Uh, trans folks exist and are fully human of course but there is also a mental illness issue - their brain’s gender doesn’t match their body’s gender. This can be helped with transitioning and stuff but it is at its root a mental issue. Doesn’t make them less of a person and it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get all the help and support they need to thrive. Doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t call them by their preferred stuff either. But it is a mental illness by definition. Just one that we should help with without judging, same as depression or anything else
Is being transgender a mental illness? No. Being transgender (or trans, for short) isn’t a mental health disorder. If you’re transgender, it means that you have a different gender identity than the one you were assigned at birth. (Gender identity is defined as the personal sense of one’s own gender.) The desire to convey your gender in the way you feel most authentic is a normal aspect of human expression.
Gender dysphoria is a mental illness (it’s listed in the DSM-5), and the best treatment we have for it is gender affirmation. But not all trans people have gender dysphoria. From that same page:
Some trans individuals don’t experience mental health issues at all. Others have mental health issues that aren’t related to being transgender. But for some, mental health and gender identity are related. Generally, this isn’t due to being transgender, but to the social stigma that often exists.
It sounds to me like you’re not intentionally bigoted, and you also don’t seem intolerant. But I think you’re misinformed on this one, and calling being trans a mental illness could be very hurtful to some. There’s a reason the cleveland clinic document literally starts with “Being transgender is not a mental illness”, in addition to having a section below that addresses it (which I quoted above).
You learn something new every day. I thought it was all covered under gender dysphoria, didn’t realize it was that wide of a spectrum. Thanks for the info!
Uh, trans folks exist and are fully human of course but there is also a mental illness issue - their brain’s gender doesn’t match their body’s gender. This can be helped with transitioning and stuff but it is at its root a mental issue. Doesn’t make them less of a person and it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t get all the help and support they need to thrive. Doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t call them by their preferred stuff either. But it is a mental illness by definition. Just one that we should help with without judging, same as depression or anything else
This is false. From the cleveland clinic:
Gender dysphoria is a mental illness (it’s listed in the DSM-5), and the best treatment we have for it is gender affirmation. But not all trans people have gender dysphoria. From that same page:
It sounds to me like you’re not intentionally bigoted, and you also don’t seem intolerant. But I think you’re misinformed on this one, and calling being trans a mental illness could be very hurtful to some. There’s a reason the cleveland clinic document literally starts with “Being transgender is not a mental illness”, in addition to having a section below that addresses it (which I quoted above).
You learn something new every day. I thought it was all covered under gender dysphoria, didn’t realize it was that wide of a spectrum. Thanks for the info!