# Is it okay to encourage a child who chooses to be transexual? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 19, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021 "2009-05-19T22:55:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021/381 "2009-05-28T13:34:50Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Quell](#): > > Let’s say a transsexual did touch the hem of Jesus’ robe… would this person be “cured” of their transsexualism? If so, would their brain be changed to match their body or vice-versa? As others have said, generally we tend to consider the mind the seat of identity, rather than the body. Think of it in terms of your own self; if you woke up one morning in a body of the wrong gender, or woke up with the distinct belief that your actual body was the wrong gender, which would be the more “you”? > [@](#): > > This makes me wonder… what would a transsexual rather change? If a transsexual man (a person with the mind of a female but the body of a male) had the choice between a perfectly normal functioning female body or a male mind to match their male body, which would they want? I’d imagine it probably differs between people. I suspect you’d probably have a good few takers for both options, but with a considerable majority in favour of the body-changing. I can’t speak for this specific problem, but in general i’d be extremely wary of something that altered my mind, much more so than something which altered my body. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021/382 "2009-05-28T16:31:10Z")
> [@techno](#): > > Since it appears to not be obvious, the answer is to change the body to match the mind. The mind holds one’s identity. The body is a shell. “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” -Yoda 😛 ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021/383 "2009-05-28T17:49:14Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Quell](#): > > This makes me wonder… what would a transsexual rather change? If a transsexual man (a person with the mind of a female but the body of a male) had the choice between a perfectly normal functioning female body or a male mind to match their male body, which would they want? Just a note to help you make this and future discussions easier: a transsexual man is someone who was considered female at birth. A transsexual woman would have been considered male at birth. You’re using the accepted terminology backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021/384 "2009-05-29T02:42:53Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Quell](#): > > People can hurl insults at me all day, call me the most offensive things they can think of, make fun of my crooked teeth… whatever… and I’d just laugh with them. They could even make fun of my family, friends, children… whatever! Whatever you could think of to offend me would not offend me. I don’t know why but I just don’t get offended… and this is the only thing about me that I think “If all people were like me and didn’t get offended”, then yes, the world would be a much better place. > > …anyway… that’s way off topic. You get offended by me and others MANY times: Post #328 of this thread from **Lacunae:** “WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY IS THIS RETARDED LITTLE 8 YEAR OLD THOUGHT OF AS NORMAL AND PEOPLE ARE ALLOWING HIM TO THINK HE’S A GIRL WHEN HE IS NOT A GIRL, BUT THIS 13 YEAR OLD AND HIS FAMILY ARE GETTING IN TROUBLE BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO TREAT HIS CANCER A CERTAIN WAY!!! YOU PEOPLE ARE SICK AND IGNORANT…” Ooof, the overuse of exclamation points and caps tell me you’re nothing but offended here… Just some dental questions, since you invited, were braces considered unnecessary by your parents? Is it a form of plastic surgery you consider unnecessary? _“You’re never fully dressed without a smile…”_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-okay-to-encourage-a-child-who-chooses-to-be-transexual/497021.md?page=19)