March 24, 2009
Spanish Man Says He's Pregnant
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Following the American birth of a healthy baby girl to a legally male transgendered individual, a Spaniard who had similar sex change procedures done, but kept his female reproductive organs intact, says he is now expecting twins.
The story was carried at Breitbart.com on March 23.
The pregnancy comes well after the controversy that attended the pregnancy of Thomas Beatie, who underwent surgical procedures and hormone therapy to gain a masculine physique, including facial hair, but who did not have his uterus or ovaries removed.
After being legally recognized as a man, Beatie married, but his wife was not able to have children. Beatie stepped into the childbearing role, becoming the world's first known "pregnant man."
An article authored by Beatie and published in The Advocate, together with a photo of the pregnant Beatie with a man's torso and beard as well as a prominent and pregnant abdomen, drew a storm of outrage over gender roles.
The media craze over the "pregnant man" barely lasted to Late last year, Beatie disclosed to Barbara Walters on the TV talk show The View that he was expecting a second child, according to a Nov. 13, 2008 article posted at ABC News.com.
Ruben Noe Coronado Jimenez (formerly Estafania) now claims to be pregnant with twins in the first known pregnancy in Spain to involve an individual who has transition from female to male.
Jimenez, 25, said that he had to resort to medical intervention to reclaim his fertility. The 25-year-old reportedly told Pronto, a Spanish publication, "I am six-and-a-half weeks pregnant" following artificial insemination.
Like Beatie, Jiminez has grown a beard, the article said. He also has shaved his head bald.
Although he may appear to be male, Jiminez has not yet completed his legal transition. However, the article said that Jiminez would complete the legal change of gender before his children come to term.
In Spain, hormone therapy by itself is sufficient to allow transgendered individuals to change their gender status legally, the article noted.
Based on Jiminez' claim, a due date in September is expected, the article said.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
