Jezebel: sex changes

The small town of Trinidad, Colorado has...

Maria — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:40:00 EDT

The small town of Trinidad, Colorado has been deemed the sex-change capital of the United States, thanks to one transgender doctor's private practice and the Rocky Mountain town's tolerant community. In 2003, Dr. Marci Bowers (formerly Mark Bowers) took over the nation's first private practice for gender reassignment (commonly known as a sex-change) in Trinidad and became an important part of the economic stimulus of the small mountain community, which is visited by some 300 people a year looking for surgical reassignment. For the most part, the town has been welcoming of the business that Dr. Bowers' private practice brings to the town and some townspeople are even proud of their sex-changing doctor. Isn't it nice to see a community so tolerant of other people's lifestyle choices? That's one "small town value" we'd like to see certain politicians adopt. [CBS]

Is Surviving A Sex Change The True Sign Of A Good Marriage? Or Just Insane?

Moe — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Yesterday the New York Times ran a story about one of those married couples that stays together after the husband gets a sex change. I'm not sure how many married couples like that there are; it's one of those things that I feel like I'm hearing about all the time, but it could be the same married couple I saw on Oprah, but they're journalistically important because of of their legal implications — their rights and legal statuses differ from state to state, and there are all sorts of ways they can be discriminated against, not that most people are that concerned about transsexual same-sex married couples losing their spousal rights when they cross state lines when it's still okay for cops to shoot unarmed black men, because the real reason you want to read about these people is that they stayed together. Through a sex change. Their marriage survived. A sex change. All the same qualities that attracted them are still there, they claim. Just now they go bra-shopping together!

And he's developed a taste for manicotti.

The transition has changed Denise in unexpected ways. "My entire sensory palate — smells, colors, foods — everything is different," she said. "There are foods I hated that I love now." (Ricotta.) "She cries more easily," Fran said. "We're always like, 'Oh, God, she's crying again.' We're always getting a tissue."

But seriously, clearly there is a lot of love and compassion and openness and sacrifice and empathy and emotional dependence here, and clearly a marriage means something different when you're fifty and have three kids with a person than when you're in your twenties and trying to imagine having one kid with a person, but is this just kind of insane? Or is it the best thing ever?

Through Sickness, Health And Sex Change [NY Times]

Shrinking Violets Have Shrinking Life-Spans

amparry — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:30:00 EDT

A new study indicates that women who keep quiet during marital disputes have an increased risk of dying from heart disease compared to women who speak their minds. Oh Katie, you're so doomed. [LA Times]
Thinking about getting pregnant? Want a baby girl? Get stressed. Want a baby boy? Get fat. [DailyMail, ScienceDaily]
Nearly 96% of all women and girls in Egypt are subjected to some form genital mutilation. Though the country's Health Ministry outlawed the practice over a decade ago, they created a massive loophole for "emergencies". [NY Times]
Cervarix, HPV vaccine alternative to Gardasil, has been approved for sale across the European Union. Hopefully the US will be next, as Cervarix is available for women above the age of 27, unlike Gardasil. [Wall Street Journal]

We didn't realize stuffing ourselves with burgers, beer, and mac 'n' cheese on the weekends and then fasting during the work week had a name but apparently "Alternate-Day Fasting" is a major diet trend. [Science Daily]
We knew it — Britney sucks as a mom because she lacks the super important Mommy Gene. Too bad she also lacks the "Smart Enough to Wear a Condom" gene too. [Science Daily]
So, if you don't drink much milk, your chances of getting osteoporosis (i.e. brittle bones) greatly increases. However, if you're not a milk drinker, you're probably also a bit of a fatty, which also protects you against bone loss? [Reuters]