate that not only do the transgendered have to undergo all that, but have people be so hostile towards them out of simple ignorance.

    I know it’s not easy for people to open their minds to alternate lifestyles (look how long it’s taken for homosexuality to become socially acceptable). But the first step is just to choose not to judge, not to outwardly hate. Have your own opinions, sure, but don’t bring negativity of any kind out into the world.

    And by the way, is anyone saying that Nancy, because she does not have a uterus, is NOT a woman? NO. So why is Thomas not a man if he doesn’t have male sexual organs?

  41. denise says:

    So why is Thomas not a man if he doesn’t have male sexual organs?

    Because that’s what makes you male. When Thomas pulls down her underpants, she has a vagina like you and me. Just because she appears a man, does’nt make her one.

  42. GatsbyGal says:

    Wow, so much ignorance and backwards thinking on the boards today. I pity your children, truly.

    This is why transgendered people are still ridiculed, harassed, and beaten – because people like y’all think being transgendered is sick and wrong and refuse to try to understand, and your kids learn that from you and then take that mentality out into the world. And then we have a brand new generation of bigots. Congrats, assholes.

  43. Kolby says:

    Like I said before, sex and gender are actually two separate things. So what makes someone “male” does not also make that person a “man.”

  44. denise says:

    Why would raising a girl as a girl and a boy as a boy be uncaring? As a parent, my kids have no problem with their natural born genders. I hope it does’nt become an issue for them. But as for now, it’s not. May God always guide them in their lives, and may He remain the influence of all they do.
    Now with saying that,
    Everyone has the freedom to be who they are, it’s called free will. We humans were made with free will by our Creator. It’s all about choice. As for me, I’ll choose to be what God made me and so will my kids.
    All that really matters in the end, is that those kids are loved and treated well.

  45. serena says:

    Oh come one.. You’re not a man until you change your genital organs too. That’s just biologic!
    I’m happy for them through.

  46. meme says:

    @CB Rawks – Nothing I wrote suggested I wouldn’t let a little boy play with a doll or a little girl play baseball. Your comment is ill-informed and based on NOTHING I wrote. I pity any child born to parents who will let them do whatever whenever they please. Those children become Lindsay Lohan.

  47. denise says:

    To those saying that not having a penis still makes you a man, I ask you to look at it this way.

    What if you were on a date with Thomas, who you think is man. Things go extra well on the date and you end up going back to your place for some sexy times. And when Thomas pulls down her pants, she has a puss! Would you still think she is a man then?

  48. hzl says:

    First off, congratulations to the happy parents. The family is lovely and I wish them the best.

    But, I just don’t understand why someone would need to become male, or female, aside from having a legally recognized marriage. Dress however you want, cut your hair however, take whatever job/role you want, date whomever you want. This isn’t the 19th century, when women had to dress as men to go to medical school or be soldiers. For people who are transcending gender, they sure seem to be giving it a lot of credence — I can only be happy if strangers recognize me as part of the socially defined category of “male”. Who cares? Family and friends see you as “you” not a gender.

    By the way, I do have a very dear friend who is currently transitioning from butch lesbian to male. This person is insisting that we think of him as only ever being “him”, to the point that we are supposed to think of him as male in the past. This is especially odd, since I met this person while we were attending a women’s college.

  49. Anna says:

    You lost me the second time. If Tom had not undergone surgery, but lived as a woman having children with her partner; this would never have been newsworthy. That means no TV, no magazine articles and most importantly no payday for doing either.

  50. Patrice says:

    Wow, for someone who claims to have been born a man (in a woman’s body) “he” sure gets knocked up a lot!

  51. GatsbyGal says:

    @Denise: “We humans were made with free will by our Creator. It’s all about choice. As for me, I’ll choose to be what God made me and so will my kids.”

    …I don’t even know where to start. This is one of the most ignorant things I’ve ever read.

    edit: And your comments just get worse and worse. Wow.

  52. heb says:

    wow, how many kids are they gonna have? (more power to them but are they the new transgender Duggars? lol)

  53. denise says:

    @ Gatsby

    What is so ignorant about being comfortable in who and what I am? I think you are the bigoted ignorant one here. Piss off.

  54. Tess says:

    Let’s be tolerant.

    Some people will accept that Beatie is a man. And some people won’t. But you can’t preach tolerance then haul out the thought police when somebody disagrees with you.

    Methinks DNA trumps all. Beatie is a woman. She wants to live as a man.
    I have no idea how this will affect her children.

    But I have no desire to force her to live as a woman. “Live and let live” says I.

  55. denise says:

    @ Tess

    Agreed.

    lol@ the thought police comment.

    edited to add: as so do your comments Gatsby.

  56. cantbelievethis says:

    I don’t understand why this is news. This is not a man having a baby, that would be great news b/c I’d love to see hubby going through pregnancy and labor:)

    If Thomas identifies with being a man then more power to him, but still isn’t an anatomically correct male having a baby.

    On a funny note a friend saw one of these headlines and got so excited b/c she thought a man (born a man) had gotten pregnant, LOL.

  57. GatsbyGal says:

    @Denise – Very Christian of you. But you’re missing my point.

    It’s easy for you to say “I choose to be what God made me” because really, for you, it’s not a choice. You feel comfortable in your own skin. You have no problem being what God made you, because you feel like that is exactly who you are.

    Your wording though…you’re making it sound like if someone chooses to be something they were not at birth, it’s against God’s will. If God made someone a woman, you think they should choose to be a woman. If God made someone a man, you think they should choose to be a man. Not everyone is like you and feels comfortable in the body they were given. Would it kill you to try and understand where these folks are coming from? The whole “you have to have a penis to be considered a man” mentality is outdated and not very respectful.

  58. Leticia says:

    @Denise & Tess, I agree.

  59. texasmom says:

    There’s a lotta “YOU aren’t who YOU say you are unless you meet MY rules” going on about this. I figure, live and let live. It’s their family, not yours or mine.

    This reminds me of a deeply Christian man I know telling me how most self-described Christians aren’t truly Christian. . . because they aren’t at his church, believing exactly what he believes, etc.

  60. meme says:

    “The whole “you have to have a penis to be considered a man” mentality is outdated and not very respectful.”

    Outdated and not very respectful? Some of you have lost your minds.

    Update: I want my men to have penises and I don’t want any surprises when the pants come off.

  61. GatsbyGal says:

    Ha, look who’s talking, meme.

  62. émer says:

    I have nothing against trangender people, but them having children is really confusing (as much for the common people as for their own children!).

  63. émer says:

    What I don’t get at all is how he/she/whatever wants to be a man so much, but yet gets pregnant three times in such a short time…
    Very weird actually.

  64. denise says:

    @ Gatsby

    You attacked me because I don’t believe what you believe in, and to me that was bigoted. I have never had a problem with my identity and I feel for anyone who has, because life is hard enough. But they are given their own minds and free will to live life as they please, regardless of what anyone else believes. Not everyone is going to agree with their lifestyle and that comes with the territory.
    What I don’t like about your method, is the way you make me out to be ignorant because I don’t agree with your view on the topic. Why cant you see that not everyone has the same opinions on this matter, and live and let live. And furthermore to state that you feel pity for my kids was the most ignorant thing said here, and that came from you. My kids are adored, by me and their dad. I live for my children, so no pity is needed.

  65. Just a Poster says:

    Okay, this is purely written IMO format here..

    I couldn’t imagine the struggles of someone who is transgender (excluding cross dressers exc) Hell I can barely keep my own hormones in check! Seriously it is mind boggling the obsticals they must overcome both physically and emotionally.
    Life is hard enough when you are born “normal” (for lack of a better word)

    What bothers me, is that the whole pregnant man thing makes gives this such a circus vibe. And really throws such a negative light real people who are going through the transgender process.

    If a person wants to live their life as a different sex, fine, be and let be, but to do so and then claim the whole pregnant man status.. um no. You cannot have it both ways.

    As far as their children, I hope they are loved and nurtured and have two loving parents. And I wish the best for them (as I do any child being born)

    anywho JMHO on this.

  66. meme says:

    @GatsbyGal – May your next BF have a vagina.

  67. annie says:

    Denise, I applaud you, you too Meme!

  68. Westcoaster says:

    If a child can grow up in a home with loving parents ,does it really matter what gender the parents are(or used to be)?

  69. KellyB says:

    i majored in women and gender studies, and spent MANY, MANY hours discussing transgender persons, intersex persons, cross dressers, gay men, lesbian women, queer people and…i could go on forever.

    what some people on this thread don’t realize or know (and i didn’t either until i took the time to learn) is that people who feel their bodies match their brains (ie i feel like a girl and i have a vagina/uterus) are called cisgendered people. it is very VERY hard to understand the plight of people who do not see their bodies as matching their inner selves. the mental and physical struggles for these people are unlike anything a cisgendered person can really know.

    now, i’m sure many of you identify as women, men, straight, gay, queer, single, married, divorced, widowed, etc, and prefer to be seen and refered to as such. now imagine you fight a struggle every day to be accepted and seen the way you see yourself, but other people REFUSE to do this. how would that make you feel? terrible, is the acceptable answer here, people.

    also, as many well-informed posters pointed out, sticking to a gender binary (M and F only) is very cumbersome, especially when babies are born everyday with ambiguous genitalia. and furthermore, the lines of gender are blurred everyday because much of what we do as a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’ is PERFORMED. everyday, we perform our genders by putting on (for example) a dress, makeup and doing one’s hair. this is not integral to being a woman, as many men do this everyday (very masculine men, who you may never suspect wear makeup or spend 20 minutes on their hair.

    whether or not thomas is what one person would call a man or another would call a woman, thomas is happy living as a man. he did not complete his full transitional surgery, and as a poster pointed out, put fulfilling his dream to live as a man (surgically) ON HOLD to be able to fulfill something his wife could no longer do. it is truly a wonderful story about love and family.

    for those of you who say it’s gross or wrong or the kids will grow up confused, it’s because of people like you. these kids are going to be very loved and raised in a household where their parents are the norm. the friends of the parents are also going to be accepting (why would you let someone in your house who didn’t accept you or your lifestyle?) and i’m sure other kids they meet might be unsure, and may bully them (like any ki8ds get bullied). but a lot of the time, the kids bully because it’s ideas or things they’ve heard from their parents. try to be a little more accepting in life, it doesn’t do you any good to be close minded or rude. and when you say ‘i dont care if this person identifies as such and such, I SAY THEY ARE *insert insensitive comment here*, you’re just perpetuating bigotry. i’m sure many of you abhor racism and homophobia, and i am with you on that, but i also abhor transphobia. educate yourselves, please, before you offend any more people than you already have.

  70. Weekends Off says:

    I don’t care one bit if they are transgender it doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t care if they have children, raise them and be happy. Good luck.

    However, a man born a man could never ever give birth to a child and so treating this as some miracle pregnancy is really just stupid. A person with functioning female reproductive organs gave birth just like many have before.

  71. canadianchick says:

    @denise, I usually enjoy your comments and recently saw you write on a Chelsea Clinton thread that your avatar is of 2 trans people. Did I read that wrong? If so, I find your comments this thread confusing.

  72. GatsbyGal says:

    @KellyB – Excellent, excellent post. I wish I were as educated as you so I could have stated my point as well as you have. Bravo, I say. Best post in the whole damn thread.

  73. denise says:

    @ Canadian chic

    Hi.
    One of the posters on the Chelsea thread assumed that I was one of the guys in my grav. So I named my two trannies after the two mean, nasty, posters that kept bugging me on that thread. They are not me, lol.
    🙂

    This avatar has been with me for a long time, It’s kinda hard letting them go.

  74. Veronica says:

    Ok, I don’t agree with it but I can accept the argument that someone can be one gender while having the sex organs of the other. However, surely if you identify with one gender you will live your life as that gender– getting pregnant and giving birth is NOT living life as a man. All the mustaches in the world don’t make you a man (luckily for my hairy mediterranean mother-in-law!).

  75. bethany says:

    who cares what he identifies as!!???
    they are obviously loving caring parents. there should be more people/parents like them in the world.

  76. dragonlady sakura says:

    Lucky them. They have three, beautiful and healthy children, yet some want to just argue about is she a “man” or not. Who the hell cares?! I don’t, but a lot of you seem to care a helluva lot about people you don’t even know. You’re not raising these children, so MYOB!

  77. daisyfly says:

    the only thing I care about is that they love and care for their kids.

  78. javagirl1 says:

    I actually gotta agree with Denise here….this is a little disturbing. I’m sure these people are better parents than a lot of parents in America. But I can’t seem to wrap my head around it, when I’m usually so open minded about everything else. I’m a bartender in a brothel, and threw a gay wedding for my brother in law last fall. But this pregnant man stuff is just weird…

  79. belle Epoch says:

    The biological mother of these children is also their father.

    Who is the biological father of the children? Do they all have the same father?

    Nancy, a bodybuilder, was married to a man and had two daughters, then had a hysterectomy because of endometriosis. So she has experienced childbirth, but not with Thomas.

    On the Oprah interview, Nancy came across as the more aggressive partner, while Thomas seemed passive and I thought naive.

    Does anyone know if Thomas plans to complete his gender reassignment surgery?

  80. Andrea-2 says:

    I’m just wondering if Thomas will get Mother or Father’s Day cards?

  81. Emily says:

    “When Thomas pulls down her underpants, she has a vagina like you and me. Just because she appears a man, does’nt make her one.”
    But a vagina makes him APPEAR to be female-doesn’t mean he is! I find your logic to be, well, flawed.

    I say congrats to this couple on their cute and healthy kids. They obviously love each other and their kids, and that’s what matters most. I just hope that all the hormones Thomas must be taking to be able to conceive don’t mess him up health-wise.

  82. Missfit says:

    Only if it were that simple, two lesbians can actually have each other’s biological baby. If I were with a woman, it would make me so happy to carry her baby inside of me or vise versa, also with men, if I was a guy, I’d want my man’s baby inside of me too. Unfortunately it can’t be like that. :/ Thanks to now in days adoption IS available and atleast two women can still have a baby, even if one gets pg by insemination, but guys can’t do it like that. All that matters is that the couple is happy and even if the decision is adoption…just falling in love with that baby, it’s your baby no matter what. 😉 There are men and women couples in real life who can’t have children and they have to use a surrogate mother. Yet, there are some teens getting knocked up left and right who can’t even take care of their child right or some dump them like garbage to die. I can imagine not all teens are like that, but most are…heck, even some grown adults can’t take care of their kids right. Some are killing their own children as if it were a trend and “just because they didn’t want them anymore.” And it’s sad when there is someone who really is trying to conceive and can’t. Medicine now in days is really helpful for those who truly want to be parents and can’t. These two look truly happy, so that’s good, congrats to them.

  83. ding says:

    it’s a chick with a mustache who had her boobs chopped off with plastic surgery.
    biologically she is a woman, not a “he”.

    they look happy.

  84. nolanative says:

    Not trying to be mean or cruel but the fact still remains that biologically, he isn’t a man. So agree with the very 1st posted comment. I do believe that they can raise their children to be healthy well-adjusted beings but its gonna take a lot of work; the fact that “dad” is your biological mom and “dad” is little hard to grasp.
    And @dragonlady, sorry luv but they make it our business when they chose to put it out there. Those appearances on Oprah and peddling of their story on mag covers give us all carte blanche to critique.

  85. Lara Weglage says:

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  86. Bonkplatz says:

    Sounds like the perfect husband to me!