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The idea of a man getting pregnant and giving birth is fabulously provocative. It implies some kind of biological miracle. No wonder America has been a little bit obsessed with Thomas Beatie, the "pregnant man," the guy in the People magazine photos with a hairy belly and a massive baby bump. He represents a challenge to the very basics of human reproduction {Click for Full Review}

Note from Dr. DeMarco: I work with transgendered patients daily, and can tell you the community is humming with the news that Thomas Beatie is pregnant again.  But just to clarify some terms as I see them, let's have a review of the lexicon.

Transgender/Transsexual: Someone who feels like their core identity, who they are on the inside, ie their soul, their mind, etc, does not match with their anatomic genitalia on the outside.  Both terms are generally used.

Transvestite: Mostly heterosexual men who feel sexually aroused when dressing in women's clothing.  There is no sense that these individuals ARE women.  They have attached sexual arousal to women's clothing.

Drag Queen: Also known as female impersonators.  These are usually gay men who impersonate women for entertainment purposes, but drag queens do not usually identify as women outside of their shows.

Intersexed: An individual born with one of a handful of conditions where it may be difficult to clearly label the anatomic genitalia as male or female at birth.  Many people who are intersexed are assigned a gender arbitrarily and raised as that gender.  Sometimes this works, but sometimes this does not work and the individual spends their life being forced to have a gender identity that does not match their external anatomy.

Gender role: Behaviors that are judged by society to be masculine or feminine.  Someone may have a gender role considered feminine by society, for example, a stay-at-home dad.  This does not necessarily reflect one's sexual identity (gay or lesbian) nor does it necessarily reflect one's gender identity (someone who is transgendered).

It should be noted that sexual identity as it is understood in 2008 is something different than gender identity.  Gay men are sexually and emotionally attracted to men.  Whether they behave in ways that are perceived to be masculine or feminine is irrelevant and nothing more than a social construct.  Gay men do not want to be women.  Lesbians are attracted to women.  This doesn't mean they want to be men.  It is reasonable that some people who at first identify as gay or lesbian are trying to figure out their gender identity at the same time, and may eventually realize that though they may be attracted to one or both sexes, the label they use may still depend on their internal gender identity.