Lol guys this is supposed to be a fun discussion... no need to get so worked up! I don't understand why people are getting offended, it's like if blind people or depressed people etc. etc. got offended if someone had the opinion that they have a medical problem/condition. It makes no sense, you can love being blind and be happy with it but blindness is still a condition! Why be so rude to someone who understandably wonders if there will ever be a cure to blindness? ( = transsexualism) And guys, I'm not forcing my opinions on anyone, I simply stated what I meant by cure and I explicitly said this is a question directed towards people who DO think it's a condition. If some of you don't think it is, that's fine! Just answer "no" to the third question or just don't answer that question, but why bring down the thread just because you disagree? People who think it is a condition have the right to at least talk about it don't you think? Or are we all forbidden to even CONSIDER having a physical problem? Are we really that close-minded guys that we can't even talk about it (especially when it's VERY likely that it IS a physical problem / birth defect, and it's also likely that at some point we'll find the cause and even a cure)?
Everyone who understood the questions and answered respectfully, thank you! Nice thoughts indeed. I'll discuss some of the points!
QuoteIf you're told your baby will be transgender and nothing can be done until the baby is born, do you still have the child? The same issue has been discussed with babies with down syndrome and other conditions. It's an uncomfortable issue, especially for this community.
That's an interesting question! Hmm I think each transgender and cisgender person will have their own answer to this, personally I think if this situation actually happened, parents should have the right to decide whether to have the baby or not, just like with down syndrome and other conditions. My own mother had an abortion because the son she was expecting had an illness and I think she had every right to do it. Though I don't think ->-bleeped-<- is nearly as bad as down syndrome so most people would probably have the babies anyway.
QuoteIt might be easier on some of us, but transgender people give a lot to our culture, not just for our contributions, but also to help the rest of the world understand what their gender actually means. It would be be a much lesser world if everyone were cis.
Could you expand on this? Gender means what it means, I don't think cis people don't understand the concept of gender or their own gender, they do get it and so do we, and I doubt we would lose much as a society if transgender people didn't exist. I should point out that by gender I mean the way humans identify, I'm not referring to gender expression / gender stereotypes or anything like that. I think cis-men can still be very feminine or gay or whatever without needing to be transgender to understand it or accept it.
People who said it has already been scientifically proofed, I don't think it's the case. Otherwise there would be an official cause, like; transsexualism is caused by X. But on wikipedia and other sites it says there are several "theories". I think what we need is an official, irrefutable theory, so that when talking about ->-bleeped-<-, we could say "transsexualism is caused by X. Period.". Once we find the cause then scientists will be able to investigate how we can actually prevent it. But so far we know very little about the causes. My gender therapist doesn't know the cause and says no one knows for sure so yeah, we don't know yet. Although I do agree that most likely it happens in the womb. Personally I'm very interested to find out what the actual cause is! I want all the details, even though I don't know a thing about science or medicine lol.
QuotePeople along the nonbinary spectrum don't have the "wrong" gender at all.
I've been wondering about non-binary people too, like are they non-binary for the same reason (cause) as transgender people? Or were they affected in a "mild" way and that's why they don't feel as strongly about their gender(s) as we do? Or maybe it's another cause entirely, or there isn't even a cause. I think many of them don't have gender dysphoria or suffer at all because of it so if there is no problem there is no cause and no cure. I'm not really sure about this though, I don't know much about non-binary genders / people.
QuoteQuite honestly, we'll be growing children in tanks like in Huxley's Brave New World before we'll find out why it happens or if anyone cares to prevent it.
Hmm well, it could be, but I don't think it's actually that far off. I'd say maybe in 20 years we'll get some answers, although a possible cure is probably much later to come, maybe in 50-100 years, so young people like me might get to see that day! Here's hoping (in my case)!
QuoteThanks for provoking some thought! Always good to clear off the cobwebs in my dusty ol' head.
Thanks man, this is why I made this thread in the first place, so we could reflect on this and discuss and get new ideas etc. There are some very interesting things mentioned here worth thinking about! Btw I hope you're right and the cause is found within 10 years!
Contravene, agree very much with your post! Though I do think autism will be curable someday, it's hard to imagine it being still a problem next century, with how quickly science and medicine are progressing. For instance we're very close to finding a real fix for Alzheimer's!
QuoteManny, being transgender is a birth condition, just as the autism spectrum, deafness, and being a little person can be a birth condition.
That's what I believe too and mentioned above! Thanks for the book recommendation btw!
QuoteMany of these communities find the concept of "correcting" their condition in the womb offensive.
Why? Why wouldn't they want to? If you have a condition that interferes with your life in such a major and often painful way, why not do something about it?
QuoteWere society more enlightened our condition would be no more a burden than heterochromia or albinism.
I disagree, as I mentioned in my last post, even if society was completely accepting, I think transgender people would still have many other problems that are way worse than simply having been born with white hair. And even if we didn't, why fix something that is not broken? Why be born male if you are a female and vice-versa? There is no point or logic to it.
