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Is being Transgender a mental disorder?

Is being Transgender a mental disorder?


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Bucky

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I think this is a worthwhile debate. Is being transgender a mental disorder? Statistics show that 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide. Now some may claim this high percentage is due to the transgendered being discriminated/bullied against. I am not quite sure about that.

If you look at other historically disenfranchised groups, suicide rates are quite low.

Gender dysphoria by definition is psychiatry. If someone came to you and said they were a dog you would probably assume they have some sort of mental illness. Gender by definition is biological and not something you can naturally change in humans.

Also - if you believe being Transgender is a mental disorder, this is not an attack against these people. They deserve protection and in no way should be bullied. However the protection they deserve is the same as someone that is anorexic. The protection they deserve shouldn't be political.
 
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No.

/thread
 
I think this is a worthwhile debate. Is being transgender a mental disorder? Statistics show that 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide. Now some may claim this high percentage is due to the transgendered being discriminated/bullied against. I am not quite sure about that.

If you look at other historically disenfranchised groups, suicide rates are quite low.

Gender dysphoria by definition is psychiatry. If someone came to you and said they were a dog you would probably assume they have some sort of mental illness. Gender by definition is biological and not something you can naturally change in humans.

DSM-5 says no. It is the authority on the subject.
 
No.

/thread

So, hypothetically, If I were African American, but I believed I was caucasian, should I legally be able to change my race?

How about my age?

Can a 50-year old legally change his/her age to 30?
 
I think this is a worthwhile debate. Is being transgender a mental disorder? Statistics show that 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide. Now some may claim this high percentage is due to the transgendered being discriminated/bullied against. I am not quite sure about that.

If you look at other historically disenfranchised groups, suicide rates are quite low.

Gender dysphoria by definition is psychiatry. If someone came to you and said they were a dog you would probably assume they have some sort of mental illness. Gender by definition is biological and not something you can naturally change in humans.

Also - if you believe being Transgender is a mental disorder, this is not an attack against these people. They deserve protection and in no way should be bullied. However the protection they deserve is the same as someone that is anorexic. The protection they deserve shouldn't be political.

Not a mental disorder--at least not by the technical definition of mental disorders--but rather a brain-body incongruity. For one reason or another, the brain does not agree with the body. Why? Who knows?
 
Nope. Not a mental disorder.

Just like homosexuality.
 
I think this is a worthwhile debate. Is being transgender a mental disorder? Statistics show that 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide. Now some may claim this high percentage is due to the transgendered being discriminated/bullied against. I am not quite sure about that.

If you look at other historically disenfranchised groups, suicide rates are quite low.

Gender dysphoria by definition is psychiatry. If someone came to you and said they were a dog you would probably assume they have some sort of mental illness. Gender by definition is biological and not something you can naturally change in humans.

Also - if you believe being Transgender is a mental disorder, this is not an attack against these people. They deserve protection and in no way should be bullied. However the protection they deserve is the same as someone that is anorexic. The protection they deserve shouldn't be political.

I never thought of it as such, but then I am not a doctor of psychiatry. I accept the fact that each person is different, that there are no two people in this world that is the same. But then again, I am a pretty easy going individual with more or less of a live and let live philosophy. That is as long as no one is being harmed.

It's like likes and dislikes. I wouldn't call it a mental disorder. But then I have no ax to grind with transgenders. I don't believe everyone should believe as I do or have the same moral code if indeed, I have one. As long as no one is being harmed, I don't have a problem with them or pretty much anything else.
 
Depends of course on how you define mental illness. Gender dysphoria is currently considered a disorder, whereas simply being transsexual is not.
 
I never thought of it as such, but then I am not a doctor of psychiatry. I accept the fact that each person is different, that there are no two people in this world that is the same. But then again, I am a pretty easy going individual with more or less of a live and let live philosophy. That is as long as no one is being harmed.

It's like likes and dislikes. I wouldn't call it a mental disorder. But then I have no ax to grind with transgenders. I don't believe everyone should believe as I do or have the same moral code if indeed, I have one. As long as no one is being harmed, I don't have a problem with them or pretty much anything else.

I've argued both sides of this issue for years. In the end, I've concluded a true transgendered person is not suffering from a delusion or otherwise mentally ill. Now, there are some people who are not actually transgendered but rather may be delusional or suffering from some other mental illness which leads them to believe they are trans. Professionals make the determination on who is actually trans and qualifies for SRS and/or hormone treatments.

I think it goes without saying that most of us in this forum are not qualified to make the determination of who is or is not actually trangenedered. But, my understanding is that there are pretty reliable psychological tests which do a good job leading professionals in the right direction to make an accurate diagnosis.
 
Gender is a social construct to begin with. Species is not. If someone said they're a dog, no good can come from that. They'll never be able to *live* like a dog. Whereas a trans person can pretty much pull it off

Really need to ask yourself the reason for things. Might the suicide rate be due to societal pressure rather than the trait itself? And how do you explain the other 60%?

Other discriminated groups don't experience the total isolation and ostracism. Even slaves at least had each other. A trans kid growing up in rural america is plain screwed socially. They look at their present and future and it's all ****

I don't know what you're getting at with "protection they deserve," you mean lock them in a mental hospital or what? Because the studies indicate that transitioning greatly helps their mental health. By calling them mentally ill the implication is they should not have that option
 
So, hypothetically, If I were African American, but I believed I was caucasian, should I legally be able to change my race?

How about my age?

Can a 50-year old legally change his/her age to 30?

you already can do so, look at before/after of michael jackson

if it doesn't harm others, i don't see why you think you can impose these "should be able to" limitations
 
Gender is a social construct to begin with. Species is not. If someone said they're a dog, no good can come from that. They'll never be able to *live* like a dog. Whereas a trans person can pretty much pull it off

Really need to ask yourself the reason for things. Might the suicide rate be due to societal pressure rather than the trait itself? And how do you explain the other 60%?

Other discriminated groups don't experience the total isolation and ostracism. Even slaves at least had each other. A trans kid growing up in rural america is plain screwed socially. They look at their present and future and it's all ****

I don't know what you're getting at with "protection they deserve," you mean lock them in a mental hospital or what? Because the studies indicate that transitioning greatly helps their mental health. By calling them mentally ill the implication is they should not have that option

This is factually wrong
 
I've argued both sides of this issue for years. In the end, I've concluded a true transgendered person is not suffering from a delusion or otherwise mentally ill. Now, there are some people who are not actually transgendered but rather may be delusional or suffering from some other mental illness which leads them to believe they are trans. Professionals make the determination on who is actually trans and qualifies for SRS and/or hormone treatments.

I think it goes without saying that most of us in this forum are not qualified to make the determination of who is or is not actually trangenedered. But, my understanding is that there are pretty reliable psychological tests which do a good job leading professionals in the right direction to make an accurate diagnosis.

I'm surprised at the amount of people who get upset or riled at transgenders or gays or what have you. Those that do probably haven't traveled much or been exposed to a bunch of different cultures and traditions. Then again, maybe it's a religious belief. But I firmly believe in both freedom of religion and not trying to enforce one's religious views and or ideal on others.

Yeah, let the professional decide one way or the other. But I don't see any harm in it or someone being harmed by it. Let put it this way, I believe one should be correcting the character flaws within oneself instead of trying to change everyone else.
 
So, hypothetically, If I were African American, but I believed I was caucasian, should I legally be able to change my race?

How about my age?

Can a 50-year old legally change his/her age to 30?

Why are you trying to compare unalike things?
 
True, but actual gender is a biological.

You mean biological sex is biological. Gender is the expectations associated with biological sex as well as other genders such as orientation and age. Gender is "social expectations for x group".
 
You mean biological sex is biological. Gender is the expectations associated with biological sex as well as other genders such as orientation and age. Gender is "social expectations for x group".

Gender and sex are interchangeable
 
You mean biological sex is biological. Gender is the expectations associated with biological sex as well as other genders such as orientation and age. Gender is "social expectations for x group".
That sounds more like a gender role.
 
Not if your aim is to have any meaningful discussion of the trans experience

Actually it is because the gender expectations are irrelevant to the topic in the OP. No one is saying that going outside of gender norms would be remotely considered a mental illness. It's the hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery that people would be inclined to call a mental illness.
 
Gender and sex are interchangeable

Only in the most basic sense used on forms.

Gender, as a concept, is the expectation assigned to men and women. There are also expectation assigned to old people (knowledge and wisdom) and young people (dumbasses). Old is a gender. Gay is a gender. A gender is any group that carries with it social norms and expectations.

I knew a professor confused about being assigned to walk among the young men group on a traditional ceremony walk. He was so accustomed to being an old wise elder in general because of his Western knowledge, he was surprised to walk with young men. The elders were a category or two ahead in the procession. It was because in the context of village knowledge exclusively, he only merited a young man. His gender had changed from elder to young man as a result of context and he just couldn't seem to grasp it.
 
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