omicron1 said:
isometry said:
omicron1 said:
Mmh. Why does no one seem to devote finances to curing that mental state? Considering that this problem IS an actual issue, and one that claims many lives, one would think resources would be devoted to curing it... but one only has to suggest "research to cure transgenderism" to watch the Internet explode in flames.
History is full of "cures" for people that don't conform to society's idea of normality. To want to "cure" someone from transgenderism is as bigoted as wanting to "cure" homosexuals in the 1940s, or wanting to "cure" non-believers in previous centuries.
For this statement to be true would require the issue to be categorically one-sided - for it to be a universal fact that (a) transgenderism is a physical (and thus built-in) state and not a mental (and thus at least partially born of nurture) one, and (b) enabling it is the right response. This is not the case. Whatever your personal beliefs on the issue may be, they do not define a universal truth.
No, it does not require that (a) and (b) be universal facts. First, nature vs nuture as in (a) is a poor surrogate for what the real question: whether transsexuality is a permanent, persistent condition, or whether it is sometimes transient. Just as with homosexuality, for some people it is deeply ingrained in them, and others will eventually have a change of heart and become bisexual, asexual, heterosexual, etc (homosexuals know this happens but shy away from discussing it around bigots because it might give the false impression that they can "pray away the gay", but that's not how it works). There have been studies that show physical evidence of homosexuality in the brain, and there have been similar studies for transexuals as well, but educated people understand that "physical vs mental" is not the same as "uncontrollable vs controllable."
As for point (b), I think "enabling" is a loaded word, but I agree with the point that physically transitioning is not the right course of action for all transsexuals. I think the best advice to a pre-transitioned transsexual is this: the road to transition is so difficult that they should only do it if they feel they absolutely have to do so to have a chance of happiness in their lives. This is just practical advice, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with it, it's just very difficult and not worth doing in all cases.
omicron1 said:
Personally, I would love for there to be a cure. I would take it on the first day it was available, then go and lead a truly normal life. But apparently I'm supposed to "realize" that I am, in some sort of quantum physics singularity, actually a woman - just in a male body flooded with testosterone and full of pesky Y-chromosomes - because that's "the right answer," or somesuch.
I see, and I fully agree that there are a range of gender issues more complex than the textbook case of a transexual. For example a man might have sexual fantasies of himself as a woman (autogynephilia) while generally prefering masculine roles, activities, behaviors, etc and having masculine thoughts. People are weird, pretty much anything is possible.
But, the important thing is some people are clear cut transsexuals. They desire to transition does not hinge on an impossible fantasy, they see very clearly that they desire a normal life as the opposite sex, and for some of these cases transitioning can be an excellent treatment.
CODE-D said:
Mmmmmm, cant really say I agree to that either. Ive never seen someone treated this way but even if a guy was treated like/saw as a girl by people I dont think he should just conform to their thought by altering himself. If he acts and has feminine mannerisms its fine but dont surgically/chemically alter yourself. Just accept you are a male and act female all you want. But if that means to you that you wanna be seen as a girl, with breasts and dresses and all, I cant say Ill ever agree or see why(its not your true sex) but I ask that you not expect everyone to agree thats the right choice.
I see your point, and there are a lot of transgendered people that don't want surgery and hormones but live as you describe, dressing and living as the opposite gender without unnatural alterations. Transexual people have existed throughout history, and although there were certainly cases of primitive castration surgeries, for the most part they had to be content without physically altering themselves.
I also see that some people will never be able to look past someones birth gender, and I don't necessarily consider that bigotted. I have met M2F transexuals that I genuinely consider to be women, and F2M transexuals that I genuinely consider to men. I am not saying whether that is right or wrong, it is up to our own definitions. But I do think it's universally right to treat good people with respect. If someone wants to be addressed as "she" then it would be disrespectful to address them otherwise, despite what I may think on the inside.
