6 ms·

I've been curious if anyone has studied why there are more and more transgender people lately. I don't believe it is only due to awareness and perception - it s

I've been curious if anyone has studied why there are more and more transgender people lately. I don't believe it is only due to awareness and perception - it seems to be occuring more and more frequently. Do other animals with similar levels of consciousness experience gender dysmorphia?

leephillips 5y ago
Among some populations it may be a social contagion: https://t.co/Bp5FcXDsg3 https://t.co/Bp5FcXDsg3 What other animals have a similar level of consciousness? You can‘t form the idea that you are “in the wrong body” unless that idea has been provided to you by your culture. You need linguistic and social support to even have the concept. EDIT: Oh, you may be interested in the phenomenon of what you might call “trans” non-human animals: individuals who behave like those of the opposite sex. Apparently in some species their physical characteristics can even change, such as female lions that grow manes. But nobody is confused enough to say “trans lady lions are lady lions“; that confusion is reserved for humans. In mammals, the sex can not change. But it‘s an interesting phenomenon.
- makeworld 5y ago
  Abigail Shrier is a writer and not a scientist, and it can be clearly seen even from the title of the book that she has an agenda. The thesis of the book has been "rejected by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage If you have a peer-reviewed study, that would be much more worthwhile to look at.
  - honkdaddy 5y ago
    Here's a study referenced in the book. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ The layman's explanation of the phenomenon is that parents observe a rapidly onset expression of gender dysphoria in their teenage daughters which "seemed to occur in the context of belonging to a peer group where one, multiple, or even all of the friends have become gender dysphoric and transgender-identified during the same timeframe."
    - makeworld 5y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27610041 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27610041
jl6 5y ago
Some people have tried to study this phenomenon but have been shut down by accusations that such research would be transphobic. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/16/academics-are-being-harassed-over-their-research-into-transgender-issues https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/16/academics-ar...
- makeworld 5y ago
  What has been shut down specifically? That letter is very vague.
teraflop 5y ago
Are you similarly confident that the dramatic rise in left-handedness in western cultures over the past ~200 years is due to factors other than awareness and perception?
yerwhat01010 5y ago
Abigail Shrier's recent book Irreversible Damage explores this question. I highly recommend it.
- makeworld 5y ago
  As I mentioned in another comment: Abigail Shrier is a writer and not a scientist, and it can be clearly seen even from the title of the book that she has an agenda. The thesis of the book has been "rejected by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage If you have a peer-reviewed study, that would be much more worthwhile to look at.
  - chitowneats 5y ago
    There is severe hesitation to fund this research by the psychiatric and medical establishment.
  - honkdaddy 5y ago
    As I mentioned in another comment, multiple studies have been done. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/
    - makeworld 5y ago
      That study has issues, does it not? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424477/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424477/ Interviewing parents seems like a problematic basis for an entirely new condition to me.
eulenteufel 5y ago
This is just a personal anecdote: In my puberty I had a strong feeling of rather being a girl and this caused significant mental anguish and some self harm. If had known as much about transgender people back then as I do know I would have likely transitioned then. Today I'm pretty okay with being a man. I still sometimes have problems with it but not in the same order of magnitude. From these personal experiences I think it is plausible that more people transition because more people are aware of the possibility and knowing other trans people in their age. I have no idea how big that group is however.
- kyleee 5y ago
  Though it may be an unanswerable question (and maybe too personal, please don't feel obligated to share), do you think you would have been better off transitioning?
  - mensetmanusman 5y ago
    https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51676020 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51676020 This is an interesting case that went through the UK courts. Very analogous to OP’s situation had it happened today.

leephillips 5y ago

Among some populations it may be a social contagion: https://t.co/Bp5FcXDsg3 https://t.co/Bp5FcXDsg3 What other animals have a similar level of consciousness? You can‘t form the idea that you are “in the wrong body” unless that idea has been provided to you by your culture. You need linguistic and social support to even have the concept. EDIT: Oh, you may be interested in the phenomenon of what you might call “trans” non-human animals: individuals who behave like those of the opposite sex. Apparently in some species their physical characteristics can even change, such as female lions that grow manes. But nobody is confused enough to say “trans lady lions are lady lions“; that confusion is reserved for humans. In mammals, the sex can not change. But it‘s an interesting phenomenon.

makeworld 5y ago
Abigail Shrier is a writer and not a scientist, and it can be clearly seen even from the title of the book that she has an agenda. The thesis of the book has been "rejected by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage If you have a peer-reviewed study, that would be much more worthwhile to look at.
- honkdaddy 5y ago
  Here's a study referenced in the book. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ The layman's explanation of the phenomenon is that parents observe a rapidly onset expression of gender dysphoria in their teenage daughters which "seemed to occur in the context of belonging to a peer group where one, multiple, or even all of the friends have become gender dysphoric and transgender-identified during the same timeframe."
  - makeworld 5y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27610041 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27610041

jl6 5y ago

Some people have tried to study this phenomenon but have been shut down by accusations that such research would be transphobic. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/16/academics-are-being-harassed-over-their-research-into-transgender-issues https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/16/academics-ar...

makeworld 5y ago
What has been shut down specifically? That letter is very vague.

teraflop 5y ago

Are you similarly confident that the dramatic rise in left-handedness in western cultures over the past ~200 years is due to factors other than awareness and perception?

yerwhat01010 5y ago

Abigail Shrier's recent book Irreversible Damage explores this question. I highly recommend it.

makeworld 5y ago
As I mentioned in another comment: Abigail Shrier is a writer and not a scientist, and it can be clearly seen even from the title of the book that she has an agenda. The thesis of the book has been "rejected by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage If you have a peer-reviewed study, that would be much more worthwhile to look at.
- chitowneats 5y ago
  There is severe hesitation to fund this research by the psychiatric and medical establishment.
- honkdaddy 5y ago
  As I mentioned in another comment, multiple studies have been done. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6095578/
  - makeworld 5y ago
    That study has issues, does it not? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424477/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6424477/ Interviewing parents seems like a problematic basis for an entirely new condition to me.

eulenteufel 5y ago

This is just a personal anecdote: In my puberty I had a strong feeling of rather being a girl and this caused significant mental anguish and some self harm. If had known as much about transgender people back then as I do know I would have likely transitioned then. Today I'm pretty okay with being a man. I still sometimes have problems with it but not in the same order of magnitude. From these personal experiences I think it is plausible that more people transition because more people are aware of the possibility and knowing other trans people in their age. I have no idea how big that group is however.

kyleee 5y ago
Though it may be an unanswerable question (and maybe too personal, please don't feel obligated to share), do you think you would have been better off transitioning?
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51676020 https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51676020 This is an interesting case that went through the UK courts. Very analogous to OP’s situation had it happened today.