Jeff Jacoby’s opinion piece in the today’s Boston Globe, Pregnant, yes – but not a man exemplifies the writing of someone that qualifies as “an inconsiderate moron”. Jacoby writes about the contested pregnancy of Thomas Beatie, the guy who has been all over every news media outlet for weeks, sporting a beard and a baby bump.
The cutting teaser from the front page was intriguing, but unfortunately Jacoby’s article is sorely lacking in the areas of clarity and purpose. He uses the Globe as a forum instead to bash transgendered people, feminists, and “others at the cultural extreme”, whatever that means.
After discussing this piece with my roommate, I have narrowed down my major grievances to two. First, Jacoby seriously misunderstands Gender Identity Disorder and the intense and involved process of changing one’s gender.
Jacoby writes,
“But it takes more than a mastectomy and hormone treatments to overturn biology. Thomas may be a man in the eyes of the law, but she remains physically a woman, with a woman’s reproductive system, a woman’s genitals, and a woman’s chromosomes.”
He’s brief and dismissive of the years of therapy, testosterone injections, and mastectomy Thomas had to endure, not to mention the time, money and lengthy legal procedures required to become a man in the eyes of the state. It’s not like Thomas woke up one morning, and thought, “Gee, I feel like a man! Today seems like a great day to begin a life-altering, society-alienating, emotionally and financially draining process… because I think I would look better with a goatee and some mutton chops.”
Also, the phrase “overturn biology” shows Jacoby’s inexperience with the transgender lexicon. The point is not to spite God. Maybe if Jacoby exercised a little empathy and sat down with Thomas for a beer (because that’s what men drink), he wouldn’t come across as such an ignorant jackass.
My second grievance is with the two recent news stories Jacoby includes as some kind of evidence for “taboos and moral standards.” Jacoby mentions a story about incest and another about polygamy and possible statutory rape. What does any of that have to do with Thomas being pregnant? How does incest and polygamy relate to transgender issues? IT DOESN’T.
Jacoby has confused SEX issues with GENDER issues. Yes, there are cultural taboos against incest and polygamy. No one is refuting that, least of all Thomas. But more importantly, incest and polygamy are not even issues in Thomas’ case!
For some reason, Jacoby finds it appropriate to lump Thomas in with perverts and criminals, and then insults transgender activists.
He writes:
“Increasingly, though, anyone who upholds those taboos and standards is denounced as a narrow-minded bigot, while those who defy them are celebrated for their nonjudgmentalism and tolerance.”
No one is applauding the incest! No one is defending the polygamists! That behavior is recognized as criminal. What is NOT criminal is identifying as a man but choosing to keep the female equipment. A penis makes a person male, but it does not necessarily make them a “man”. No one, especially an insensitive jerk like Jacoby, has the right to define how a man should live his life. A little gender-bending never hurt anyone anyway. It just pissed off, appalled and frustrated the hell out of a lot of “narrow-minded bigots”, as Jacoby says.
I think the moral of this story is, a little empathy goes a long way. Yes, this story has been sensationalized and has become a bastard form of the truth, but I don’t blame Thomas for that. He is not the one who ran headline after headline of “PREGNANT MAN”. If Jacoby wants to be mad at someone, I suggest he turn to the poor journalism, shoddy source checking, and profiteering of the editors and writers who chose to represent Thomas in that dim, freakish light that sells news so easily.
My advice to Jacoby is this: The next time you sit down to write a sarcastic, insensitive opinion article for a major newspaper, at least have the decency to do your homework on the subject to retain any semblance of journalistic integrity, instead of abusing the reader with ignorant whining.
Go ahead and tell him yourself jacoby@globe.com
I know I'm going to give Jeffy a shout-out.
