The Greatest Lie Part 4

The next morning I had an appointment with Professor Roger Finch, the faculty advisor for my Behaviors of Transgendered Sex Workers project. "Hmmph" he grunted, "sounds like an ambitious project for a freshman. Ever done any field work?"

"Not exactly, but I have some relevant experience. I think it’s a fascinating project, and one that hasn’t been done in the U.S."

"True enough, though others have tried. Problem with transsexuals is they always have a secret agenda. Most of the studies have been done in a clinical setting, and there the subjects tend to tell their therapists what they want to hear, to get the Operation’".

"That’s why I think new work needs to be done in the U.S., like Kulick’s work on the Brazilian Travesti." Finch looked surprised. "You’ve read Kulick?" "Of course," I said, "when I was in Sao Paolo last year I did some careful observation of travesti myself. A fascinating group, but seemingly distinguishable from the North American phenomenon."

Professor Finch was visibly astounded. My days in the library were paying off. "Perhaps," I hypothesized, "the North and South American transsexual phenomenon have been differentiated by an adherence to the Benjamin protocols here, as contrasted with the anarchic dissemination of hormones and silicone injections in the south."

"A fascinating hypothesis, and relevant, too, since anecdotal evidence suggests that we are seeing a breakdown of the Benjamin protocols as the paradigm here in the U.S. How is it that you have such in depth knowledge of transsexualism?"

"I have always been fascinated by the development of gender, and transsexualism best exemplifies the bifurcation of genetic sex and gender. I think it is the perfect departure point for studying the development of gender," said I, paraphrasing one of Professor Finch’s recent journal articles.