This seems to validate my understanding of trans people. Namely that while trans people who’s dysphoria could only be improved by transitioning certainly could exist, there are plenty of ways to end up dysphoric, usually due to the impression that being the opposite gender would provide them something they lack. In these cases treatment should probably address what’s lacking from their life, not on transition.
Despite this, they universally tended to claim that their desire to transition was not due to these reasons and was instead due to an internal and immutable sense of gender. Additionally they tended to be daydreamers, fantasizers, or people who’d often retreat from reality into make believe.
The pathway to transitioning I saw generally began with intense fantasizing, usually around either embodying certain desirable characteristics (strength, safety, power, cuteness) or receiving desirable attention (attraction, lust, respect). Often times paired with a failure to fit into the mold their gender was often expected to occupy. Then there was some sort of awakening in which they were introduced to the concept of being trans and the possibility of achieving all of these desired traits. This leads to fantasizing about being not just the opposite gender, but also having the characteristics and attention they desired.
This leads to discomfort with their gender (which is really just discomfort with their own flaws) and infatuation with the opposite gender (which is really just infatuation with the characteristics they want to embody). This leads to someone experiencing gender dysphoria. Femininity feels like weakness. Masculinity feels like rejection. Because they don’t like the idea of being mentally ill, traumatized, or in some way illogical or emotion driven they tend to search for an unimpeachable reason for being trans, which tends to end up being an internal sense of gender.
The biggest evidence I have of this was dating a trans person. He (FTM) was extremely uncomfortable with his femininity in public, but voluntarily became feminine around me (of his own accord, with no prompting from me). He even claimed that he didn’t feel dysphoria around me. Probably because I gave him the kinds of attention he wanted and treated him in the ways he wanted to be treated. He didn’t spend his time fantasizing about having the characteristics he wanted (or loathing that he didn’t have them) because I reinforced his belief that he was intelligent, safe, and worthy of respect. Despite this, when asked about why he wanted to transition he fell back on the internal sense of gender explanation.
This seems to validate my understanding of trans people. Namely that while trans people who’s dysphoria could only be improved by transitioning certainly could exist, there are plenty of ways to end up dysphoric, usually due to the impression that being the opposite gender would provide them something they lack. In these cases treatment should probably address what’s lacking from their life, not on transition.
Despite this, they universally tended to claim that their desire to transition was not due to these reasons and was instead due to an internal and immutable sense of gender. Additionally they tended to be daydreamers, fantasizers, or people who’d often retreat from reality into make believe.
The pathway to transitioning I saw generally began with intense fantasizing, usually around either embodying certain desirable characteristics (strength, safety, power, cuteness) or receiving desirable attention (attraction, lust, respect). Often times paired with a failure to fit into the mold their gender was often expected to occupy. Then there was some sort of awakening in which they were introduced to the concept of being trans and the possibility of achieving all of these desired traits. This leads to fantasizing about being not just the opposite gender, but also having the characteristics and attention they desired.
This leads to discomfort with their gender (which is really just discomfort with their own flaws) and infatuation with the opposite gender (which is really just infatuation with the characteristics they want to embody). This leads to someone experiencing gender dysphoria. Femininity feels like weakness. Masculinity feels like rejection. Because they don’t like the idea of being mentally ill, traumatized, or in some way illogical or emotion driven they tend to search for an unimpeachable reason for being trans, which tends to end up being an internal sense of gender.
The biggest evidence I have of this was dating a trans person. He (FTM) was extremely uncomfortable with his femininity in public, but voluntarily became feminine around me (of his own accord, with no prompting from me). He even claimed that he didn’t feel dysphoria around me. Probably because I gave him the kinds of attention he wanted and treated him in the ways he wanted to be treated. He didn’t spend his time fantasizing about having the characteristics he wanted (or loathing that he didn’t have them) because I reinforced his belief that he was intelligent, safe, and worthy of respect. Despite this, when asked about why he wanted to transition he fell back on the internal sense of gender explanation.