People so often point to the brain scan studies or use gender nonconformity as their basis for what makes true trans. But even putting aside the problems with the brain scan studies (as discussed by people like Christina Buttons and Colin Wright), there is the fact that there are many people whose brains skew more toward the opposite sex side in the structures being studied who do not experience gender dysphoria or have a different gender identity. Similarly, there are many very gender nonconforming people who don't experience dysphoria or feel they have a different gender identity. This suggests at least the possibility that those who experience distress are not doing so because of a gender identity issue but because of psychological or temperament traits that are not unique to gender and are present in all parts of their lives or environmental and social factors that are completely external. For example, how a gender nonconforming child responds to not fitting in with his same sex peers or being teased by others or whether these differences are accepted and tolerated by those in his environment or rejected and mocked. Or whether a person has low vs high distress tolerance or OCD traits or a stable vs unstable sense of self that goes far beyond gender. There are so many things that could be driving consistent, insistent, and persistent
The notion of "true trans" is a religious notion, because it cannot be proven or falsified and relies on faith in the existence of such a thing and faith that a given individual is actually that thing.
"True trans" means that someone has the unending need to be referred to and treated "as if" they are the opposite sex, and must be provided with chemicals and/or surgeries to alter their appearance drastically to appear the opposite sex in order to have any semblance of happiness and avoid suicidality.
How exactly do we determine that such people exist? This assumes that there are people who will inevitably be miserable if they are not lied to about their sex and/or cosmetically altered to appear the opposite sex - but we cannot ever know if this is true. Even people who still say they are happy with their transition after thirty years or more - people like Buck Angel - cannot prove that they would have been miserable without the cosmetic alterations or without some people perceiving them as the opposite sex or without looking like the opposite sex. Nor can such a claim ever be falsified.
I call this whole thing the Noah's Ark claim because we just have to trust that this is true, like Noah's family trusted him, which pushed his family to help him build this giant Ark. Only instead of building an Ark, we are lying to young people about their sex, injecting toxic chemicals, and cutting off healthy body parts, all based on blind faith in a bizarre notion that some people's bodies are "wrong."
Given that this is a religious notion, should we really be lying to young people on this basis, and, more importantly, should we be pushing chemicals and surgeries on young people based on the notion of "true trans?" To me, this is a reckless way of treating young people and a violation of First Do No Harm.
People so often point to the brain scan studies or use gender nonconformity as their basis for what makes true trans. But even putting aside the problems with the brain scan studies (as discussed by people like Christina Buttons and Colin Wright), there is the fact that there are many people whose brains skew more toward the opposite sex side in the structures being studied who do not experience gender dysphoria or have a different gender identity. Similarly, there are many very gender nonconforming people who don't experience dysphoria or feel they have a different gender identity. This suggests at least the possibility that those who experience distress are not doing so because of a gender identity issue but because of psychological or temperament traits that are not unique to gender and are present in all parts of their lives or environmental and social factors that are completely external. For example, how a gender nonconforming child responds to not fitting in with his same sex peers or being teased by others or whether these differences are accepted and tolerated by those in his environment or rejected and mocked. Or whether a person has low vs high distress tolerance or OCD traits or a stable vs unstable sense of self that goes far beyond gender. There are so many things that could be driving consistent, insistent, and persistent
Please take Our Duty's Language guide and create an article that can be shared on Substack. I would like to share.
Thank you for discussing myths! We need to dispel them whenever and wherever we see them!
The notion of "true trans" is a religious notion, because it cannot be proven or falsified and relies on faith in the existence of such a thing and faith that a given individual is actually that thing.
"True trans" means that someone has the unending need to be referred to and treated "as if" they are the opposite sex, and must be provided with chemicals and/or surgeries to alter their appearance drastically to appear the opposite sex in order to have any semblance of happiness and avoid suicidality.
How exactly do we determine that such people exist? This assumes that there are people who will inevitably be miserable if they are not lied to about their sex and/or cosmetically altered to appear the opposite sex - but we cannot ever know if this is true. Even people who still say they are happy with their transition after thirty years or more - people like Buck Angel - cannot prove that they would have been miserable without the cosmetic alterations or without some people perceiving them as the opposite sex or without looking like the opposite sex. Nor can such a claim ever be falsified.
I call this whole thing the Noah's Ark claim because we just have to trust that this is true, like Noah's family trusted him, which pushed his family to help him build this giant Ark. Only instead of building an Ark, we are lying to young people about their sex, injecting toxic chemicals, and cutting off healthy body parts, all based on blind faith in a bizarre notion that some people's bodies are "wrong."
Given that this is a religious notion, should we really be lying to young people on this basis, and, more importantly, should we be pushing chemicals and surgeries on young people based on the notion of "true trans?" To me, this is a reckless way of treating young people and a violation of First Do No Harm.
I was so glad to be true trans. I was so happy that I was truly trans until one day I woke up and wasn’t.
good article. thanks