If an aphalic male who is otherwise normal is left untreated (except for possible reconstruction of urethra), we will have a normal adult male without a penis. He is very likely to suffer severe psychological problem but can’t we teach and treat such males to accept and adjust to this reality or plan reconstruction of penis with inflatable implant. Such adult males may find it difficult to get married normally. But, I think, it is much better and easier in our society to live as single unmarried male rather than single unmarried female.

If such a male child is converted into a female then we will have following problems. The child has to undergo multistage surgery involving the operative risk and financial burden. She will be a female who knows that she was and is genetically and chromonsomally male but was transformed into female. She knows that she will never menstruate or conceive in future and may have to take life long hormones to maintain her feminity along with its financial implications and side effect of drugs involved. She is less likely to get married normally, if told the truth.

Are we not trying to reinforce a very strong dominant "male ego" in our society so that a male without a penis for whom technically it is possible to have, genetically his own child is just not acceptable but a chromosomally and genetically male transformed and maintained by use of hormones into a female, who has no uterus or ovaries and can never conceive or bear her own child is more acceptable.

Sunil Tiwari,
Mother & Child Clinic,
Shop No. 22, RIT Building,
Sirmour Chowk, Rewa (M.P.) 486 003,
India.