The Dad who gave Birth 'Seahorse' Documentary

[OtepotiLilliane42]

McConnell, 32, started taking testosterone at 25 and had “top surgery” to remove breast tissue a year later. He considered a hysterectomy, but never went through with it – partly because he had not ruled out the possibility of having children. In the film, we see how discombobulated McConnell becomes when he stops taking testosterone as he tries to conceive, using a sperm donor, and his body, in effect, goes into reverse. He starts having periods again (“I don’t like the idea that I’ve got tampons in my bag,” he winces); his facial hair gets wispier, his hips broaden, his tummy softens and he starts to speak less from his chest and more from his throat. “Every time I think about it, I think, ‘What the fuck am I doing?’” he says. At one point, a tearful McConnell sobs into the camera in the middle of the night: “I feel like a fucking alien.

Throughout, he is encouraged by his mother, Esme, who tells him: “I loved being pregnant. Everybody should experience it – especially men.” McConnell tells me she used to say this to him when he was a child, long before she had any idea that her son was trans. On screen, his mother supports him with a mixture of tender loving care and the odd no-nonsense kick up the arse. Occasionally, when he’s feeling sorry for himself, she loses patience: “Why are you making such a fuss? It’s what you wanted.” Then she relents. “But, actually, it’s not as simple as that. It’s such a brave and amazing thing to do. I’m in awe of him, basically

This such a dishonest piece of reporting - Freddy may be a transman, but he is not the father of his baby, and shouldn't be reported as such, any more than the other transmen who have given birth over the past few years. I could say more, but it honestly it gets really tedious reading stories like this. (And 'brave and amazing - why? There seem to be so many psychological issues here, yet we are expected to view it all as the new norm.) The Guardian really should stop writing such drivel.

www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/20/the-dad-who-gave-birth-pregnant-trans-freddy-mcconnell

I read some of the article. I saw a observation (on here maybe?) that the only time transmen make headlines is when they give birth.

I read some of the article. I saw a observation (on here maybe?) that the only time transmen make headlines is when they give birth.

Yep, it was on here that someone said that transwomen make headlines for achievements in entertainment, business, the arts, politics, the military, journalism etc etc. Transmen make headlines for having babies.

I honestly despair at how unscientific this all is. Our pelvis does not magically become narrower when we take testosterone and then widens again when we stop. Chest voice vs throat voice - once we have learned to use the chest cavity for resonance, we do not unlearn this. And testosterone lowers a woman's voice permanently, so if Freddy spoke differently, there's another dynamic in play here.

Guardian journalist writes sympathetic/promotional article about Guardian journalist who made a film in association with the Guardian

(extract)
"You might expect McConnell to be an extrovert; an exhibitionist, even. In fact, the Guardian multimedia journalist is reserved and private in a rather old-fashioned, stiff-upper-lip English way."

Seahorse, made in association with the Guardian, debuts at the Tribeca film festival on 27 April. It will screen on the BBC Storyville strand later this year."

Even before I opened this thread, I knew what it was going to be about.
How can "journalists" and media outlets be so far down the rabbit hole known as - delusion?

And I wish they had said this person had a full and unnecessary mastectomy, and couldn't feed their baby.

I feel so betrayed. This is my paper get it every week. Just want to put it in the bin. What fucking garbage

God I am sick of the Guardian. A man cannot give birth. They stopped taking hormones and their periods started. How is that being male? Can they not see how tenuous their transition is? It really does all come down to the feelz in the end.

Seahorses need a female and a male to make babies, just like humans do.
The eggs always come from the female.

Freddy is a transman, so has a female body. Freddy’s own egg made Freddy’s baby.

‘Female human gives birth’ is a more accurate headline, albeit not a very interesting one.

A woman give birth. Not a man.

I feel so betrayed. This is my paper get it every week. Just want to put it in the bin. What fucking garbage

I was a regular Guardian reader for 25+ years
I cancelled my subscription last year & phoned to tell them why.
The woman I spoke to said they had received a number of very similar complaints/explanations & recorded my statement to ensure it was lodged.

"Seahorse" FFS. Male seahorses produce sperm. Freddy produced an egg and got pregnant. Freddy is female.

It's awful that Freddy's child won't be able to call Freddy its mother.

It really is The Guardian just creating its own story about its own staff.This morning I got as far as Rowantrees' quote and couldn't continue.

I am still negotiating a switch to The Times.

"You might expect McConnell to be an extrovert; an exhibitionist, even. In fact, the Guardian multimedia journalist is reserved and private in a rather old-fashioned, stiff-upper-lip English way."

The voice thing is an affectation. Testosterone doesn’t make you speak from the throat, and it rarely sounds like a woman’s voice either. It sounds like a camp male nurse talking down to the elderly.

Why "Seahorse" ? Did this adult human female deposit h** eggs into an adult male, who then carried them until the offspring emerged when fully developed? Because that's what seahorses do. I don't think the females seahorse take doses of testosterone high enough to incapacitate their own reproductive organs, then attempt detox in order to release eggs, gestate and birth their young.

I wonder if there are 'trans guys' who are sick of only being promoted for having babies or doing porn. Maybe a collective movement to liberate them from being exploited by XYs, propagandaists and red-tops , for their female biology?

Biological female gives birth. Along with several 100 million each year. Why is it even a story?

This is why I stopped reading the bloody Guardian. Vote with your feet people.

Person with womb has a baby.
It's almost painful to read.

Guardian is now Ripley's 'Believe it or not' magazine.

So they had a mastectomy - but not hysterectomy or penis construction. Well duh, stop taking the male hormones and nature will just do what it does to deserted building ruins - take over.

Not if they had had a hysterectomy and man made penis then I may be slightly amazed.

Dog bites man
Man bites dog
Woman has baby.

Some opponents of the proposed changes have argued this would increase the chances of men pretending to transition in order to access “women-only” spaces, such as prisons or refuges. Conversely, trans equality campaigners point to the fact that, while emotive, there is little evidence for this risk; service providers have argued that longstanding safeguarding measures are in place to keep all vulnerable women safe.

This part is written, to give the benefit of the doubt, as trying to be balanced, to project both sides of the argument. It fails because of the simple fact that it fails to acknowledge things that have actually happened.

How long are people going to try and get away with using the words “myth” and “theoretical” risks to women when people like Karen White, Katie Dolatowksi, JY etc exist? It’s not a case of “if”, it’s a case of how many women assaulted you deem tolerable.

*SPOILER ALERT**
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Seahorses are not actually horses
🌊🐴

yes, that was the worst part of the whole article I thought
the rest just made me feel very sad- here is a woman who has mutilated her own body and yet still had a baby, albeit she can't feed it
very sad

Oh god, reading this, I’d be concerned about Freddy’s ability to cope with a new baby, then toddler and small child. Not because of being trans but because of the astonishing levels of self obsession revealed.

Motherhood does lead to a great extent to the loss of the self, for us all, given the need to put a completely helpless and dependent person first. For a person who is hugely invested in maintaining a particular image of themselves to the outside world, and themself, this is likely to be very problematic.

I’d also be concerned that weeping that you feel like an alien, in pregnancy, is a sign of mental health problems ( and I speak as someone who suffered from body dysmorphia for years). And this sort of problem can be dealt with only if recognised for what it is.

I don’t think Freddy’s mother has been at all helpful in encouraging this.