Jane Fae
Feminist and writer on issues of political and sexual liberty

Why Depathologization Matters to the Trans Community
Posted: 10/19/2012 10:18 am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-fae/why-depathologisation-mat_b_1985418.html

At last! Depathologization day is here again - well, tomorrow, actually - and for once the world is looking in, listening, starting to take note.

Not before time!

Because while being trans in whatever form that takes is burden enough, it is made many times worse by the fact that those who desperately need help must first prostrate themselves before the gods of medicine before receiving treatment.

Brilliant!  I'll be forwarding this to friends who simply can't fathom what we have to endure every day.

But what is a totally unsuspecting ciswife to think when her (masculine) husband turns out to be a MTF after years/decades of marriage/relationship? And their (young) children?

'Oh, my hubby/father isn't sick at all, he's just a woman like me/like mother is'

This depathologization takes away THEIR right to be angry, to feel cheated, to refuse to become a lesbian etc.

This kind of feminism denies the rights of ciswomen/wifes of MTF partners.

Quote from: Dahlia on October 20, 2012, 01:49:28 PM
This depathologization takes away THEIR right to be angry, to feel cheated, to refuse to become a lesbian etc.

I don't see this at all. Splain?

This action may be of great value for the "FTM or MTF" sensum strictum, but where does it leaves the rest of  cast of characters that need much psychotherapy?

It's a real hard line to draw peky.  To someone with a hammer everything looks like a nail, and so if you ask the therapy/psychotherapy community who needs it, their answer is pretty much everyone. 

On the hand there are lots of people who think that most psychotherapy is a psudo-science that can prove little in the way of results, and almost nothing in terms of a 'cure'.

The truth is, no doubt, somewhere in between that.  And if she is talking about the "Trans" community writ large - with all the various types of Trans-persons, then it's definitively true that since a of of them have no need of any medicalisation, and most likely (and more frequently all the time as general ease and familiarity grows) no real need for pathologisation as a mental illness.  They are not sick, they are not abnormal, they are just different.  For them the DSM label is a real problem because they would like to live life w/o being labeled as sick.

I have mixed feelings.

There are some people who present to gender therapists ( a wide umbrella) who have significant psychiatric problems that may or not be related to gender identity. These issues need to be explored and treated.

The examples of pregnancy and disability in fact support this view. There are few pregnant woman who do not desire medical help, to either ensure that they and their fetus are healthy and developing correctly. Procedures to determine genetic defects are common and the right to abort a genetically disabled fetus is common in most civilised countries. I personally know of no women among my friends who have not had medical help in giving birth. That is not to say that it is a biological fact that most woman can give birth without medical help, but the death rate for the woman and baby is far higher than if medical care is available.

Disability is the same, the life span of people with severe or even moderate disability is lowered compared to the non-disabled community. Simple intervention from treating toileting and feeding problems enhance life and aids in life style.

What is wrong in seeking medical help for gender dysmorphia?

What is wrong is the poor training, prejudice and moralistic stance of some medical 'professional' that wish to impose their sanctimonious stance on people under their care.

Good medical care improves and assists the mental and physical health of 'TG' people. It assists in demystifying the process and lends strength and support at times when the rooms close in and life seems too difficult to carry on.

I'm not saying TG is a disease and of course neither are pregnancy or most disabilities. But I do believe that medical intervention is important.

Cindy