Another Amazing Comment on Turners Syndrome

Sometimes A Comment Can Make You Stop and Think « Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde

The above link leads to an amazing discussion on Turners Syndrome and sex. Quite frankly, I had forgotten just how amazing that conversation was. Today I received another eye-opening comment on our conversation.

The comment is as follows:

I'm actually surprised to read this. I feel like a Turner's Syndrome woman coming out the woodwork, having never spent much time thinking about or feeling affected by it since I stopped taking growth hormone until 10 years later when I married and decided to let myself hope I could have a baby. And was unsuccessful for 3 years, and was just getting ready to start working towards adoption.

But just today a friend of mine said she was sure she'd read that Turner's Syndrome have a high case of mental retardation. I had never heard that before from my doctors or from anyone. And TS being an "intersex" condition is also a new one for me. Both sound completely preposterous.

The same friends who thought there was a high rate of retardation have inspired me to start a blog talking about my own experiences. I recently got pregnant without IVF and I am calling this my miracle baby. They encouraged me to share my story, which also baffled doctors growing up (I was labeled non-mosaic, yet I started having all the usual sexual development at 17.)

So, I'm inspired and just set up a blog at turnersbaby.blogspot.com

While I hesitated a long time to share and talk to other women with TS because I always felt like I didn't belong (having less symptoms than most women - I think), I think it's time to share my case and learn from other woman as well, since I've actually never met or spoken to another woman with TS in my life.

A couple of observations: First and foremost, this is exactly why I write about and discuss Turners Syndrome. For so many years I was incredibly ashamed to have it. I felt like a freak, as though no one, no matter how understanding (including my own Mom), could understand what I was going through growing up. Then my parents made the best decision possible. They provided me with the opportunity to go to a camp out in Colorado for girls with Turners Syndrome. For the first time in my life, I felt as though I could honestly discuss some of the issues I was facing. It was simply amazing to finally realize that I was not the only one. Nothing could have been better at ages 14 and 15.

While other girls where thinking about dating, kissing, sex, etc., I was wondering if I would ever be able to have children, and trying to figure out where I fit into the scheme of things. It was very lonely. I had always wanted to eventually be a Mom (I still do), and I had to come to term with my physical limitations.

Second, this comment gives me a lot of hope. I am not such an optimist as to think that I will one day too have my miracle baby, but it is a possibility. This comment just adds to a growing feeling I have that I need to know more about my actual diagnosis and Turners Syndrome in general. For quite some time now I've had this growing suspicion that Turners Syndrome has been used as a blanket term for several related genetic disorders affecting the X chromosome. For example, there are several types of cancer. There indeed may be several different types of Turners Syndrome as yet to be identified. They don't even know if there is a chance as to whether or not it can be inherited or not. There are so many questions out there, and I wish I knew how to go about getting answers.

Much more on this later.

Lindsey

Teenage Sex and Marriage in America

Just like everything else surrounding Sarah Palin, the announcement that her 17 year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant caused quite the stir. Obviously, it would be controversial no matter whom the 17 year-old, but this is different. Sarah Palin’s parenting skills are being called into question, and many have suggested that Bristol’s parents are forcing her to marry the baby’s father. I sit back in awe and disgust. Hopefully this whole scenario will highlight our deep hypocrisy when it comes to teenagers, sex, and marriage.

There are a few things that I know that no one seems to want to acknowledge:

1. Contraception is never fool-proof. The talking heads can suggest that more sex education is needed all they want, but the larger point is ignored. No matter how much you teach teenagers about contraception, there isn’t a form out there, short of abstinence, that is 100% effective. Condemns break, the pill can easily be rendered ineffective (much to the horror of some young couples I know), so on, so forth. I don’t agree with abstinence only education, but I also wish that more attention was paid to actual facts of contraception and sex in general.

2. Our society is hyper-sexualized. This would be OK if it was only focused on adults, but younger and younger children are being exposed to sexual themes. As a result, teenagers need more accurate information earlier and earlier in order to make truly informed decisions regarding sexuality. There has long been lots of peer pressure to have sex in high school, if not earlier.

3. You can’t fight nature. Let’s face it: our bodies are designed for reproduction from puberty on. As puberty comes earlier and earlier in life, younger and younger kids are asked to fight their hormones. A lot of self-restraint and information are needed to ensure that kids going through puberty understand what is going on and the true consequences of their actions.

4. Some people actually do fall in love at age 17. I have a wonderful example of this in my extended family. I have a great aunt who married at age 17 (he was 17 too). She never went to college, but she and her husband raised three children who all went on to receive Ivy League educations. My great uncle went on to have a successful career with Coca-Cola, my great aunt went on to serve her community in innumerable and invaluable ways, and all of their children went on to become very successful. Quite frankly, my great aunt was the very last person in the world I would suspect not have a college education. Obviously, their story has the best possible ending. That isn’t the point. The facts that Bristol is pregnant at 17, decided to marry the baby’s father, and chose life over an abortion does not mean that she ruined her life. It just means that she will have more challenges than most.

5. Forcing a 17 year-old girl to do anything, much less marry, is a challenge to say the least. I’m only 27, and I remember vividly what I was like at 17. I thought that I knew everything. I couldn’t wait to go to college and leave home. I fought with my Dad. There was no way that my parents were going to force me to do anything. It is from this understanding that I conclude that Bristol Palin probably really wants to get married. She probably truly does love the baby’s father. It doesn’t mean that it will work out in the end.

6. No one’s life is perfect. Everyone has challenges, and this is probably one of the Palin family’s.

7. No child is a punishment. All life should be cherished. I commend Bristol for making these tough adult decisions.

I could go on and on, but I think that you get my point. Our society certainly has a double standard when it comes to sex and teenagers, especially when it comes to women.

Lindsey

Grow Up! Men Are Not The Enemy

I absolutely can't stand it when women find it necessary to put down all men. I've been reading a lot of Rachel Lucas and Dr. Helen lately, and both are among the first to highlight feminist screeds. Well, there is a piece that was published that really is hard to believe if you don't read it for yourself. Can you imagine chastising your spouse in public? Now can you imagine what would happen if a husband chastised his wife in public? The sheer gull of this woman (and I use that term loosely as I don't want to be associated at all with the likes of her; I just don't) is mind-bending. I planned to comment extensively on the topic, but The Anchoress does a wonderful job of commenting on the original article, and she dissects the reactions of Rachel and Dr. Helen. I'm quite surprised that DADvocate hasn't weighed in on the subject yet, but I'm sure that he will (I'm counting on it!).

I've been meaning to write a post honoring some of the men in my life, past and present. Now I'm even more determined to do so. I truly sympathize with men in our society. I'm just glad that there are many others, male and female, that think the way I do about this particular subject. It is always nice not to be alone.

Lindsey

My husband is a gem, a jewel! | The Anchoress

Rape and College Sex

This article and the article that it dissects brings up an incredibly complicated topic. When does drunken sexual mistakes become rape? Let's face it: most of these occurrences take place during the college years. There is entirely too much drinking going on, and there is a lot of peer pressure to have sex.

So where is the line between rape and a sexual mistake drawn? Personally, I don't have the answer. There are a couple of points that need to be made though.

1. No matter how you look at the whole issue, the entire system is stacked against men. What happens when a man feels sexually used and abused? I have a feeling that there are quite a few men out there who are afraid that rape charges will be made against them if they come forward. There are two sides to every story.

2. There is entirely too much pressure on young men and women to have sex and to drink in college. It is pretty much expected of everyone, and it takes a strong person to make those decisions for him or herself. There needs to be more room for individual decision-making. As much as everyone claims that college is all about independence, the peer pressure to conform can easily overwhelm people not accustomed to making decisions on their own.

3. Personal responsibility is not stressed nearly enough. All too often the wrong people are punished and the worst users and abusers are running around free. We need to get back to a deep sense of personal responsibility in our culture, but currently, it is almost non-existent. Personally responsibility would go a long way to prevent the drunken sexual mistakes made in college.

The three issues mentioned above may seem obvious to some, but no one seems to be doing anything to rectify the situation. I dare say that it is getting worse each and every day.

Pajamas Media » Blog Archive » Common Sense and Double Standards in ‘Campus Rape Myth’

Lindsey

PS - I may share a personal story on this topic later.

Turner Syndrome and Sex

Before I get started, let me clarify that this post is about gender rather than sexual intercourse. I apologize if I disappointed anyone. I discovered some fascinating information regarding Turner Syndrome the other day. This may seem strange, but even though I have Turner Syndrome myself, I did not know that it is considered an intersexed condition. It came as a complete surprise.

Why did it come as a surprise? Well, you see, I'm female in every sense of the word, and so are all other girls and women with Turner Syndrome. We either have a 45 X or 45 X with part of the other X chromosome (mosiac) karyotype rather than the "normal" 46 XX female karyotype. There is no Y to be found (Y determines the sex of a baby). All patients with Turner Syndrome are female. Yes, there are conditions similar to Turner Syndrome that affect males, but there is always at least a partial Y chromosome involved. That is why the label "intersexed" confuses me when it comes to Turner Syndrome.

It might not mean much, but when you are a teenager dealing with Turner Syndrome (and I plan on discussing this particular topic much more in the days and weeks to come), you already question whether or not you are a "real" woman due to the fact that most women with Turner Syndrome are infertile. My experience growing up with Turner Syndrome and my understanding of the perceived gender issues that it entails lends me to question why it is labeled as "intersexed" at all. Intellectually, I understand that any variation of the 46 XX or the 46 XY norm is labeled as "intersexed," but as a woman who has lived with an "intersexed" condition, I question why the medical community has to split hairs in this case. I find it unsettling.

The article below is thought-provoking. In my post I didn't even address how the intersex movement is being co-opted by the transgendered movement. Quite frankly, I don't need to right now. The author of the article below, who has an intersexed condition herself, does it well.

Trans and intersex - a forced marriage of inconvenience? « you know that I’ve been drunk a thousand times

Lindsey

Misguided Feminism

Mark Steyn is exactly right when he condemns so-called Western "feminists" for not fighting the real oppression of women around the world. In his piece The West's Two-Tier Sisterhood, he described perfectly the hypocrisy of many in the supposed "women's movement." I've encountered many examples of the likes he describes so well in his article. It saddens me that they can't even see their hypocrisy. Do we still have issues in the West? Of course we do. It is just that there is so much more at stake than what is currently being discussed.

After reading Mark Steyn's work, I came across the truly appalling remarks of Nick Erikson on Curly's Corner Shop, the blog! Don't let the cute name of the blog throw you, he is shedding light on the current politics of the United Kingdom. It is far from pretty. I don't know how anyone could call rape not "such a terrible physical ordeal," but Curly calls Erikson on it. It is truly disgusting.

SteynOnline - THE WEST'S TWO-TIER SISTERHOOD

The Corner on National Review Online

SteynOnline - GROPE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN

“Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal”

Lindsey

Another Sickening Sex Scandal

This entire story is disturbing on so many levels. Then again, I have absolutely no use for Debbie Stabenow. There is something truly repulsive in her politics, her personal life, etc. She is one of the absolute worst tax-and-spend Angry Left Liberals in Michigan. After reading about her husband's career, it sounds like their politics are about the only thing bringing them together.

Stabenow has been in office a very long time, and if I wanted, I could really turn this article nasty. Back in high school, a few friends of mine and I had a few choice nicknames for her, but I won't go there right now. I'm sure that she is hurting. No offense, but what did she expect? This seems to offer proof of some of the comments on Michelle Malkin's post here.

I'm not saying that conservative men are perfect or that they never cheat; it is just that there appears to be a completely different set of morals guiding the Left. I simply don't understand it, and I probably never will. Morals will never be simply relative to particular situations. Some things are always wrong. People need to learn or remember that fact; you can't have it both ways.

Sen. Stabenow's husband tells police he had sex with prostitute

Lindsey

Blogging While Female

This is a nice two-piece chronicle from Right Wing News. It discusses the hazards that are faced by prominent female conservative bloggers. These pieces will make you look at things differently if you aren't a conservative female blogger. I found a mention of the articles over at Michelle Malkin's noted blog. It all makes for a very good read. It is nice to know that conservative women have a voice somewhere.

Lindsey

Blogging While Female: 5 Conservative Women Bloggers Talk About Gender Issues And The Blogosphere

Blogging While Female 2: 5 Conservative Women Bloggers Talk About Gender Issues And The Blogosphere