When we think about the phenomenon of transgenderism, we must consider all the permutations this involves. They are endless; literally, as varied as the human imagination. It is certainly not one thing, and it is not all what most people assume.
First, we must appreciate that the American Psychiatric Association holds the term “transgender” is a generalized “umbrella term” for anyone whose “inner sense or gender” is different than their body. That is so elastic it includes almost anything. They also explain it is a “non-medical term” without any scientific specificity.
Transgender as Cosplay
There is gender exploratory behavior that is essentially cosplay, demonstrated in make-believe play-actors like Dylan Mulvaney and ideological groomers like Jeffery Marsh. You can be whatever you want to be, and if you call it “trans” then that’s what you are. And the ideology demands everyone else play along. But no one should feel compelled to change their understanding of reality to make someone feel good about him- or herself.
In that regard, it is a social psychosis.
Trans as Social Contagion
We must also understand the role of social media capture and contagion in youth and young adults, persuading them to make claims they are the sex opposite their biological sex, or simply non-binary, which is not a thing. Abigail Shrier documented this well in her book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.
This is what is driving Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) with untold numbers of young people, largely young girls, swept up in it. It is not rooted in any objective clinical condition beyond impressionable adolescents and young adults persuaded by peers and online influences. Of course, trans activists claim ROGD is not real because it undercuts their “this is just the way nature made me” sympathy narrative.
Part-Time Transgender
It is important to note that a minority of people who consider themselves “transgender” identify with and present as their alternative gender 100 percent of the time. Most are merely part-time identifiers in public. Most (62%) “trans” identifying people imprecisely define themselves as “non-binary” or “gender non-confirming.” Only 12% define themselves as the binary “trans man” and 22% identify as “trans woman.” You can see how fluid all this is in a major Washington Post survey.
Genuine Debilitating Gender Dysphoria
What is more, the number of “transgender” people saying they have severe or debilitating distress over a misalignment between their self-perception of their sex and their objective physical body is not large at all, only 0.6% of the U.S. population. Compare this with 5% of young adults in the U.S. who identify as some category of “transgender.”
Very few people who identify as “transgender” suffer from what clinicians refer to as diagnosable gender dysphoria (GD). This condition can be truly excruciating for the patient, and can be understood as a sex-based “body identity integrity disorder” or BIID. This is where the individual does not identify with a perfectly healthy part of their body. They desire deeply to have that body part removed and will go to great and damaging lengths to have it do so. Published scientific research shows notable similarities between GD and BIID, here, here, and here.
Autogynephilia
Finally, there is autogynephilia, which is a paraphilia. It is described in the academic literature as “a male’s propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought of himself as a female.” Or as Anne Lawrence, a leading scholar on the topic and autogynephilic individual himself explains, it is a man’s effort to “become what he loves” or desires. In more academic parlance, Lawrence explains,
The academic literature reports that “nearly 3% of men in Western countries may experience autogynephilia” making it a leading reason for “trans” identity and behavior.
Michael Bailey, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University, and one of the world’s longest and leading experts on autogynephilia, strongly supposes that Bruce Jenner is autogynephilic rather than gender dysphoric. Bailey explained on a 2015 podcast,
Of course, this means these are men entering women’s private spaces because of their sexual desire to “become” that which they sexually desire. And we are told we are to fully accept them as actual “women.”
This means many “trans women” (i.e. men presenting as women) that you interact with at work, school or shopping centers are actually men who dress as women because they get a sexual thrill from it. It is a fetish.
This fact should deeply concern all women, girls and the men who seek to protect the women in their lives.
Conclusion
It is important that we understand what people mean when they use the term “trans” to get what they want in society. Few have said it better than liberal feminist Kara Dansky in her book, The Abolition of Sex: How the “Transgender” Agenda Harms Women and Girls,
Be properly discerning as loved ones, forces in your workplace, school, media and cultural elites try to convince you that “transgender” is natural and harmless. It is not.
It is an illusion that turns reality on its head.
Related articles and resources:
If you or someone you know is struggling with transgenderism or other sexuality issues, and you don’t know where to turn, Focus on the Family is here to help.
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