On one hand I'm heartened by this kind of comment. I mean, the more clearly it is understood that there is a radical difference between fetishism, lifestyle choice, and a deep inner *need* to live as a different gender than your assigned one, the better. I definately have fetishes, but while I can go indefinately without eg. tying someone up and spanking them,* it would be literally painful and, ultimately, untenable for me to live and present as a female full-time with no breaks. Completely different aspects of my life. A diganostic category such as GID lets physicians treat patients as suffering from a condition that needs and deserves attention--hip replacements instead of nose-jobs.
On the other hand, there's a risk that if GID is seen as a medical condition, some elements are going to argue for "fixing" the inner man or woman to match the body, rather than confirming the person's own gender identity through medical intervention. This strikes me as kind of horrible; I'd like not to have my body dysphoria and the misery that comes with it, but not at the cost of having my identity scrubbed out and replaced by something socially acceptable. "Me" is an androgyne on the FtM spectrum, not a woman. What would I have gained? Nothing, coz there'd be no "me" left to gain anything!
*You all needed to know that.
