Cassandra Rae Chronos, a transsexual woman, wishes she'd had the kind of support from her parents that might have landed a Northeast Side couple in court and their child in foster care.
Chronos is among dozens of people from across the country who have come to the defense of Sherry and Paul Lipscomb as they try to regain custody of their son. They say he was taken by social workers because they let him dress and act as a girl.
"To treat me with less than common human decency, compassion and respect is one thing," the 47- year-old Akron resident said. "This beautiful 6-year-old child deserves much better than that."
The Columbus couple appeared in Franklin County Juvenile Court yesterday. They lost temporary custody of their child Aug. 23 after they enrolled him in first grade as a girl. Earlier this summer, a Cincinnati doctor diagnosed gender-identity disorder in the child, who had attended kindergarten at the same Westerville school as a boy.
The disorder is recognized by the medical community and might have psychological or a mixture of psychological and physiological causes. Doctors say it can show up in the toddler stage, when children begin to identify themselves as either male or female, or later in life.
Chronos said the couple simply were trying to treat their child as a doctor had recommended.
"The discrimination that is being imposed on (the child) is based solely on that medical condition, yet not seen as such due to ignorance of the condition and transphobia," she said. "I am sometimes ashamed of this state in which I live."
Chronos is not alone in her interest in the case. It has captured national attention, with reporters from Time magazine and the television news magazine 48 Hours joining local news crews at yesterday's hearing.
Dozens of people have shown their support by contacting Children Services, writing letters to the editor and creating a legal-defense fund for the Lipscombs.
"It's an interesting, unusual case that has captured people's attention," said Kay Marshall, a Children Services spokeswoman. "We've gotten a number of e-mails, phone calls and other communication from people who are either themselves transgenders or who have close ties to someone who is transgendered."
Kevin Carter, 45, of Columbus said he wrote Children Services out of fear the agency was doing more harm than good.
"The couple turned to Children Services to get help for their child, not to have their family torn apart or their backs stabbed," said Carter, who said his gender-identity disorder was diagnosed years ago and that he has been dressing as a woman for four decades.
Children Services should have been more supportive, he said. "By removing this 6-year-old boy and trying to get him to comply with the county's way of thinking, they're creating a time bomb that will sooner or later explode."
One woman who gave her name only as Stacey said she cried tears of joy when she read about the Lipscombs' child.
"You see, I, too, am transsexual -- two years post-op, male to female," she said in an e-mail to both The Dispatch and Children Services. "I am happier and healthier now at 43 than I have ever been in my entire life. If only I would have been able to take steps to correct my life at a young age instead of waiting till I was almost 35."
"My heart goes out to these parents, their child and their attorney. The road before them is not an easy one, yet something tells me they'll blaze through in glory."
Emanuel Fineberg, a psychologist from Cliffside Park, N.J., said he is saddened and angered by Children Services' treatment of the Lipscombs.
"Your agency is acting in a way contrary to the positive social and emotional growth of this family and child," Fineberg wrote Children Services. "In my view, a lack of professional knowledge of gender diversity and a lack of proper guidance and treatment reportedly shown by your agency in this case is scandalous."
"Even worse, your reported use of terror tactics to enforce your political -- not clinical -- position is most reprehensible."
Marshall said county social workers aren't disputing that gender-identity disorder exists. She said they just want to make sure the couple are taking good care of their child.
© 2000, The Columbus Dispatch