Trans Universe

By Monica F. Helms

First of all, I have to say up front that I am not a fan of Dr. Phil. Never have been. He comes off as being a pompous, arrogant know-it-all most of the time. Yet, on January 14, 2009, he impressed me on how well he presented his show called, “Little Boy Lost,” a sequel to the show he had called, “Gender Confused Kids,” which aired October 24, 2008. From all of what I read and heard, that first show was not taken very well by the transgender community. This new show quickly made up for that.

On this show, Dr. Phil had Glenn Stanton, researcher for Focus on the Family and psychologist Dr. Joseph Nicolosi from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH,) both saying it’s the parent’s job to guide their child away from what they call a “phase.” On the other side of the debate was psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel and psychotherapist/sexologist Dr. Michele Angello, a good friend of mine. They say children are born this way and parents should support their children in their decision to transition to the opposite sex.

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By Monica F. Helms

Also read the same article at: Project Q Atlanta.

After reading “Gay Atlanta City Council candidate apologizes for anti-trans comments,” I have to say that Charlie Stadtlander’s apology on how he characterized transgender people back in 2005 and 2006 is weak at best. Consider what he wrote just little more than two years ago:

“It would be a simple task to banter with the liberal and often times irresponsible gay rights movement, as to why events such as drag shows greatly harm the gay and lesbian community and set our cause back immensely.”

In two years, how much can Stadtlander deviate from his past ramblings? It makes it difficult for a transgender person to accept his apology. Consider this outtake from his 2006 newspaper commentary:  (Read quote after the break.)

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