Another incredibly polarized social/political issue in the U.S. and in many parts of the world is the topic of gender. Specifically transgender individuals.

You know, because we need more reasons to be divided. And we need to have strong opinions with little to no research right?

I was brain rot scrolling on Facebook when this comment on a friend's post caught my eye:

TLDR: This therapist thinks society celebrates mental illness under an umbrella of woke. And (while mentioning only correlation), implies change of gender is because of a dysfunctional household.

Swooping in to save the day, defenders of justice and truth reach for their keyboards to quickly correct this statement with no facts of their own. They made claims that we encourage gender change in children (what they really meant was push them in the wrong direction), rather than send them to a licensed professional.

I'd like to make a few points here:

1. Just because a therapist has a license does not make them smart, or right, or have a good understanding of psychology.
2. Understanding research, interpreting results, analyzing the research methods, the journal it's published in, who funded the research, and so much more goes into understanding 'the truth'.
3. Any half decent researcher will tell you research cannot prove anything, only imply the possibility of a truth, and present empirical evidence.
4. Research that says '90% of cases heavily related to a dysfunctional relationship with mother or father in the childhood' is CORRELATIONAL research. Correlational research can only unveil a statistical relationship between two variables. Correlational research cannot prove causation.

   You know what is also "heavily related"? Ice cream sales and murder rates. The correlation coefficient between ice cream sales and murder rates has been reported as high as 0.86 to 0.715 in various analyses.

   

   Can you imagine the average person doesn't know this? And then they spend the rest of their lives looking down on trans people, spreading misinformation, putting their safety at risk and more.

5. The American Psychological Association emphasizes that mental illnesses are not only variations in emotions, thoughts, or behaviors but are conditions that significantly interfere with a person’s daily life and ability to function effectively. Yep, if you can function just fine then whatever is not "normal" in your head is not defined as a mental illness. That's an overgeneralization but you get the point. Can you believe even this therapist doesn’t know the rudimentary definition of a mental illness? Again, the average person doesn't.
6. If someone is telling you that deep down they truly feel a certain way about who they are. Why are you questioning that? Are you them? Are you gender police? Can you read their mind? Can you know more about their experience living outside of it?
7. Sex and gender are not the same thing. Can you believe people don't know this?

   According to Merriam-Webster, "sex" refers primarily to the biological differences between males and females, including genitalia and genetic differences. This term is typically associated with physical and reproductive attributes, such as "male" and "female"

   "Gender" - gender identity refers to a person's internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female; gender expression refers to the physical and behavioral manifestations of one's gender identity. By the end of the century gender by itself was being used as a synonym of gender identity.

   I see so many ignorant people saying how you can't be a woman because you were born a man and therefore your sex is male.

   Cambridge University Press & Assessment published Trans and Gender Variant Sexualities in History which suggests that they are an inherent aspect of human expression rather than a modern phenomenon.

8. No one wants to be trans because it's "cool" or "popular". And yes I've seen actual documentaries saying this and their viewers believe it. No one in today's world wants to be trans if they truly weren't. They risk their lives just to express who they truly are.

   The combination of societal discrimination, lack of support, and limited access to healthcare contributes to the vulnerabilities faced by transgender individuals, leading to a lower life expectancy and higher rates of mental health crises.

   A substantial body of evidence highlights that approximately 41% of transgender individuals have reported attempting suicide in their lifetime. This statistic is alarming compared to the general population, where the rate is significantly lower​ (Williams Institute)

   The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, found that 81.7% had considered suicide at some point, with 48.3% having done so in the past year.

   From the National Crime Victimization Survey found that in 2017-2018, transgender individuals faced about 86.2 violent victimizations per 1,000 people, while the rate for cisgender individuals was just 21.7 per 1,000.

   Despite the high prevalence of violence, many incidents go unreported. Reasons for this underreporting include distrust in law enforcement, fear of further victimization, or a belief that the police will not take their claims seriously. This fear is compounded by negative experiences with police reported by many in the transgender community.

   

   We could keep going further, into hate crimes and more. But you get the point.

   We only covered statistics in the United States. In other parts of the world it's so much worse.

   And that's why there is pride month, and a social movement for LGBTQ+ rights. Because if they don't fight for their rights, they might die or worse. Because the U.S. might become like those other dark parts of the world.

I hope that I am able to change someone's mind about this subject. These are regular people just trying to be their true selves, and they need support not hate or misinformation.