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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[–]catoborosnonbinary 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

DSM-IV certainly defined Gender Identity Disorder (and Gender Identity Disorder Not Otherwise Specified for us nonbinary types) as mental disorders, and I was fine with that. DSM-5 unifies many of the concepts into Gender Dysphoria. There are still people who describe homosexuality as a mental illness; it was removed in DSM-II.

No one should be forcing their beliefs on anyone. I oppose ideology and encourage everyone to examine their beliefs.

The concept of gender identity seems to simplify explanations of various types of gender incongruence, as distinct from biological sex which we can measure. That said, everyone must remember that it is only a model, and just because it seems to explain things does not mean that it is a "real" thing. I have a physics background, and think of luminiferous aether as an example of a discarded model, and zero-point energy and dark matter where there is still no consensus.

My theory is that there is something like gender identity, analogous to sexual orientation, and both have strong roots in sexual dimorphism and evolutionary biology: the benefit of having these and them being strong is more important than their "accurate" alignment with reproductive goals in every case. A homosexuality and transgender identity could be described as spandrels.

[–]loveSloaneDebate King 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I don’t really know what point youre making with the DSM? My understanding is that being trans is not in the DSM- that’s all I said about it. Im not trying to be rude at all lol, honesty just wasn’t sure what point you’re making and I want to understand so I can respond. What I was inferring is that being trans is not in the DSM, but the mental health issues that most trans people seem to have are. Which is why I said being trans is not in and of itself a mental illness, but that the people who are trans are mentally ill.

IMO, Gender identity is stereotypes or the rejection of stereotypes or it’s just a phrase people seem to throw out when they can’t explain or answer how they identify as something they physically aren’t. I have never been given an explanation that wasn’t either "IDK I just know" or " insert gender stereotypes/associations/expectations"

My whole thing is just- gender identity is meaningless to anyone but the person who has it. Sex doesn’t change or go away because someone identifies as something other than their sex. Sex is what actually matters. Sex is what should be protected and considered over any gender identity.