Two Day Magazine

Well, now we’ve done it. We’ve taken nature into our own hands and have found a way to possibly ‘prevent’ lesbianism and even increase a girl’s desire to become wife, mommy, and reduce her desire for “men’s work.”  Sound like something out of a Margaret Atwood novel? I only wish it were.

According to Alternet, pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Maria New, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University, as well as her long-time research partner, psychologist Heino F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg of Columbia University, they have been working hard to trace evidence for the “influence of prenatal androgens in sexual orientation.” The authors write:

“Most women were heterosexual, but the rates of bisexual and homosexual orientation were increased above control...and correlated with the degree of prenatal androgenization...That this may apply also to sexual orientation in at least a subgroup of women in suggested by the fact that earlier research has repeatedly shown that about one-third of homosexual women have (modestly) increased levels of androgens.” They “conclude that the findings support a sexual-differentiation perspective involving prenatal androgens on the development of sexual orientation.”

In other words, by using a steroid on unborn fetusus that targets a rare congenital disorder that affects the adrenal gland, they may also prevent “some oft he symptoms of [this disorder] in girls, namely ambiguous genitalia...girls who are affected tend to have genitals that look more male than female, though internal sexual organs are normal.”

Most of the researchers are interested in using Dex to prevent ambiguous genitalia in girls with CAH. CAH is the result of excess androgens, which can lead to the “masculization of a female fetus’s genitals.

Dr. Meyer-Bahlburg wrote a related paper entitled: “What Causes Low Rates of Child-Bearing in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia,” “CAH women (as a group) have lower interest that controls in getting married and performing the traditional child-care/housewife role. As children, they show an unusually low interest in engaging in maternal play with baby dolls, and their interest in caring for infants, the frequency of daydreams or fantasies of pregnancy and motherhood, or the expressed wish of experiencing pregnancy and having children of their own appear to be relatively low in all age groups.”

The solution? Try dexamethasone, or Dex, for short. This precarious little gem of a drug is also being examined on how it effects future female fetuses’ dreams to embark on “male careers” or change how they view motherhood. That’s right! Turn that “tomboy” into the “princess” you’ve always wanted! All of the sudden, her desires for that pesky Ph. D. are out the window! She just wants to be barefoot, pregnant, and cooking up a delicious family meal! And, that’s not all! Some researchers believe that prenatal Dex may also prevent your little girl from being gay or bisexual!

So, here you have it folks! We have started our descend into the abyss. Down the rabbit hole we go! The idea of designer girls (and eventually designer boys) is so frightening, so unnatural and so unnecessary that I peak from between my fingers to see what is coming next. I am not against science making strides in learning about how our bodies work, trying to cure ailments and finding ways to prevent diseases. I am opposed, however, to creating problems rather than solving them.

Who says being a lesbian is a bad thing? When did it become okay to mess with a person’s hormones when the levels of hormones don’t have an adverse effect on their health? Will the radical right approve of this Dex because it “turns fetuses straight”, so to speak? If they do, then they will have to admit that being gay isn’t a choice...so we will see how that one goes over.

What really concerned me was the idea that not only can it make fetuses genitalia change shape, but it also changes the mind frame of these soon-to-be little girls. Any tomboy will be seen as “damaged goods” that just needed a dose of Dex to be “normal”.

And, what about the dear doctor that began this? Isn’t being a doctor traditionally a “man’s job”? Would she still feel the same had someone given her this drug? I guess that’s the problem.

Female fetuses given this steroid will never know that they could have been engineers, could have had other pursuits and choices in life than men and motherhood, and could have experienced their natural self. I don’t know what we are doing with science and medicine, anymore. Treating things that aren’t ailments, prescribing drugs for every little problem we face, silencing our quirks. What do you think about this new world of medicine? Does this drug make you feel good about what is to come? All I know is that to be given a drug to “make” girls like boys, to “make” girls genitals all look the same and to create a steroid that can define what is “natural” is the most unnatural thing we can do!