I feel like we're seeing more trans people because there's more information out there. Previously a great many of us never realised there was another path, a potential solution to the burden we'd carried and the confusing feelings we had. The internet is a wonderful thing in that it allows you to seek out information we 10 or 20 years ago simply did NOT have access to and suddenly people are seeing their own experiences reflected in others and realising "oh... oh THAT'S what it is!"
Sort of like the increase in cases of Austism is a direct result in society getting better at recognising it. It's unlikely there's actually that many more cases, it's just those cases that were previously overlooked at now getting actually diagnosed. I mean when I was a kid unless you were seriously disabled you were just "dumb" or "disruptive" and I spent most of my childhood actively being punished for my tics and meltdowns with zero understanding or compassion.
If I was born 20 years later, well, i'd have a diagnosis of ASD and support.
So i look at the increase in Transgender and gender related issues and I see a real similarity there with likely very similar reasons. Unstead of just shoving it down deep inside and living in that fog, people are seeking out a way to live as their true authentic self.
and the fact we're seeing so many suggests that this binary narrowly defined box of "male/female" simply isn't a realistic depiction of the human experience.
Of course I don't know the numbers but it'd be interesting to see how many referred to the GIC go on to actually have hormones or surgery and how many feel better after just speaking to someone who gets it and can help them understand themselves better.
What we're seeing is an NHS service that's woefully underfunded even by NHS standards. And it's underfunded because it's not seen as "important" (mental health care is one of the most ignored and dismissed aspects of health care in general).It hasn't been invested in as demand has grown and as a result it's struggling.
we don't have enough professionals able to speak to people and help them because no funding has been given to them as the years have gone by.
thing is, it's not JUST gender services suffering this. Mental health care hasn't had any money for decades either.
I remember when I had my youngest I was ASSURED i would get councilling to deal with the PTSD I suffered from with my previous birth (yes, actual genuine ptsd, nice). for months and months I kept asking because I was terrified and they kept saying "yes we've referred you, yes you'll speak to someone before the birth, it'll be fine!" but 6 months came, then 7, then 8... still no councilling. They had ONE person who specialised in birth trauma and she was overworked with too many referrals.
at 37 weeks my health had taken a dive and I was induced, without ever seeing anyone to speak about my fears, without any consideration of what i'd been through and how scared I was.
I was taken to the same hospital room, same bed as last time, same procedure and well, suffice to say, I ended up locked in a bathroom beating my head against a wall repeatedly.
Psych team were brought in and were all "well ffs, it's PTSD! Why did nobody speak to this person!?"
But that's sadly how the NHS IS with things that aren't specifically "medical". Gender care comes under mental health and as a result, no funding.
I'm not at all surprised the GIC is overworked, it sucks and it's dangerous for sure, but it's not surprising given how little attention certain areas of the NHS get and how ignored the NHS in general is.
I take exception to this narrative in some circles that the increase in trans cases is "because it's trendy" because lemme tell ya, there's nothing "cool" about losing friends and family, about potentially destroying your marriage, about being denied basic human rights like being able to pee in a damn bathroom without being attacked or screamed at. Who wants that?
In a way, it would be SO MUCH easier to have done all this early, before you had all that baggage. Before you had so much to lose. But sadly a great many of us didn't realise, explained things away with other things, lied to ourselves and kept up the act thinking we had no other choice and it was just "how life was".
Gendercare definitely needs a big shakeup. Maybe more therapists to discuss that intial thing, more support for the social transition side or just unravelling what your feeling. Make it a bit easier to access hormones (why can't the GP do that? they do other hormones. I mean my gp could give me feminising hrt so why can't she give me masculinising hrt? What's the difference? There's risks with both but for whatever reason it's AOK to give me estrogen with my consent but not testosterone? Even though my body naturally produces both and Estrogen nearly killed me? COME ON. I've seen the side effects of birth control on some people, like hair falling out, seisures, blood clots. But the GP is aok giving you that and not even monitoring it!)
The system no longer works for the demand. That's not the fault of the people accessing the GIC, anyone accessing the GIC is doing so because they feel they NEED to. The fault lies squarely with a system that's had no investment put into it and not evolved with a changing culture that's increasingly pushing against this outdated notion that humanity falls neatly into two narrow boxes and that chromosomes or genitalia somehow magically determine which box you fit into (which we're increasingly understanding simply isn't the case)
We'll always be a minority, but hopefully one day we won't be seen as abberations but rather just a natural variation.
I mean it wasn't that long ago people were trying to claim that homosexuality was a choice and a "trend" and people were only "becoming gay" because of peer pressure or for attention.
