Oh the irony!

The Illinois Family Institute decided to weigh in on the rather bizarre situation in Illinois where those who have had sex reassignment surgery are allowed to change their birth certificates only if the surgery was performed in the United States, thus preventing those who go to place like Thailand or Canada that privilege. Here is a section from their article:

In the Jan. 28, 2009 edition of the Chicago Tribune, there is a story about the two sexual amputees who are suing the state over the refusal of the state to change the "gender" designation on their birthcertificates from "male" to "female." Several important points must be made. First, it's utterly reprehensible that anyone in the medical community would be complicit in facilitating a psychological disorder by amputating healthy body parts. There is a condition known as either apotemnophilia or Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) that is characterized by the desire to amputate a healthy limb. It is useful for comparison in that it is thought by many to be closely related to Gender Identity Disorder (i.e., transsexualism), which society is increasingly accepting as a valid identity that emerges from biological influences and whose behavioral manifestations are morally legitimate. Apotemnophiles, as they are referred to in some circles, identify with amputees and seek to align their bodies with their psychological identities through amputation of healthy body parts. Dr. Anne Lawrence explains the condition:

Desire for amputation of a healthy limb has usually been regarded as a paraphilia (apotemnophilia), but some researchers propose that it may be a disorder of identity, similar to Gender Identity Disorder (GID) or transsexualism. Similarities between the desire for limb amputation and nonhomosexual male-to-female (MtF) transsexualism include profound dissatisfaction with embodiment.

She further explores the similarities between Male-to-Female (MtF)transsexuals and those who seek limb amputation:

Persons who want to undergo limb amputation typically experience an intense desire or overwhelming compulsion to change their bodies to match their idealized images of themselves as amputees. . . . They usually describe their feelings as developing early in life, often before puberty. . . . most emphasize that they are primarily seeking a sense of wholeness or completeness or are attempting to correct a mismatch between their bodies and their identities.

Now, the irony here is that Dr. Anne Lawrence is what the Illinois Family Institue would describe as a "sexual amputee." And yet, while citing this rather questionable source, they refer to Lawrence as "she." Anne Lawrence is well known as part of the infamous "Blanchard, Bailey, and Lawrence" often abbreviated as "BB&L" who have built their careers around attacking HBS women. Even more ironic is the fact that Lawrence self-identifies as a sexual fetishist, claiming to be an autogynephile, which BB&L define as "a man with a fetishtic desire to be feminized."

Ah yes, irony at its best. Once again, BB&L are the darlings of the religious right, who contradict their own erroneous beliefs in an effort to attack those with HBS.