A friend responded to my previous post on Jesse Singal’s article and said, in part, “This issue primarily is an assault on genetic women and seeks to undermine the female populace.”
It’s not as simple as that. There are two primary views on gender dysphoria (apart from believing it’s simply a mental illness and people always are what they were born as biologically): that gender identity is a socially developed profile vs gender identity is an innate part of the self (you’re born this way).
The science demonstrates that gender identity IS different than biological identity. Gender identity is a purely psychological state of mind and the solid science demonstrates that it is largely formed from a combination of innate and affected (socially) factors – that is, your biology forms a part of your psyche and, depending on your life experiences (domestic environment, social interactions, etc.), it interprets social stimuli in ways that help form your identity.
So if you’re a natal boy (born with biologically male characteristics) and are psychologically inclined to like more feminine things (playing with baby dolls, playing with girls), you might feel like you’re more a “girl” than you are a boy when you look at the things your parents and other boys and girls are expecting you to be interested in. That can cause confusion and gender dysphoria may develop. You may feel that you identify as a girl because of how you feel (more attracted to playing with girls and dolls, therefore you’re a girl) and were born with the wrong body parts.
Those who argue that gender is a socially developed gender profile say that, since 3/4 of kids with gender dysphoria end up reverting back to their natal identity (that is, boys who think they’re girls end up identifying as boys in the end), depending on the specifics of the clinical case, the most likely treatment is to either A) ween the kid off of the gender identifying triggers that cause their dysphoria in order to limit the dysphoria or, B) take a sit-and-wait approach for those who aren’t that strongly affected by gender identifying and confusing triggers until they “desist,” or their gender dysphoria resolves itself. In cases where the kid has already “come out” socially and have begun transitioning socially toward that trans gender, different courses of action are necessary to either help them transition toward their gender identity or socially transition back if they are likely to desist.
Those who argue that gender identity is an innate part of the self (this is what gender activists argue) and is unchangeable and only deniable, say that the main course of action is to encourage the kid to “come out” socially, including self-identifying as that gender, dressing up as that gender, and actively working toward making their new gender an all-encompassing part of their life. This is where you see 6, 8 , 12 year old kids being dressed up as the opposite gender, including extravagantly painted nails and makeup in excess and being encouraged by their parents to come out socially in a big way even in social media.
When you see examples of these, it’s not simply that parents are trying to use their kids for attention (though there is that possibility), it’s that there’s a growing trend within gender dysphoria clinical therapy to reinforce the gender dysphoria instead of trying to wean the child off of their gender confusion. They deny the solid statistical evidence that 3/4 of gender dysphoric kids end up desisting, arguing that it’s cherry picked data (when the evidence is varied and resolutely against them).
Those of the former view, that gender is a socially developed identity profile and kids with gender dysphoria should not necessarily be encouraged to become trans, believe that socially coming out and outwardly expressing their dysphoric identity will end up generating a reinforcing cycle
because:
When kids socially transition, she explained, their parents not only become their champions to teachers and other parents, but also often start engaging in trans advocacy that comes to define them in important ways. If the child starts to sense that their dysphoria is desisting, they’re faced with either sticking with a gender identity that no longer feels like it fits or telling their parents, as the clinician put it, “This whole life that you’ve created for yourself as an advocate, I don’t want to be part of that anymore.” There’s also, of course, the fact that schools and family members are part of the process too, so de-transitioning requires notifying them as well. In this view, a too-early transition really might limit a child’s future options because of the social or familial costs of transitioning back. And eventually, as a kid gets older, the prospect of nontrivial medical procedures to help them physically transition enters the picture.
I don’t really entertain the idea that there is no such thing as trans. It does exist, but it’s not a biological thing like activists want to argue, nor is gender a “socially constructed” concept as they argue (which is contradictory, by the way). Sex and gender may be different things, but they are very much tied and, in the end, most people who are trans and end up regretting their choice to transition (and sadly, often kill themselves) are victims of not undergoing the right treatment at a young enough age to properly find a comfortable gender identity.
And as for “this issue primarily is an assault on genetic women and seeks to undermine the female populous,” consider that the transgender activists are trying to encourage men to transition to becoming women, not the other way around. You might be able to argue that it’s an assault on natal women who identify as women, but it’s mostly an assault on natal boys and men who simply don’t fit the behavioral characteristics boys and men demonstrate. Sometimes a sissy boy is just a sissy boy, not a trans girl.
Thoughts from a rational freak 