Editorial

by Katherine Cummings

This issue, as I foreshadowed in our last, is dedicated to Lee Anderson Brown, who died of cancer in October, 2004. Lee was an admirable man, born intersexed, and with ambiguous genitalia, with all the uncertainty involved in those conditions. He overcame early confusion and worked for understanding and appropriate treatment for people, not only intersexed, but with all forms of gender diversity. Apart from occasional social encounters my only contacts with Lee were through SAGE, the Sex And Gender Education Foundation and I was always impressed by his clear thinking, articulate expression of problems and appropriate strategies of amelioration. Lee was an academic and his doctoral thesis concerned itself with transgendered and intersexed life. He was respected by his academic colleagues and one of his supervisors at the University of New South Wales contributed to the eulogy at the service held for him at the Metropolitan Community Church in Petersham.

Lee was also eulogised by his partner of seven years, Sharon L. Brown, who has provided material for our tribute to Lee in this issue. Both Lee and Sharon found comfort and support in their Christian belief and were members of the Metropolitan Community Church community.

I have included an essay of Lee's in this issue, on the topic of the treatment of intersex members by the general community although for the purposes of this publication I have removed the bibliography and footnotes. If anyone would find these useful I would be glad to supply the unedited text. Sharon has also supplied two poems by Lee, demonstrating another facet of his creative nature.

The photograph on the cover, of Lee and Sharon, was taken shortly before Lee's death, and the ravages of his illness are plain to see on his face. Sharon says, however, that he remained calm and peaceful, on occasions even joyful, to the end. She feels that, for whatever reason, Lee's condition was treated without as much attention as it should have been, until it was too late to achieve significant remission. If so, this has been our loss, as well as hers and his.

Sharon hopes to organise publication of Lee's writings in the future and if this can be achieved they will, I feel, make a significant contribution to the literature of gender studies.

Changing the topic, there has been quite a lot of ink spilt on the topic of Alan Finch, who has, I understand, been given permission to sue the Monash Gender Clinic for malpractice in approving his sex reassignment surgery, surgery which he now feels was inappropriate and the result of bad advice. [Note that Alan is not unique in his crusade ... on page 5 there is the case of Samantha Kane, who is suing her psychiatrist for £186,442 (A$461,270) because she misses her penis...). Quite by chance I found in my files an article from Woman's Day, 19 December 1989, headed "Goodbye Alan, hello Helen ... and happiness" it tells the heartwarming story of Alan Finch who, "because of a chromosome imbalance" spent his early life feeling like a girl. At seventeen he read about sex change and for the "first time understood what was wrong". Blood tests showed that Alan was "missing a male chromosome" [sic] and he was given the option of going on to male hormones immediately or waiting until he was eighteen and going on female hormones. At eighteen he decided he wanted to be a woman and transitioned as Helen. In 1986 he, his mother and sister emigrated to Australia and after saving the SRS fee he had the irreversible operation "which she says she will never regret." In June, 1989 he used his British passport, which had been amended after the operation, to marry illegally. It made Helen angry to discover the marriage was void. "I will fight it. I am going to campaign for the law to be changed. I haven't got a problem any more. I see it as a problem I had which has been solved."

Yet now, Helen has reverted to being Alan and wants to sue the Monash Clinic, despite admitting to having cheated on the assessment tests and despite the long history of unhappiness in the male gender role and long-standing desire for gender reassignment.

Are we going down the litigious trail marked out by our American cousins, who seem to think that any decision they make can be the subject of court action, as long as there is a specialist with deep pockets involved?

Whatever happened to taking responsibility for one's own actions? Does the word "adult" still have any meaning? Could I conceivably sue the Church for performing a marriage which foundered after a mere twenty-six years when it was supposed to be a contract "until death us do part"? Let's see. Who has more money, the Presbyterian Church which married me or the Catholic Church which annulled my marriage against my will?

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.