Talk:Gender dysphoria

Not a disorder?
So, a little bit of confusion here: in the article, the fact that gender dysphoria has (at least in some cases) physiological bases in the brain is used as an argument against the condition's classification as a disorder. I'm no psychiatry expert, but aren't there some problems with this argument? Autism, for example, also has physiological components, but (to the best of my knowledge) is still considered a disorder. (incidentally, I believe I've seen studies cited that demonstrated some correlation between autism and transgenderism/gender dysphoria, though that may not be relevant for the purposes of this article) 74.8.88.74 (talk) 00:43, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * The difference is the treatment - if gender dysphoria were a mental disorder then the goal would be to cure the individual without medical treatment. But because the treatment pathway is medical (hormones, surgeries, etc.), not psychotherapeutic, it is more properly classified as a medical condition than a mental disorder. 02:21, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
 * On what grounds is this distinction made, and by whom? Not being facetious, I'm genuinely curious. 74.8.91.6 (talk) 19:07, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Are you serious? If you really care about people who have this disorder, than you will admit that it's a disorder. Creating disability culture bullshit is harmful to the people with the disorder. There are tons of fuckers who are advocating against treating Autism because they think that it's a fucking master race or some shit instead of a disorder. –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 19:25, 11 June 2013 (UTC) - Sorry about going off.
 * Huh?
 * As for the disorder bit, see the discussion about the post by Natalie Reed above.--ZooGuard (talk) 19:42, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't really follow how not classifying this as a disorder would be creating a disability culture, & the rest of your post is just angry blather. If I'm reading this right, you seem annoyed that people might identify as a gender other than their assigned physical sex and that healthcare professionals (those spineless fuckers) might be OK with this.  Would you prefer that treatment of gender dysphoria encouraged transgender individuals to conform instead to their physical sex?  20:10, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I think that people should conform to the sex that they were born into, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't tolerate and accept them as people. They have a disorder, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't accept them as people.  I think maybe I'm annoyed that it seems like people don't understand this; just because these people are viewed as having a disorder doesn't mean that they can't be accepted.  –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 21:02, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * "I think that people should conform to the sex that they were born into" - why? and how? Sophie  Wilder  21:10, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * And today's award for most ignorant and hateful comment on Rationalwiki goes to..... Faced with mysteries dark and vast/statements just seem vain at last. 21:54, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * When you say "that doesn't mean that we shouldn't accept them as people", whose comment are you actually addressing? Has anyone suggested gender dysphoric individuals aren't people?  And when you say "I'm annoyed that it seems like people don't understand this", have you thought seriously about whether you actually understand this issue better than all the psychologists, counsellors & therapists who work in this area + gender dysphoric people themselves?   22:58, 11 June 2013 (UTC)
 * (To the Inquisitor) What if you met someone whom you knew as a man, but after a year or so of casual friendship you found out he had been born female? Would you insist that he go back to being a woman, because he was born female?  Does that negate the year of friendship with a man that you had experienced?  This position doesn't make sense to me.  Wehpudicabok (talk) 01:06, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * (To PSaL) Ignorant yes, hateful no. At least in my opinion.  Wehpudicabok (talk) 01:07, 12 June :::2013 (UTC)
 * To Wehpudicabok, it depends on the situation. I probably wouldn't care that much either way, as I don't care that much how people live their lives if it doesn't negatively affect other people.  Most likely, if they weren't physically still a man, I probably wouldn't care.  I probably wouldn't say anything anyway.
 * To PSL, you are the only one here who is hateful. I made it very clear that I would accept such people, even if I find what they do questionable.  You cannot handle anything other than what you believe, and you are therefore a closed minded bigot.  –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 03:08, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I think part of this could be misplaced compassion. I feel intense figurative pain whenever I see someone doing something "socially self sabotaging."  If someone sees a man wearing a dress, they're going to think that's weird, and you can't blame them for being disturbed by it.  I realize that such people are probably most often harmless, but it's not reasonable to try to convince the entire world that a man who is dressed as a woman is totally normal.  –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 03:29, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

I don't hate them -- they're just sick people who need to be "cured"! Where have I heard that line before? Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 04:22, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't think you understand what exactly we're discussing, Ehrenstein. For one thing, you bring up cross-dressing, but most cross-dressers aren't gender dysphoric; it's a completely different category.  Cross-dressing is more like a hobby.  By contrast, someone who is transgender (which is what causes gender dysphoria) identifies completely with a gender separate from what was assigned at birth; a trans woman isn't "a man wearing a dress" but a woman who used to be a man.
 * I also find it interesting that you seemed to imagine a man dressing as a woman (who would typically be confused with a male-to-female transsexual), whereas the hypothetical situation I described was of a female-to-male. I bring this up not to criticize but just to make a point about the public image of trans people, which seems to be something like "male-to-female trans people are men in drag, and female-to-male trans people don't exist."  It's a troubling (not to mention quite inaccurate) state on both counts.  Wehpudicabok (talk) 05:48, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Nebuchadnezzar, he never said they had to be cured. He said he found them questionable.  I don't like his position either, but I also don't like misrepresentation.  Wehpudicabok (talk) 05:53, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't hate them -- they're just sick people who need to be "cured"! That's not what I said.  Please refrain from being intolerant just because someone disagrees slightly with you.  I don't think that they should be forcibly cured or any shit like that.  I'm generally too liberal to give a fuck about what people want to do.  Did you see the Death Camp of Tolerance South Park episode where Mr. Garrison explains the difference between tolerating something and approving of it.
 * Maybe I don't understand it. If people want to dress as the opposite sex, that's weird, but I don't give enough of a crap to have a problem with it; they can do what they want.  I think one of the things I have a problem with is when these people make up their own rules and regulations for how they want to be dealt with, and then act like it's a hate crime if someone gets something wrong, like saying "former man" or using their original name.  –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 06:11, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Again, you're talking about two different groups of people. Cross-dressers and transsexuals are not the same thing.  (Neither are transsexuals and transgender people, for that matter, but the latter term is in something of a state of flux so that's a moot point.)  As for your last comment, most trans people just want to put a stop to actual hate crimes, rather than nitpicking on language.  That's my experience at least.  Wehpudicabok (talk) 06:21, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I also want to put a stop to actual hate crimes, which are trivialized when people have similar reactions over stupid language disputes. –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 06:30, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Then it seems we're on the same side, and I'm glad. Wehpudicabok (talk) 06:32, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * The scenario you're ranting about is basically a strawman, my Russo-German-named friend, and you seem to be getting angry for the sake of getting angry. Trans people want to be treated with the respect and dignity afforded cis people; if this seems strange to you, I suggest you reevaluate just how "tolerant" you consider yourself to be. 08:36, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * As to be expected, Blue hits it out of the park. Faced with mysteries dark and vast/statements just seem vain at last. 12:54, 12 June 2013 (UTC)
 * How is this not implying that it's a sickness that needs to be "treated"? Ehrenstein: "If you really care about people who have this disorder, than you will admit that it's a disorder. Creating disability culture bullshit is harmful to the people with the disorder.  There are tons of fuckers who are advocating against treating Autism because they think that it's a fucking master race or some shit instead of a disorder." Nebuchadnezzar (talk) 19:21, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

I... guess I didn't see that comment of his. Wehpudicabok (talk) 06:52, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

You can accept that it's a disorder, and accept people who they are and not try to "cure" them unless they specifically come forward and say that they want to change. I don't think that being gay is a disorder, but I wouldn't care if it was and wouldn't think that it implied the need for a cure. If a consenting adult with Autism was convinced that it was a way of being and not a disorder, I wouldn't care if they didn't try to be cured and wouldn't insist on people trying to cure them. –Александр(а) Ehrenstein (Talk | Contribs | Ragebox) 04:15, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

There are trans people who consider being transsexual to be a medical condition (generally refered to as 'truscum' by other members of the trans community). I myself am one of these people. The reasoning I follow is that a disorder is both unusual and maladaptive. Being transsexual (which is definded by having gender dysphoria) is both those things and so is a disorder. There is no cure for being transsexual, but there is treatment: Transition (living as our prefered gender, hrt etc.) Being gay is not a disorder because it is not maladaptive. FraserTheIsomer (talk) 14:45, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Morbidity and treatment
So... this isn't something pleasant, but since evidence based medicine is pretty important to the mission, I gotta bring this up: gender reassignment surgery is not a good treatment by-and-large. Doubling morbidity over 20 years and increasing depression seem like distinctly ineffective at the primary aims of that treatment. I don't want to go around telling people with difficult conditions what's right for them, but... treating gender dysphoria with gender reassignment might, maybe, count as woo. Any thoughts? Ikanreed (talk) 16:03, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * I haven't looked at the paper itself, but what you're saying seems to contradict the conclusion stated in that abstract: "Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care after sex reassignment for this patient group." I.E. treating gender dysphoria with sex reassignment alone may not be enough if not accompanied by other appropriate therapies; not that it may "count as woo".  18:33, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * I don't know, if you increase both somatic and psychological symptoms compared a control group, it can be hard to honestly say you're treating a condition. It's a bit like anti-depressants that raise suicide rates in that.  But I will refrain from calling it woo, because that is presumptuous.  Ikanreed (talk) 19:32, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * "If you increase both somatic and psychological symptoms compared a control group, it can be hard to honestly say you're treating a condition" <-- You can only conclude this empirically if the control group was people with the same condition who don't receive treatment. Probably there have been other studies where this was the case, and probably they had different findings (see WP:Sex reassignment therapy ). But in this case, the control group was non-trans people.  Hence the conclusion: "Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population."   20:05, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Oh shoot. You're right.  I have misread the methodology.  Point withdrawn entirely.  You can't expect people with any sort of mental disorder(I hate calling gender dysphoria that, because of the term's social baggage) to have lower rates of depression and healthier lifestyles than the general public.  My apologies.  Thanks for catching my mistake.  Ikanreed (talk) 20:53, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * No problem. 20:55, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

As body horror
“Some male assigned at birth individuals who feel dysphoric about their genitals describe the feeling as having a big raw chicken stapled between one's legs.”

I guess that would explain their uncontrollable urge to choke the chicken. Slings and Arrows (talk) 17:17, 7 January 2015 (UTC)


 * Snerk. On a serious note, though, does anyone have any qualms with me removing the "note that these are third-party anecdotes" chunk from the article? From a trans perspective, I can tell you that these are pretty fucking accurate. ArcticVixen (talk) 02:38, 17 July 2015 (UTC)

Seriously Confused
I honestly don't understand the nuances between gender dysphoria and transgendered. Also, when reading through the is/is not section regarding this as a "disorder", I can't help but wonder, what standards are used to decide that this should be treated with surgery instead of psychotherapy.

Can anyone break this down for me Blue's Clues? B4Xiphos (talk) 09:28, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Is there a difference? or is a Transgendered person simply someone who was encouraged/chose to treat their dysphoria via other methods than psychotherapy? Forgive my ignorance, but it seems to me, that surgical methods and hormone treatment for a psychological condition is akin to putting an anorexic on a diet... B4Xiphos (talk) 10:21, 31 May 2016 (UTC)
 * People with gender dysphoria often aren't sure exactly what they are. Sometimes they do know inside, but don't want to admit it. Transgender people have made the step to definitively say they are a woman/man/etc. inside. Many of them have already transitioned or started to transition. Does that clear things up? Pbfreespace3 (talk) 10:26, 31 May 2016 (UTC)


 * That clears up the terminology I guess. I probably won't ever understand many other aspects of this issue. B4Xiphos (talk) 13:15, 31 May 2016 (UTC)

Dr Littmann
Can we discuss Dr Littman's ROGD survey? I think it would be a good addition to the page.Scribbinus (talk) 21:01, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
 * 20:59, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
 * I do apologise; still getting used to the Wiki.Scribbinus (talk) 21:02, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
 * RationalWiki covers psuedoscience, so I see why not. At first glance, the theory was created to delegitimize trans people. There's more trans people out in the open because of awareness. People can suffer from gender dysphoria and not even know what it is. 21:09, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Cool. I'm just really baffled how a survey of 256 anti trans parents has been taken seriously, let alone spawned a 'disorder'. Scribbinus (talk) 08:32, 20 November 2019 (UTC)