Rather than being some sort of liberal plot to destabilize society or whatever some people think it is,
I don't think it's that, per se, although
@Atelier3 brings up some relevant antecedents in radical academia. I think the worst excesses of the transgender movement are an example of very confused thinking ("gender" certainly cannot be both essentialistic and a "social construct") with some roots in academia, but loosed upon the world and used in an attempt to describe very real human suffering, often with dubious results. It's not just a matter of radical praxis but of what might be called relatively informal society-traversing "memes" (in the original sense, not the casual Internet sense, but it just so happens that those are involved too.)
I think it's just growing pains and in some decades, or a generation, or two, it will just be normal and everyone will simply be who they are
But some people are being
not-who-they-are by virtue of the same transgender movement, especially young people who are being swept in by broader social trends. See the astronomically high number of gender desisters and my above discussion of issues about them and ROGD generally.
and it won't be such a big deal one way or the other. At least I hope so.
Your view is perhaps overly optimistic. A lot of trends in the area of sexuality, both social (I'd mentioned pedophilia in intentional communities) as well as medical (electroconvulsive therapy for homosexuality?) are looked at with horror now. Since all of this stuff is so new, we have to exercise extreme caution, and not allow preconceived notions (such as that all persons presenting for "transition" are ontologically the opposite gender and thus require medical intervention) to interfere. .
My favorite facts are the uncomfortable ones. As long as they're actual literal facts and not just strongly held opinions. Living in the wrong body is not just a cliche. That's how I've heard it described over and over. It's existential terror and tragically the only escape some people see is death.
The uncomfortable fact here seems to be that trans-identification is not as clear cut as it seems: some broadly ontological "gender identity" and vaguely defined feeling of "being in the wrong body." These are gross oversimplifications that, while peddled as ideology by the trans movement (and that is what they are, they're of little clinical utility) ultimately they do not serve trans-identified individuals well as they are "thought-stoppers" that prevent actual discourse on important issues.
You seem markedly unwilling to engage in actually discussion other than to retreat to these ultimately platitudinous statements. The "wrong-body" stuff is not an objective fact, it is a common way of expressing a facet of lived experience. It is also not particularly uncomfortable as the idea of an essentialist "gender identity" and the necessity of "transition" is currently fashionable. The truth is that the diversity of trans identity experiences and presentations, when observed more closely, raise more questions than they give answers.
Interesting study has shown that [men and women have physically different brains] transgender people actually have the physical brain of the gender the identify as. From example a trans woman will often have a physically female brain.
This is also true, to a lesser extent, for homosexuals.
I can post a link if anyone is interested?
I must admit that is interesting and quite telling I am a bit old fashioned and prejudice about these things in modern society also political correctness is another I'm prejudice with but I can admit it
I talked about this issue in an
earlier post, but I will reiterate and expand on it. Before I say anything, I'll point out that connecting the physical structure of the brain to experience and behavior is a very slippery thing, raising various questions of an essentially philosophical nature. That said:
There are a number of problems with the "brain sex" stuff, although it is an extremely tempting idea especially if one ascribes to the theory of an essentialistic "gender identity" and is looking for a place to locate it. However, firstly, the science surrounding the origin, nature, and even extent of sexual dimorphism in the brain itself is reasonably controversial. Research into transgender-identified brains is extremely interesting, though, and there
have been a number of studies suggesting that they more resemble the identified sex than the natal sex. They are not without their problems. Right in
@ChemicallyEnhanced's post is one of them: androphilic (i.e. homosexual) natal males have been shown to have "feminine" brains, particularly in their sexual responses; the same is the case with androphilic trans-identified natal males.
Even accepting that is more so in the latter (which is questionable), we are still looking at a
continuum which seems just as linked with attraction to males than it is with trans-identification. Unsurprising as most research on the brains of trans-identified males has been done on what in Blanchard's typology is called HSTS, "homosexual-transsexuals." To reinforce this hypothesis, as for gynephilic trans-identified males, there has been
extremely little research, but there have been in some of the studies shown to be distinct differences (neurological correlates of AGP?), but
not evidence of a "female brain." One of the better studies here excluded people on feminizing hormones, which is of note too, as these studies are also typically done on people who have already undergone some efforts at transition including hormones, which may very well be contributory to neuroplastic changes.
As to trans-identified females, there has been even less research done, all of it to my knowledge done on gynephilic one. Evidence is much weaker here for their brains to be "masculine." Other research has shown that trans-identified people have brains that seem less "gendered" generally. Studies are ongoing on this subject generally, and suffer from some of the problems that all studies on this subject do: slippery definitions, politicization, and the great of finding representative populations and useful control groups.
It may seem like it's a different world these days, but trans people have been around forever. It's just slightly more acceptable to be open about it these days, and it's talked about in politics and media more than it was in years past.
"Being open about it" isn't enough to explain what we are seeing in terms of the increasing number of people identifying as "trans." It is undeniable that there is a huge spike in trans-identification of late, particularly in females. The ratio of TiFs to TiMs has exploded. What we are seeing, especially in these natal girls, defies all statistical explanation, especially when they "come out" in clusters. It's not just the TiFs and ROGD cases, either, the spike in AGP and TiMs who defy Blanchard typology is very real too. The statistical trend in transgender identification simply isn't explicable by more people feeling comfortable expressing their identity.
Something is happening where more people have gender dysphoria or trans identification, internally, and
then express it. I would say that in broad social terms what we're seeing is
considerably more than trans-identification being "slightly more acceptable." It has reached social acceptability in a dizzyingly fast period of time: homosexuality took decades to make as much progress as transsexuality did in the year of Caitlyn Jenner's very public "coming out" and the advent of simply
massive media attention to the subject. I
In some very young circles, trans status is not just "slightly more acceptable," it makes you interesting, it's giving reinforcing attention, it's even idolized, I'd go so far as to say even being considered desirable. This is a significant issue and undeniable if you look at what some young people are putting out on social media.
Partly that's because trans people especially face harsh discrimination and hatred, having way higher likelihood to die from murder or suicide.
Trans people, contrary to narrative, are no more likely to be murdered than the average Americans. And those who do are typically involved in sex work or other high-risk activities. There is simply no "epidemic of violence" towards this community, contradicting some of their talking points. Anybody can do the math for themselves, the numbers of trans murders are frequently published by activists. They may sound high, but really aren't. As for suicide, yes, the rates are significantly elevated, both before and after medical intervention (there doesn't seem to be a benefit in this regard) but attributing this is difficult due to high psychiatric comorbidity. Attributing excess mortality to "discrimination and hatred" is not totally unreasonable but it is not a be-all, end-all explanation by any menas.
As a kid, you knew that you were male at a young age right? Well I imagine it might be the same for some trans people. They might get gender dysphoria at a young age, and not even know what it is. Or they could know right away that they identify as the different sex.
Some trans-identified people do fit this pattern, of being gender nonconforming and feeling gender dysphoria from a very young age, especially those who fit Blanchard's HSTS typology (including gynephilic and GNC TiFs who might be called it's converse.) Many people, an increasing number of people, I would say most, do not fit this pattern, while at the same time, more and more children are said to be trans-identified (while all evidence still points to this
not a being stable identity). Especially of note are young TiFs, where rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD), which by definition does
not start this way, is a major if not
the major type of trans presentation these days.
Masculine and gynephilic TiFs haven't had enough research done about them but they may, going out on a limb here, resemble HSTS natal males as I noted. AGP type TiMs tend not to display any identification or GD at a young age, almost by definition as well. TiMs and TiFs not categorizable by Blanchard typology, those with more of a nonspecific gender dysphoria and feeling of unbelonging, often start fairly early too but are a diverse group. Once more the research that's available sucks.
A problem across all categories however is a tendency to interpret any vague discontent or "not fitting in" as a gender issue, whether looking back to childhood or in the present. This is encouraged by some informal support networks frequently accessed by trans-identified individuals and is an especially significant problem as it can lead to otherwise troubled people viewing trans identity as a panacea for their issues.
