I think almost everyone is gnc to some degree, but I could see a kid who is forced into boxes and also has mental health issues being more likely to see themselves as trans, especially today. I kind of don’t think being gay is though, but again I can see how someone with internalized homophobia and or possibly being surrounded by homophobic people would transition rather than be openly gay? I guess I mean I could see how being gnc and or gay could potentially lead to someone identifying as trans or having dysphoria, but I tend to think that there would be environmental factors as well as possibly mental illness, rather than it being because they were gnc/gay. But even if that’s the case, someone who’s dysphoric or wants to transition for those reasons should be perfectly capable of saying they they want to do this because they are extremely gnc and want to present as the opposite sex (not that they are or were born in the wrong body etc) or because they’d rather transition than be openly gay, does that make sense? Like, if it’s not related to mental health at all and it is largely due to gendered expectations/socialization, shouldn’t they be able to express the desire to transition as a result of those things, rather than an inner identity or discomfort with their body? I’m sure there are tons of people who at times wish they were the opposite sex or think that life would be easier if they were, but with such a small percentage of trans people, I feel it’s more internal than external.

There doesn’t always have to be trauma or abuse that sets off mental illnesses, someone could be diagnosed as mentally ill after enduring trauma, but someone else can also be diagnosed with that same mental condition that was observed over time, without something specific inciting it. So it’s not surprising that not all trans people are victims of trauma, since not all people with mental health concerns are victims of anything. And perhaps as discussed with masks on a previous post, there is in fact a hormonal/chemical thing in the brain of trans people that causes them to develop dysphoria or a “gender identity”, but that possibility makes me lean more to mental illness than anything else. I was gonna keep going but this is already long, lol. I just think there’s a lot more pointing to mental illness than anything societal, though I’m sure there are exceptions to that, especially factoring in homophobia.