Does Correcting Gender Dysphoria Make One a Different "person"?

Steve Stanton had been employed by the City of Largo successfully for seventeen years and as of 2007, had spent fourteen years as City Manager where he had received good reviews for his performance. In September 2006, he was given an $11,000 annual pay raise, bringing his annual salary to over $140,000. He managed a $130-million budget and about 1,200 employees. He was, in short, an extremely competent and conscientious employee; no one has ever indicated otherwise.

(In this article, I will refer to Steve Stanton as a male; he has asked that male pronouns be applied to him until the completion of surgery. When the transformation is complete, he will be known as "Susan".)

I suggest that the only issue to be decided is whether a sex change operation and transformation intended to treat and cure a person with gender dysphoria somehow changes the person's essential character and person hood. Does it make a difference in work-related abilities?

The first step is to define the condition; it is not a homosexual issue. Transsexuals are individuals whose gender identity differs from their anatomical sex, a condition often characterized as gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder. The category "transsexuals" includes both those who have had sex reassignment surgery and those who have not; a male-to-female transsexual can live out her entire life identifying as a woman without ever actually going under the knife.

Florida's anti-discrimination laws prohibit employment discrimination for certain classes: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. Sexual orientation or transgender identity is not one of the protected classes. On the other hand, a number of states have passed laws incorporating transgender persons as within the class of people covered by anti-discrimination laws. Federal civil-rights law offers no explicit protection for transgender workers, but eight states (not including Florida) and the District of Columbia do. In the corporate world, 122 of the Fortune 500 companies now have nondiscrimination policies that include gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equal rights organization in the United States.

In the case of Steve Stanton, a certain irony abounds in connection with his discharge as City Manager of Largo. In 2003, while city leaders were debating a human-rights ordinance that would protect transsexuals throughout the city, then Commissioner Pat Burke criticized Stanton for not lobbying hard enough for the measure (it didn't end up passing, but the city did adopt an internal policy applicable to city employees barring discrimination on the basis of gender identity). Stanton, who was possibly wary of accusations of favoritism, responded by confiding his secret to Burke. Nothing more happened and, as of now, if Stanton had been a regular non-executive employee of Largo, his job would have been protected.

There has been little law established on the specific rights of transsexuals. Interestingly enough, a recent decision in the Sixth Circuit of Florida (the same area in which the City of Largo is situated) comes to the conclusion that a sex change may not change the essence of the individual.

Lawrence and Julia Roach had been married for eighteen years at the time of their divorce. The divorce decree awarded Julia permanent alimony, payable until death or re-marriage. Subsequently, Julia became Julio and Lawrence petitioned the court to terminate the alimony, saying that he had been ordered to pay alimony to a woman and that the sexual transformation negated that order. The Court's decision was two-fold, one that made Mr. Roach and the Lamda attorneys equally unhappy. First, the Court said that, under Florida law, a person was the same sex as he/she was at birth; Julio was not "legally" male. The second point was relevant to the present situation with Steve Stanton. The Court held that the personage of Julia/Julio had not changed and that alimony was to continue.

Right now, Steve Stanton is under consideration for the position of City Manager of nearby Sarasota, Florida. That city is home of many art venues and cultural events, its population of some 54,000 people are well educated and many are quite affluent. It should offer a slightly more receptive atmosphere for Stanton.

There are six finalists for the City Manager position, all of whom seem to possess the qualifications and experience to be an acceptable choice. One can only hope that the choice will be made on the qualifications and merits of each individual.

Because the candidate Stanton is the same person who performed so well in Largo. Nothing has changed in regard to his ability and competence. One's genitals are not a definitive qualification for the position of City Manager; Stanton's abilities have not and will not diminish by any change.