Both: Is gender dysphoria a mental illness? & Is being trans a mental illness?

submitted by peakingatthemomentTranssexual (natal male), HSTS from self.GCdebatesQT

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[–]Penultimate_Penance 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Gender dysphoria is a mental illness if it is so strong that it cripples the person who has it. Trans identity is a belief system. Like being a Christian or a Scientologist. A person can have crippling gender dysphoria and not subscribe to transgenderism.

[–]peakingatthemomentTranssexual (natal male), HSTS[S] 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Thanks for sharing! That makes sense about gender dysphoria. I guess I probably see trans as more separate from gender ideology or beliefs about transgenderism. Do you think the identity could be because of a mental illness, or do people choose that identity/belief system?

[–]Penultimate_Penance 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Mental illness can definitely have a strong influence on identity. There is an element of choice in it as well. There are a lot of teenage girls who feel the same way I did about their bodies who believe, because of that they must be trans and subscribe to gender ideology. There are others who understand that being a woman is just a fact about you, like being a natural brunette, x inches tall or brown eyed.

The people you associate with also have a profound influence on identity. If a teenage girl is surrounded by gender identitarians she is much more likely to identify as trans and pursue physical transition. People who grow up in a Muslim family are unsurprisingly more likely to be Muslim, Christian families to be Christian and so on.

What you believe about yourself and your sex will also strongly influence whether you identify as trans or gender nonconforming. Despite being exposed to so much sexism in life and from books I refused to believe that women were in any way inferior to men. I had no desire to be a man, since I did not see them as superior to me in any way. Quite a few genderists have an extremely sexist view of men and women which feeds into their gender identity. They often have negative beliefs about their own sex and positive beliefs about the opposite sex.

[–]Penultimate_Penance 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Adding to my response I see 3 main beliefs someone could potentially subscribe to if they have gender dysphoria:

  1. I have some traits that are stereotypically associated with the opposite sex therefore I'm a tomboy/gender nonconforming not like other girls/boys

  2. I have some traits that are stereotypically associated with the opposite sex therefore those beliefs about my sex are wrong and women/men can be masculine or feminine. Masculinity and femininity are bullshit and are not innate.

  3. I have some traits that are stereotypically associated with the opposite sex therefore I have the opposite sex gender identity and I am really a woman/man or neither on the the inside.

Then there is sex dysmorphia. People seem to go 2 routes belief wise. 1. Transexuals, they transitioned to be more comfortable with their bodies, but accept the reality of their sex.

  1. Transgenderists, they transitioned to be more comfortable with their bodies, but believe they are the opposite sex and/or they have an opposite sex soul/identity.