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A transgender pharmacist who was offended by an Arkansas lawmaker questioning whether she had a penis on Monday, discussed her desire to have genital reconstructive surgery (GRS) during an interview less than two weeks ago.
While speaking on The Transgender Show, Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig described the hormone treatments (HRT) she’s received during her transition, and expressed a wish to one day have her genitals altered to reflect her identification as a woman.
She also voiced frustration that Arkansas wouldn’t let her change her birth certificate to reflect her chosen gender until she could provide proof she’d undergone GRS.
Herzig recounted her experience coming out as transgender to her wife – who has since stuck by her – after suffering from depression and anxiety for years over her realization she wanted to be a woman when she was 12 years-old.
Earlier this week, Herzig and spectators at a hearing to debate gender-affirming care in Arkansas expressed outrage when Republican Sen. Matt McKee bluntly asked her whether she had a penis. Herzig refused to answer the question, which she called ‘horrible.’
Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig appeared on The Transgender Show to discuss her transition
During the Transgender Show interview, Herzig was asked what the extent of her goals for her transition were.
‘I think at the beginning it was like, “Oh, I want the full package, you know, I want, I want HRT, I want every surgery that there is to know”,’ she said, naming facial feminization surgery and a boob job as examples.
Both of those treatments were no longer priorities for her, she noted. Instead, she said she was focused on GRS.
‘For me personally, GRS is the biggest one I want. I don’t know, personal preference,’ she said.
Later in the interview, she explained that one of the driving factors in her desire to get GRS was so that she could change her birth certificate to designate her as a woman. In Arkansas, that is not allowed without proof of surgery.
‘You want your real name and you want your real gender on everything,’ she said. ‘The only thing I could have not done is my birth certificate, and that’s because Arkansas requires proof of GRS before they can do it.
‘So, like, I can get my name change done on it, but I’m not going to get my name change done on it separately then later go back to my sex. I’d rather just do them both at the same time so there’s that hurdle,’ she added.
Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig before she began her transition, left, and after she transitioned, right
Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig with her wife, Beth, who stood by her through her transition
Earlier this week, Herzig was far less willing to talk about the specifics of her transition when Sen. McKee suddenly pressed her while she spoke on the Arkansas Senate floor.
Dr. Herzig was testifying against Senate Bill 199 bill – which would allow someone who received gender-affirming care as a minor to file a malpractice lawsuit against their doctor for up to 30 years after they turn 18 – when McKee questioned her.
‘You said that you’re a trans woman?’ McKee asked. ‘Do you have a penis?’ Gasps throughout the room were audible.
Herzig took a moment to collect herself before responding, ‘That’s horrible,’ and called the question ‘highly inappropriate.’
After Herzig responded to McKee, he fired back: ‘You’re the one that brought that into the discussion.’
‘I don’t know what my rights are,’ Herzig replied, adding, ‘but that question was highly inappropriate.’
Herzig went on to say: ‘I’m a healthcare professional – a doctor – please treat me as such.’
Arkansas Republican Sen. Matt McKee caused outrage when he asked Herzig if she had a penis
Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig reacts in disgust to Sen. Matt McKee’s question about her penis
Sen. Matt McKee questions Dr. Gwendolyn Herzig at a hearing on Monday
The lawmaker behind Arkansas’ legislation said it is aimed at forcing medical providers to stop offering gender-affirming care to minors.
‘The idea that teenagers, let alone little children, are capable of making such life-altering decisions is not only brand new, but it’s absurd,’ Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield, the measure’s sponsor, said. ‘A society that allows them to do this is a deeply broken society.’
The ban prohibits doctors from providing gender-confirming hormone therapy or puberty blockers to anyone under 18 – or referring them to other doctors who can provide that care. No gender-affirming surgery is performed on minors in the state.
The proposal, which other states are considering as part of broader ban on transgender care for children, would be a major change for how most malpractice claims are considered, legal experts said. By expanding the liability that doctors face for providing such care, the bill could make it nearly impossible for some providers to get malpractice insurance.
The move is another avenue for states to restrict transgender care, which GOP states have targeted with dozens of bills this year. A federal judge who blocked Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors is now considering whether to strike down the law as unconstitutional.
A similar ban in Alabama has also been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
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