Thomas is the First Pregnant Man! is This Possible?

I have a very difficult time with the concept of a man being pregnant. I don’t know if you have heard the entire buzz on Oprah and People Magazine about the first pregnant man. Thomas and Nancy are expecting their first baby together. The only difference is that it is Thomas who is carrying the baby. They are expecting a baby girl in 3 months. It has been kept secret up until recently.

Thomas was born female and was named Tracey. Her mother, who was Caucasian committed suicide when she was only 12, creating a very deep, wound on this very sensitive young woman. Her father was Asian and worked all the time and found himself having to fill in the gap as mother and father of his 2 sons and one daughter.

Thomas’s father pushed him into competition beauty pageants. She won many awards and was a gorgeous woman. Tracey was not a girly girl and considered herself a tomboy. Later when Thomas/Tracey went to college he found that he was much more comfortable as a male. He dressed as a male and was even thought to be male. He dated his karate teacher as a woman and the teacher said that he walked like a boy and was too masculine.

He came into himself. He decided that he wanted to become male. He has his breasts removed. He did not have his genitalia changed, retaining his uterus and ovaries, although he started testosterone therapy. He grew facial hair, and much to Oprah’s curiosity and the audience’s he revealed that he grew a larger clitoris, which is penis like. He is able to have intercourse with his wife Nancy. He jokingly asked if size mattered.

His wife Nancy has two grown daughters, whom are very supportive of Thomas and their mother’s very sensitive, caring relationship. The one daughter announced that they are role models for her and her husband.

Thomas’s father refers to him still as the little Mommy and Tracey. His brother said after his first miscarriage that it was good, because the baby would be a monster. I don’t believe that is true, but I can understand the lack of understanding from his family. I would be curious about the family dynamics in his family or origin. I wonder about why his mother, whom he was devoted to, committed suicide. It sounds like there is a lot more to Thomas’s story than meets the eye.

Dr. Kimberly James, the couple’s ob/gyn doesn’t seem to have any problems with helping them. I can understand her helping the pregnant couple, but have some problems with her helping them get pregnant. She was the only doctor that they were able to get to help them conceive.

After a few failed attempts Thomas and Nancy performed the artificial insemination themselves with help from a device obtained from a veterinary clinic. Nancy was the one who did the actual procedure. Nancy herself is unable to have anymore children as a result of a hysterectomy. They are very happy to become parents.

The trans gender community is not in support of Thomas’s pregnancy. They did not elaborate on why. I suppose that it is because if he is a man, they feel that he should be living as a man. Men do get pregnant. Well not until now.

Thomas is a very handsome, sensitive, caring young man. He has a man’s body, and he could very well be a male model. Well he could have been, sans the pregnancy bump. I wish them well.

My conflict with this whole story, and this in not including whether this is morally right ,is Thomas is not biologically a man. They carry on about what a mystery this is. He was born female! He still has a uterus, ovaries, and a vagina! There is no mystery in his ability to get pregnant, because he is a she! Women can have babies. His vagina was not turned into a penis. He didn’t have his ovaries and uterus removed. Biologically, or at least physically he is still a woman. Yes, he looks like a man, albeit a pregnant one. But he is still a woman. He stopped taking the male hormones, and will still keep his facial hair and larger clitoris, but he is still a woman. He may feel like a man, and look like a man, but he is still a woman. He said he knew that someday he may want to have a baby? Is this something that a real man would want to do? I mean physically be pregnant and go through labor?

They are having some financial difficulties. I am sure with the proceeds from the book that Thomas is writing and media coverage, there will be no problems for them financially in the future.

I am really curious about what other people think about this story. I definitely have mixed feelings about it. Maybe the baby will be raised in a happy, sensitive, loving home, but society is not going to make it easy for them. Do you think that it is right or normal whatever normal is) for a man to be pregnant? Do you consider Thomas a man just because he calls himself one and has had male hormones and a mastectomy?

Reference:

• pregnancy, oddities, men, babies, marriage, parenting, medical mysteries, Oprah, People Magazine, Thomas and Nancy,