I’m come down more often on the side of nature. Here is a website about recent nueroscience research that show that men and women physically different brains. This suggests that gender identity is derived from what kind of brain one has. They also point out that “…gender differences are already apparent from just a few months after birth, when social influence is still small,” so nurture isn’t the cause of these difference.

I think agree with you, though. I don’t know what this person was expecting. She was working for an institution she knew wouldn’t except who she is. This sort of reminds me of another story ran on RF awhile back about the Jehovah’s Witness who knew she’d be unable to fulfill all the duties required of her by the job when she signed up.

In my internal debate, I think the libertarian in me has won. The private institution should be permitted to make such choices. Similarly, we, and others, are free to criticize their decision as closed-minded and/or bigoted.

I definitely agree that gender id isn’t binary. In my relationship with my wife I fill some of the “female” roles/tendencies and she fills some of the “male”. A shallow example of this is that I’m the sports widow.

And while transgenderism and homosexuality probably aren’t “choices”, ie they didn’t wake up one day and say I want to be “x” I don’t know that that should always exempt them from this sort of discrimination. Why would a homosexual or transgender person want to work where they weren’t wanted even if they could? And why should the gov’t force these organizations to employ them?

You’ve had some fantastic and challenging post recently. Please, keep them coming!

The point with the hermaphrodite was more to indicate that the shape of one’s body doesn’t always match with one’s mental gender identity, albeit somewhat artificial in the example I gave. In fact, the very existence of people with both/neither sets of sexual organs demonstrate that human sexuality isn’t as binary as we’d like it to be. Is it really out of the realm of possibility for a small minority of humans to be born with a male body and a ‘female brain’ or visa versa?

Anyway, I was only casting doubt on the belief that transgenderism is always a choice. Supposing, just for a moment, that it is not a choice, would that minority be worthy of protection from discrimination? My gut is saying ‘no’, but I cannot think of a rational justification for why not (my gut has been wrong before). Since I don’t think it’s always a choice, that reason does not suffice. Any other thoughts?

This is not a case of them being born in the wrong body, but rather a case of them being mutilated and that can have PROFOUND ill effects.

“that feeling that they are in the wrong body is a mental illness”

I wouldn’t go that far. Not too long ago it was said that being gay was a mental illness. Would you agree with that? Why or why not?

While there are no absolute requirements on any higher learning institution, there are requirements if that institution wants to be accredited in the US. Accreditation is required if degrees conferred by the schools are to be taken seriously by employers and other institutions.

Sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way it was not intentional.

Gasmonso> vBulletin is pretty nice, not sure about the hackproofiness of it though.

I wouldn’t be so quick to laugh at someone believing they are in the “wrong body”. It is exactly how some trans gendered individuals describe their predicament. Some were born as hermaphrodites and their parents decided that they will raise their child as a girl (and had him/her undergo surgery to MAKE them female). I know that it’s not the norm for trans gendered people, but it does lend some credibility to feeling of being in the ‘wrong body’.

Actually it sounds like they made the decision based on someone coming to work dressed as a woman. If the school is as fundie as |Tch0rT| says then this man knew that they wouldn’t be “understanding” or interested in “diversity” which leads me to think that as soon as he had a clue that he was in the “wrong body” (an idea I find a bit laughable) then he should have started looking for more liberal Christian institutions. I’ve no doubt that he’s find one or two that would practically beg him to come on so that they could show how liberal they were.