Are we completely sure Trans people don't just have a mental disorder?

by Lore 49 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  brizzzy

  Gromit, "genderqueer" is not a slur; it is the "Q" in LGBTQ. It refers to several forms of self-identity:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer

  It's something of an ambiguous/catch-all term for people who don't quite feel that they fall under "straight", "gay", or "trans". For instance, my ex-JW friend identifies as "genderqueer" rather than "lesbian"...she is attracted to women and uses the pronoun "she" to refer to herself, but told me she has always felt more male than female, and considers herself sort of both male/female. To my knowledge, she does not want gender reassignment surgery but is happy as she is. I asked her how she prefer I refer to her, and she is the one who introduced me to the term "genderqueer". So that's what I do.

  It's not considered an offensive term in the LGBTQ community, versus slurs like "tr*nny", which are considered highly offensive if used by a cisgender person...The term "trans person" is the preferred technical term, I'm told.
• 

  NOLAW

  They have a disorder and are in need of medical help.
• 

  brizzzy

  Wow, thanks for the bigotry-free citation of facts and medical science there to back that up. /sarcasm
• 

  DawnBrightmoon

  Thank you for the welcome, those of you who wished it to me! :)

  Sure, one could make the argument that mental illness plays a role. But those who go the "craziest" are usually the ones who face the greatest amount of opposition. Their friends do their damnedest to enforce their biological sex upon them by limiting their choices to the detriment of their mental and emotional well-being. The people who they thought were their friends and loved them begin to make it clear that they'll be treated like "faggots" with all the bile and hatred that word conveys. They struggle against both their human need to be accepted by their peers and the thoughts and feelings within their own minds that they simply cannot escape. They are kicked, battered, and beaten day in and day out both physically and verbally by the people they ought to be able to trust, and if there is zero support at all (and sometimes even when they have some support because the other stuff just overwhelms it)... Well, it leads to a lot of unnecessary suicides, especially when one does not have to look far to see that the ones who HAVE received love and support, the ones who HAVE made the transition as they feel necessary to themselves, and the ones who HAVE made it through the bullying alive and eventually found acceptance from enough people and a means to live the way they feel compelled to do, and they go on to live overall happy, productive lives.
• 

  GromitSK

  Hi Brizzy. I didn't think there was any intention to be offensive. Personally I dislike the term 'queer' and find would find it offensive if used to me by anyone other than someone I knew well and if it was in jest, although some gay people do use it towards each other. I have never heard of LGBTQ when did they add the Q?
• 

  GromitSK

  As an aside, in the UK the term tranny was use d on BBC radio today by a guy who identified himself as a transvestite, as opposed to a transgendered. I suppose we ought not to assume that terms on person used to describe themselves are necessarily acceptable to others. I am conscious this is probably off-topic, apologies.
• 

  lisaBObeesa

  I thought the "Q" was for "questioning"...
• 

  brizzzy

  Q has been interpreted as covering both genderqueer/questioning. I would never use "queer" as a slur or towards anyone who specifically didn't tell me that's how they identify.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT

  " The term LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of " sexuality and gender identity-based cultures " and is sometimes used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or cisgender instead of exclusively to people who are homosexual , bisexual, or transgender. [2] [5] To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer and/or are questioning their sexual identity as " LGBTQ ", recorded since 1996. [6]

  On the one hand, some intersex people who want to be included in LGBT groups suggest an extended initialism "LGBTI" (recorded since 1999 [7] ). [8] This initialism "LGBTI" is used in all parts of "The Activist's Guide" of the Yogyakarta Principles in Action. [9] Furthermore, the initialism "LGBTIH" has seen use in India to encompass the hijra third gender identity and the related subculture. [10]"
• 

  kurtbethel

  Trans people put a lot of ads on craigslist around here. Mental disorder or not, they seem to have some popularity.
• 

  Heaven

  I thought the "Q" was for "questioning"...

  Interesting, Leesa. When I saw your comment, I thought ... "Q" is for Quality. Probably my career training coming out there.