On why she was turned away from doctors:
“I was not what
people thought of when they thought of someone wanting to have this
surgery. There was nothing ‘wrong’ with me. It was too scary for them.
They couldn’t fathom how someone who had been so supremely
successful in everything—in medicine, in sports, in life, as a
heterosexual man, as a husband, as a father—they couldn’t understand
that. In this day and age, they would understand. The best example I
know is somebody like Bruce Jenner. But in my time, I was
turned away.”
On how identity affects transition:
"You have to realize
that somebody who is an entertainer, or even like with Bruce Jenner—a
person like that can have a sex change and be just as accepted as an
entertainer or a TV star or something like that
afterwards. But if you’re talking about someone who’s a surgeon or a
physician of any kind and bringing your child to see that person, it’s a
whole different matter. When I came back to practice after being so
notorious, I couldn’t ever be a frivolous, entertainment-type,
public kind of character. I mean, I had to be the same
confidence-engendering… I’m operating on people’s eyes; I’m operating on
their kid’s eyes. I mean, you better be some kind of a transsexual to
do that! Otherwise you’re not gonna have much of a practice.
It’s a whole different thing than being an entertainer.”
On her sexual orientation:
"I never really felt
oriented sexually to men. It was fun having sex with a man, especially
the first few years as Renée. It was fun, and I enjoyed it, but there
wasnever a love object, never a love object.
I just realized that my sexual orientation wasn’t gonna be changed by
my sex change. It’s interesting that people talk about Bruce Jenner: What’s his love life gonna be after he’s transitioned to a woman? He’s
been married a couple of times—he’s basically
a heterosexual man—and I find it hard to believe that he’s suddenly all
of a sudden become oriented towards men. It’s conceivable, but it makes
for a complicated life."
On being a pioneer:
“I was a reluctant
pioneer, so I can’t take that much credit for it. I was not an activist.
It was a private act for my own self-betterment, for what I wanted to
do. Some people don’t understand why I’m not
an activist for the transgendered community, why I don’t talk and
preach. I think I do more good for that community by being the best
doctor I can be, by being the best tennis coach now and formerly tennis
player I can be.”
On awareness becoming mainstream:
“The present climate
of increased awareness of transgender as a subject--social and
legal--will educate the public and benefit those ‘afflicted,’ for
sure. Greater protection from rape, battery and murder,
greater acceptance in the home and workplace--and legal statutes to
ensure this--are happening. I don't see much taking place, however, in
the area of causation, etiology, ‘why’ this happens. There's very little
research from the scientific community. But
from a personal standpoint, fresh from my 60th reunion at Yale,
socially conservative by nature, there are some aspects to the current
frenzy and popularity of all things transgender that give me pause. I am
not overly happy with the word ‘transgender.’ It
is very inclusive. I was a ‘transsexual’ -- I changed from man to
woman. Not something in between. Transgender suggests, and does in many
instances refer to, an in-between -- part way from one sex to the other.
And the idea of androgyny is not appealing to
me. I like the binary system that God designed for us--two sexes, two
genders, male and female. It's what makes the world go round and is the
spice of life.”
On how fatherhood changed after her surgery:
"I couldn’t be as
good a father to Nick after I had the surgery. I lost my moral
authority. I could no longer be the guide as a father should be to a son
because of what I had become. So I didn’t have, in my
mind, at least, the moral authority. Maybe I did for him, but I didn’t
for myself."
