A transgender Penn graduate student agreed that efforts to implement the gender identity clause would make Penn a more welcoming place.
The student, who preferred not to be identified by name, underwent a procedure known as "sexual reassignment surgery" this past summer to become a male. The student was born female.
"In the period where I was androgynous, it was uncomfortable where to go [to the bathroom], what to do when I was filling out forms," he said.
The student said that his decision to get a sex change came after a long period of knowing that he was "different."
"If you had asked me at 3 what I was, I would have said a boy," he said. "So puberty sucked and then I was attracted to the same sex. I thought lesbianism was the source of all my confusion."
"After a period of dating women, I began to realize that no matter how butch a woman is, they still want to be a woman," he said. "I love lesbians, they are cool, but I just got sick of always feeling uncomfortable in my own skin."
The student embarked on a process lasting over a year, during which he was required by law to see a therapist to make sure he wanted to go through with the sexual reassignment procedure.
He also started taking testosterone injections and went through a short trial period in which he tried to pass as a male.
Sexual reassignment surgery may or may not include changing of the genitalia. When a female wants to have surgery to become a male, doctors can either construct a penis-like structure or can add enough testosterone to the individual that the clitoris becomes a kind of micro-penis, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Associate Director Erin Cross said. The scrotum can be constructed from vaginal skin and tissue, and testicular implants can be added.
He is currently awaiting a court date in May, as a result of which he will most likely be allowed to legally change his name and gender.
The student said he is dismayed that the surgery -- which can range from $3,500 to $100,000 -- was not covered by insurance. "They say it's elective, but when something is so ingrained in you, I don't think it's a choice but rather an option. That's like telling someone who has a heart condition that surgery is elective."
He said that now, after the surgery, he is both physically and emotionally changed for the better.
"I have a thicker neck now, I'm stockier, I have broader shoulders and my voice is different," he said. "I always looked like my dad, but now I'm the spitting image of my dad. It's kind of ridiculous."
"Every day I wake up and I have a moment of sheer gratitude for who I am," he added. "When friends see me they are in awe and tell me how much happier and more comfortable I look."
The student said that society should redefine the strict male/female dichotomy.
"Almost everyone breaks gender 'rules,'" he added. "With girls when they wear pants or guys with the whole metrosexual thing. Gender is kind of silly. It's something we often put on as a mask. A lot of what we do is socially constructed."
The student said that, to his knowledge, the transgender community is relatively small on campus.
"I don't know more than a couple people who are open about being trans," he said. "I don't even know if I am. If someone asks me point blank, I'll say something, but I'm not going to advertise it."
Given the size of the transgender community, the student said that he feels collaborating with the gay community on campus is beneficial.
"We all go through a period of recognition of who we are. We all worry about being shunned, and we all go through a similar coming-out process," he said. "Technically, though, I am a straight male now, so every now and then I wonder what I am doing hanging out with gays and lesbians. But this is the best place for us right now."
