You need dysphoria to be trans
You need dysphoria to be trans. You need dysphoria to be trans. You need dysphoria to be trans.
I cannot stress this enough.
You don’t like stereotypical boy/girl things? Cool, congratulations. You’re still not trans. You want to wear boy/girl clothes? Cool, you’re still not trans.
Checklist for being trans:
[ ] Dysphoria with the sex you are born with
Jesus Christ. Being trans isn’t just a game of dress up.
No, you do not need dysphoria to be trans
Trans and transgender are umbrella terms that cover a wide variety of gender variance, and have been so since the early 1990s.
And yes, this is the way it is understood by the medical establishment as well. Since “truscum” and “transmedicalists” belive so strongly in medical authorities, I will give you a few definitions of the term, as it is used by doctors, researchers and health personell right now:
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, WPATH
“[Transgender:] Adjective to describe a diverse group of individuals who cross or transcend culturally defined categories of gender. The gender identity of transgender people differs to varying degrees from the sex they were assigned at birth”
The American Psychiatric Association (DSM-5 definition)
“Transgender refers to the broad specter of individuals who transiently or persistently identify with a gender different from their natal gender.”
(In the DSM5 the terms “transgender”, “transsexual” and “gender dysphoric” are not synonymous. Some, but not all, transgender people suffer from gender dysphoria.)
American Psychological Association
"Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.”
American Medical Student Association
“'Transgender’ is an umbrella term used by people in a number of different groups, including but not limited to cross-dressers (those who wear clothing of the other sex some of the time) to genderqueer people (those who feel that they belong to either both genders or neither gender) and transsexuals (an older term for people who take hormones and have sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) in order to transition to a different sex.“
The UK National Health Service (NHS)
"Trans and transgender are terms that are used to describe people who don’t conform to the traditional division of male and female.Trans embraces many different types of people and lifestyles, including:
- People who cross-dress (transvestite people). These people sometimes wear the clothing of the opposite sex, but don’t want to live full-time as a member of the opposite sex.
- People who feel that they’re both male and female, or neither male nor female.
- Drag queens, drag kings and other people who don’t appear conventionally masculine or feminine.
- Transsexual people. These are people who have a strong and constant desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex. Many transsexual people have gender reassignment treatment to make their appearance more consistent with their preferred gender. This often involves hormone therapy and surgery.”
(Click here for more definitions!)
None of these definitions require gender dysphoria. There are definitions of the word transsexual that require dysphoria, but this does not apply to the broader terms trans or transgender.
Arguing that trans people who do not experience gender dysphoria is playing a “game of dress up” is extremely disrespectful.
References here, here and here. See also: What the DSM-5 says about terms like transgender, transsexual and gender dysphoria, and Why we need a broad interpretation of transgender.
(And just to make this clear: This post is written by one who does suffer from gender dysphoria, and who wants to give room for all gender variant people to explore their sense of self.)
