I've heard from many people that transgenderism is a mental illness that needs to be managed through trying to make them align with there birth sex. It is true that gender dysphoria is a mental illness, and as I am of the mind that you need gender dysphoria to be trans (at least in the binary scene gender queerness is a bit more complex) it could be said that transgenderism is a mental illness. There argument is that you wouldn't treat, say, a schizophrenic by telling them the voices in there head are real. Except I don't think these people understand how mental illnesses are to be treated. They can't be cured, as such the goal of therapy is to work around the problems provided by the illness and trying to beat into trans people's heads that there (excuse the slur I'm trying to prove a point) delusional filthy faggots doesn't help anyone. I know a main contention of this is going to be that gender dysphroria shouldn't be a mental illness. This depends on whether you think gender dysphoria is caused by society or is intrinsic to trans people. Here's the criteria for mental illness from the dsm-5 to make sure we're all using the same definition A behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual That reflects an underlying psychobiological dysfunction The consequences of which are clinically significant distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) Must not be merely an expectable response to common stressors and losses (for example, the loss of a loved one) or a culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (for example, trance states in religious rituals) That is not primarily a result of social deviance or conflicts with society As I have said once before, DISCUSS!
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/85/5/2034/2660626 http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2016/gender-lines-science-transgender-identity/ I found these two articles casually looking around for scientific articles on transgender and the science behind it the other day. Give them a read. Also, give this a read as it might help explain why everyone says being transgender is a mental illness. Back in highschool, we had the old DSM and were taught about gender identity disorder. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/gender-dysphoria-dsm-5_n_3385287.html Sorry its too late to think about this seriously right now. Looking up scientific articles about it is what i'm into right now as a way of validation. So here you are, hope it contributes to some kind of a discussion. Personally i would love to see more articles.
I don't believe transgenderism is an illness. It's "social deviance". And gender dysphoria is a medical condition in order to fund transitions from insurance and control who changes gender legally, that those are genuine transitioning people, not... someone who wants to avoid taxes or wants to retire earlier? For example.
I think it's heavily crazier to change one's sex just to avoid taxes and retire earlier or for any other legal advantage xD than being trans. No person would be able to transition knowing consciously that they're not trans.
But if you would crossdress to court and actually would not transition, just change your papers? This is what I'm talking about. Or if you were gay and wanted to marry your spouse in a country where gay marriage isn't legal and did the same?
I think the schizophrenia comparison is kind of a weak defense for defining transgenderism as a mental disorder because if the schizophrenic "voices" were what was causing all the distress and discomfort and making them less able to contribute comfortably to society, then telling patients to listen to the voices would likely exacerbate the issue. Transitioning tends to make those suffering from gender dysphoria feel better about themselves and more able to freely tackle issues such as depression and low self estheem once they stay with it long enough. To me, since transgenderism/transitioning tends to have a more positive effect on the individual, I think that is what differentiates it from a mental disorder.
Personally, I consider being trans/gender dysphoria to be a medical condition. The term mental illness unfortunately has a lot of stigma behind it, but I wouldn't say it's inaccurate. My only issue with people who say that being trans is a mental illness, is that they usually mean it in the sense of "trans people are crazy and need therapy so they can accept their bodies," as this has been tried before, yet transition is the only reliable cure for dysphoria that I'm aware of. But I think it's likely that being trans is an intrinsic feature of trans people, and is not caused by society. The research that I've looked at so far seems to indicate that gender identity is biological, however as of yet we do not have enough research to know for sure what the cause(s) of being trans are.
also another anti trans argument I've heard is that if you put, say, only females on an island none of them would be transgender. Because they wouldn't know what the opposite sex is. Which is kinda stupid because it has been shown that people instinctively know what sex is. And sex involves uh...interaction...between two or more people of the same or opposite sex. And scene not every woman on the island is going to be a lesbian they'll have some concept that men exist somewhere. This idea is stupid anyway. If you put a bunch of black people on an island the succeeding generations won't know what white people are. But both groups do very much exist. Granted they won't be conscious of it because race is largely socially constructed. My point is that you could apply this line of reasoning to literally anything. It proves nothing
Being transgender is NOT considered to be a mental illness under leading medical organizations like the World Health Organization, American Psychological Organization, and American Medical Organization. It has been removed from the classification in recent years, in the same way "illnesses" like homosexuality and hysteria have been declassified. I would consider it to be a medical condition, though. Not referring to medical transition; I mean that studies indicate it's probably a biological cause, most likely due to hormonal influences in the womb although IIRC nothing concrete has been found yet. Dysphoria is currently in the DSM; however despite the name, that publication covers a number of things which aren't just "mental" disorders and which cannot be treated solely through therapy or similar. For example, sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome are both in the DSM-5. I would personally not consider dysphoria to be a mental illness. Regardless of how you would classify it, the APA has repeatedly and clearly stated that gender dysphoria is not treated by convincing the person to conform to their birth sex, but by TRANSITION-- helping them live as their gender. There are several studies now which show gender dysphoria is cured by transition, and the vast majority of people who transition experience relief of related symptoms and increased quality of life. I can personally attest to this. IIRC the most commonly quoted study with participants who had significant "transition regret", showed the "regret" actually referred to regret over bad surgical results, not overall transition or the procedure in general. Would toss up some links/sources for all this but I'm on mobile and also fairly tired, sorry. There are also several cases which show you cannot cure dysphoria by causing the person to conform to their birth sex. David Reimer is the most famous example. Norah Vincent is another case, a cis woman who attempted to live as male; afterward she experienced what I would recognize as dysphoria-- in any case the experience caused her to become depressed and suicidal so she voluntarily entered a mental institution. These and other cases seem clear proof to me that you can't force someone to be a different gender, if anything it will increase dysphoria. Re a non-trans person changing gender to avoid taxes and such, I think this comment ignores exactly what goes into changing one's gender legally. It's an expensive and time-consuming process that can (depending on location) involve a doctor/therapist verifying your intent to transition and in some cases, proof of having had surgery.
I feel stupid to post the third comment in this very same thread. Over such a simple thing. However. Denouement. Please read carefully what I wrote, not assume what I wrote by your first impression and assumption based on a few words, not the whole content. I am saying exactly what you said is wrong with what you saw in my comment. Reading with comprehension. Please. For dummies. I'll rephrase. The process of changing your gender marker requires the diagnosis. If it did not, people could do strange things with the gender markers. With no real basis. This is why confirmation by a professional (diagnosis) is required. Which is exactly what I said previously. Simple logic *cough cough*
Nobody credible sees transgender people as having a disorder by virtue of being transgender. This is recognized pretty much worldwide (of course, excepting a few countries full of religious crazies.) The UN's council on health and mental health (don't remember exactly what it's called) has been in full support of transgender rights for a number of years. Now... if someone is suffering from psychological distress as a result of gender dysphoria, there is a DSM classification for that, but it's much the same as someone suffering psychological distress as the result of death of a loved one, or a result of dealing with issues of coming out, or any other life experience that causes mental anguish. So in other words, the dysphoria may be causing depression or anxiety or what have you, but the dysphoria itself is not a mental disorder, nor is it appropriate, from a psychological perspective, to try to change one's brain and thinking as a way of solving the problem. Just as with trying to turn someone straight who is gay, it simply doesn't work. Now... there is data (cited in the wonderful documentary "Growing Up Trans") that about 40% of teens who experience sexual dysphoria will find that it resolves naturally, without any gender transition. What we know about this is somewhat limited, but the prevailing thought from my understanding is that dysphoria that self-resolves is different from the authentic dysphoria of people who are trans. I know it sounds a bit confusing, but I hope that makes sense.
If you some googleing it's legally 18 and phycologicly 25. Though I haven't done much research into this
Biologically and psychologically, it is about 25. That's the age at which brain development is, for the most part, complete in a majority of people.
