5 ms·

I wonder if studying gender affirmation among cis people wouldn't help to solidify the science behind transitioning and well-being. With presentation of gender

by bsanr2 6y ago

I wonder if studying gender affirmation among cis people wouldn't help to solidify the science behind transitioning and well-being. With presentation of gender being as much of a spectrum as gender itself, it would stand to reason that there are cis individuals who experience dysphoria by way of not physically presenting as as masculine or feminine as they feel themselves to be (waves). Non-clinical avenues are somewhat more open to them in a way that they aren't to trans folk (e.g., diet and exercise), but I wonder if hormonal supplementation for the express purposes of enhancing gender identification (rather than to correct a clinical deficiency or for birth control) could be beneficial. EDIT: The great thing about suggesting that cis people might experience gender dysphoria is that it pisses off the transphobes AND trans folk. Anyone looking for an edgy stand-up routine, have I got a subject for you.

fxtentacle 6y ago
Since "gender dysphoria" hasn't been scientifically defined yet, you're free to make up a definition so that everyone has it ;)
- bsanr2 6y ago
  https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphori...
  - fxtentacle 6y ago
    "Gender dysphoria - as a general descriptive term refers to an individual’s discontent with the assigned gender." That is a very weak definition, if you ask me.
    - burgerboy 6y ago
      Didn't ask you
    - bsanr2 6y ago
      You'll have to take it up with the APA, the authority on psychiatric disorders in the US and the author of that page. As a dead comment stated, nobody asked you.
sascha_sl 6y ago
While a lot of trans people would like it to be the case, quantity doesn't really matter past receptor saturation. Most badly adjusted doses are badly adjusted because they're not consistent instead (estradiol has a very short half life). If you have gonads producing your hormones you don't usually have this issue. We do however have cases of gender dysphoria when treating cis people with antiandrogens for prostate cancer, so it seems to be a phenomenon not limited to trans people.
- bsanr2 6y ago
  This assumes that gender dysphoria is exclusively physiological, an impossibility given that gender itself is partially socially- and psychologically-constructed. As mentioned, perhaps hormone treatment could still benefit people who don't have a clinically-indicated deficiency solely because (even in men and women with functional gonads) their application enhances the secondary sexual characteristics (behavioral, psychological, and physical) that a dysphoric individual might find lacking. My personal take is that a good deal of dysphoria is misdiagnosed as dysmorphia. Because those people are left to self-medicate, unfortunately you end up with the kind of abuse that makes people question the legitimacy of such treatment. I think, though, it's dangerous to lump in people who could benefit from hormonal support for their exercise and antidepression goals (which, for some cis men, would be a gender affirmative strategy), with people who inject synthol or silicone without any medically-viable rationale and in so doing radically damage their bodies (which is what happens now). In the end, what I'm hoping to see someday is an understanding of a fundamental similarity between the cis and trans experiences, because it would mean both buy-in from and benefits for both groups.
  - sascha_sl 6y ago
    There are definitely social, psychological and neurological factors involved, and none should be discounted. It's just that the social factor is much harder to control when our society is so hostile to gender-nonconformity. And that explicitly includes internalized transphobia. I would not be surprised in the slightest if social rejection accounts for most of the remaining difference to cis controls for transgender suicidality.

by bsanr2 6y ago

fxtentacle 6y ago

Since "gender dysphoria" hasn't been scientifically defined yet, you're free to make up a definition so that everyone has it ;)

bsanr2 6y ago
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphori...
- fxtentacle 6y ago
  "Gender dysphoria - as a general descriptive term refers to an individual’s discontent with the assigned gender." That is a very weak definition, if you ask me.
  - burgerboy 6y ago
    Didn't ask you
  - bsanr2 6y ago
    You'll have to take it up with the APA, the authority on psychiatric disorders in the US and the author of that page. As a dead comment stated, nobody asked you.

sascha_sl 6y ago

While a lot of trans people would like it to be the case, quantity doesn't really matter past receptor saturation. Most badly adjusted doses are badly adjusted because they're not consistent instead (estradiol has a very short half life). If you have gonads producing your hormones you don't usually have this issue. We do however have cases of gender dysphoria when treating cis people with antiandrogens for prostate cancer, so it seems to be a phenomenon not limited to trans people.

bsanr2 6y ago
This assumes that gender dysphoria is exclusively physiological, an impossibility given that gender itself is partially socially- and psychologically-constructed. As mentioned, perhaps hormone treatment could still benefit people who don't have a clinically-indicated deficiency solely because (even in men and women with functional gonads) their application enhances the secondary sexual characteristics (behavioral, psychological, and physical) that a dysphoric individual might find lacking. My personal take is that a good deal of dysphoria is misdiagnosed as dysmorphia. Because those people are left to self-medicate, unfortunately you end up with the kind of abuse that makes people question the legitimacy of such treatment. I think, though, it's dangerous to lump in people who could benefit from hormonal support for their exercise and antidepression goals (which, for some cis men, would be a gender affirmative strategy), with people who inject synthol or silicone without any medically-viable rationale and in so doing radically damage their bodies (which is what happens now). In the end, what I'm hoping to see someday is an understanding of a fundamental similarity between the cis and trans experiences, because it would mean both buy-in from and benefits for both groups.
- sascha_sl 6y ago
  There are definitely social, psychological and neurological factors involved, and none should be discounted. It's just that the social factor is much harder to control when our society is so hostile to gender-nonconformity. And that explicitly includes internalized transphobia. I would not be surprised in the slightest if social rejection accounts for most of the remaining difference to cis controls for transgender suicidality.