Editor's Blog
November 10, 2009
Via KurzweilAI, we learn about a piece in Technology Review about how… well… "scientists from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have created penile erectile tissue and implanted it into male rabbits, allowing the animals to, well, go at it like rabbits." The rabbit penis functions normally and even fathers children. Plus, they can make ‘em real big! (I made that last part up, but why not?)
"Anthony Atala, M.D., director of Wake Forest’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in a statement. ‘Our hope is that patients with congenital abnormalities, penile cancer, traumatic injury and some cases of erectile dysfunction will benefit from this technology in the future.’"
Sign up for the Humanity+ newsletter:
10 Comments
For the Trans community Females to Males, this also means functional organs.
now they need to figure out gene switching to enable gender switched therapeutic cloned organs for both male and female Trans.
When both sexes are capable of growing their genitals like Jonah Falcon people will experience insane amounts of pleasure from all the nerve signal transmission organs of that size can experience.
This may also make it easier for women undergoing transgender surgery.
Just a by the way…transmen would be a more appropriate term. “Women” refers to females who are fine with their biological sex, and would therefore have no need to undergo SRS. Thanks for thinking of us though!
Why did scientists implant this? What happened to the rabbits’ (does this mean they did this to more than ONE??? Where is PETA on this issue???) orignial penises? Or do they now have two, their original one and the implanted one?
How does anyone know if it feels like a normal penis to the male rabbit using it???
it’s he-shes. No, it’s fem-men. Ah, no, I got it wrong, it’s transMendered. Some prefer SheMenine TransMendered ManLadies. Others say it should properly be called “those who self mutilate to fulfil sexual fantasy.” (cough cough)
Oy vey…
Wow, the complete and utter depth of the prejudice and woeful lack of understanding towards transgendered individuals you display in so few words is remarkable. However did you manage to pack so much ignorance, hate, and intolerance into so few words?
It’s not like they were being sarcastic or anything; that would be silly.
“it’s he-shes. No, it’s fem-men. Ah, no, I got it wrong, it’s transMendered. Some prefer SheMenine TransMendered ManLadies. Others say it should properly be called “those who self mutilate to fulfil sexual fantasy.” (cough cough)”
Sarcasm??? No. Nothing in this statement can be construed as sarcasm, only ridicule, derision, and prejudice.
Prejudice survives by masquerading as humor, sarcasm, wit, and joking, but it is still prejudice and hatred to those it is directed against. As a member not only of the BGLT community but that of the Transhumanist community as well, I was unwilling to let this pass. The sole reason my reply pointing out the hatred implicit in this statement was anonymous was that I wrote it on a different computer than I usually do, and did not realize it wasn’t in my name until I had already submitted it.
One of the memes of Transhumanism is the freedom to alter one’s body as one wishes, be it enhancement technology or gender alteration or even more radical alterations. If we wish the freedom to be allowed to improve ourselves, then we must allow others that same freedom. If you believe in the rights to enhance yourself, then you must also support the fact that other people may see other changes as enhancements as well.
The biological basis of transgenderism has been documented, from the distinct chemical changes in the brain development of transgendered people to the fact that transgendered behavior is usually apparent in early childhood, long before sexual behavior and interest develops. It is not a “fetish” nor is it even even associated exclusively with sexual behavior. It is a distinct conflict between the mind and body, a war between the minds perception of itself and the bodies expressed gender. Technological advances in fields such as this are not matters of humor or curiosity, but of the difference between being what the very core of our being screams we are over what our genetic lottery made us.
This is a highly significant advance for female to male transsexuals. It means technology has taken one step closer to enabling a complete correction to the mistake nature made, and one step closer to allowing them to be the men they are.
While the obvious use for male enlargement is sadly going to be the primary impetus behind it’s acceptance in the world community, this is indeed a major advance for transsexuals. Hopefully it will be followed up with the ability to create complete organs, and as I stated in my original post, to eventually enable the therapeutic clone growth of genetically matched, chromosomally switched reproductive organs for both male and female, enabling natural hormone production and complete gender change.
When will this tecnology be ready for humans?