If transphobia is completely taken out of the picture, then how exactly would the lifespans of transgender people and cisgender people compare?
Any thoughts on this?
Also, to clarify--I am certainly not trying to offend anyone here; rather, I am simply extremely curious about this. :)
Depression is a common symptom of dysphoria. I think that even if the world were totally fine with us, transgender people would still have an elevated suicide rate. Lower than it is now, for sure, but higher than average.
Quote from: sparrow on December 02, 2015, 02:30:53 AM
Depression is a common symptom of dysphoria. I think that even if the world were totally fine with us, transgender people would still have an elevated suicide rate. Lower than it is now, for sure, but higher than average.
Doesn't transitioning significantly help deal with gender dysphoria, though?
I don't know that anyone has studied overall lifespan of post-transition transsexuals.
One thing to think about: what is the purpose of your question? If it's just to make the decision of whether or not to transition, then isn't it more appropriate to compare the lifespans of transitioning transpeople to non-transitioning transpeople? Why do cis people enter into it?
Quote from: Futurist on December 02, 2015, 02:18:45 AM
If transphobia is completely taken out of the picture, then how exactly would the lifespans of transgender people and cisgender people compare?
Any thoughts on this?
How do you want to measure ?
A happy trans person... compared to a unhappy cis person ? Or a happy cis person ? :)
Quote from: Futurist on December 02, 2015, 02:36:21 AM
Doesn't transitioning significantly help deal with gender dysphoria, though?
Well sure, it did for me... but the later in life that we come to recognize our transgender status, the less effective HRT is. I'll never have as feminine of a body as I'd like. That's a fact of life that I accept, but I'm still gonna have a twinge of dysphoria every time I look in a mirror. So while my dysphoria is well-managed, it's never going to be gone.
I suspect that a significant component of my transgender status is a result of intense and prolonged emotional trauma. It was long enough and bad enough to cause permanent changes to my brain structure and chemistry. It's not like I identified as a little girl when I was 2 or anything -- no amount of societal support would have "caught" this before puberty: I was happy to be a boy back then! I was
stoked when my little peachfuzz moustache came in. I was destined to transition late in life, destined for dysphoria.
In October 2014, USA Today(1) reported that life expectancy in the US is 78.8 years. Within that, women can expect to live 81 years, while men only 76. The question for transpeople is, do we fall into the category associated with our gender identity, or our biological sex?
(1) http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/us-life-expectancy-hits-record-high/16874039/ (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/08/us-life-expectancy-hits-record-high/16874039/)
An old news 3 years ago:
Eunuchs outlive male counterparts, study of Korean dynasty finds
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/eunuchs-outlive-male-counterparts-study-of-korean-dynasty-finds/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212007129
barbie~~