1. Many trans people see what they have as an illness/disorder of some kind. Biologically, they're not what they're supposed to be, and they need to fix it. Transitioning technology aside, the issue boiled down to its basics is that someone who is biologically male and trans is female in their brain and wants their body to represent that, and vice-versa.
With the exception that transmen are the same but opposite, this is not a controversial premise to me.
2. Many, if not most, trans people think this is a problem from birth and takes time to be realized. Some dawn on it after puberty, some in adulthood, but the common line of thought (from what I've seen, correct me if I'm wrong) is that there were pretty big signs in their early childhood that now seem obvious but were innocent enough back then.
Again, I don't disagree with this premise either, but with modification. As contre said, not everyone's signs were big. I was ok playing with my sister's dolls, I played my first Pokemon run as a girl, but I also but in general I was still, stereotypically, more interested in "masculine" stuff like football or Nintendo vidyas. Even to this day I still have tbh pretty masculine hobbies, despite now identifying as female. Not of course saying that the stereotypical gender of our hobbies define us, but that not every trans girl wanted to be a Disney princess when they were a kid.
3. Many trans people now see their identity as a point of pride. They wouldn't go back and change being trans because it's made them who they are, and they're quite a fan of who they are. As such, the circumstance of being trans slowly but surely goes from a mental health crisis to a core part of their being once treatment has been sought after and acquired. Not how it works for everyone, mind you, but a sizable percentage. Being trans and going through transition is a unique journey that makes the individual unique from those around them (and it's up to them to decide if being unique is a bad thing or a good thing).
Um, this is where I start to disagree with your premise.
If I had the magic ability to change who I am, I
wouldn't choose to be trans. I'd choose to be the woman that's in me all along. I mean, I know that's impossible given how sex determination works, but so is going back and choosing not to be trans. Either way, a different sperm is going to be fertilizing that egg. Whatever comes out of that will fundamentally not be who I am, meaning that thought experiment doesn't really matter in its conclusion.
Seriously, I can't stress how awful being trans actually is. There's nothing fun about being "unique" when the price is crippling self loathing and depression and social ostricazation.
4. Although technology for transitioning is improving, there are still many problems that need to be addressed. At the end of the day, the person's body will still be biologically different than it should be and sometimes maintaining the transition can come at a regularly-occurring cost of treatments.
I mean, soon as you get SRS, you really don't
need further surgery. Your incorrect sex organs are out, and after a while you'll eventually phase down the amount if hormones you get. And even then, it's not like the physical act of taking hormones is that arduous labor wise (it can cost wise here in America though
)
Let's assume no technology changes between now and when I finally transisition. Yes, there are a few things I will lack, such as:
No reproductive organs of my own, which means I can't give birth
I can't menstrate (which, while I said before I do want to because it means It'd further reaffirm my womanhood, it can still be considered a boon)
I can't lactate
Otherwise, I'm pretty much identical to any cisgender woman. It's honestly not that big of a deal; all of those refer to birth in some way and women aren't birth machines (unlike what some dominionists think
). Outside of those contexts I should fit in fine.
5. Abiding by the understanding that gender is malleable, this does not change that biological sex is often strict or, when it doesn't fit into a binary, comes with a depth of problems. Until technology advances to the point that a person's body can develop as though it's the gender in the person's brain, there'll always be that biological obstacle that does have relevance in medical treatments, organ transplants, and more. Even if you begin transition from a young age and pre-puberty, the body itself will never be exactly how it should be (and many trans people don't agree on WHAT it should be to begin with).
I disagree with a lot of this paragraph, but I think the most pressing question is: So? What grand point does that lead to? Premise 4? I think I already established the problem with that. Otherwise? Then I don't know what the hell you mean
In the discussions I've had and in the debates I've observed, I've found it extremely common that a trans person will have very clear positions on their trans journey and on the journeys of those in a similar state. They rarely say much on the origins of being transgender and what that means in the future. From what I've seen -- and that's certainly not a sign that I've seen everything or that I'm an authority -- trans people don't have much to say on the "early days" beyond a blanket call for support and compassion. That's fine, but it rarely addresses how this all starts out.
So with asking my question, I sought to find out how a trans person would deal with that scenario, knowing what they do about their journey and how they've grown over the years. As someone who isn't trans, I'd go through the gene therapy since I want my child to grow up knowing that things are as they should be when it comes to their own identity. Not because I want them to be what I choose them to be, but because they'll be going through a personal hell in trying to deal with the fact that they, for example, feel like a woman but are in the body of a man. If I have the power to change that before it has consequences to their identity, shouldn't I do that?
I'm honestly confused what you're getting at with the first paragraph. What do you mean that we don't pay enough attention to the early days? Firstly, I have to jump through hurdles in the medical community to prove I'm trans. Part of that is trying to find a perspective in why identify as such, which includes a deep introspective of my formulative years. If that's not having "much to say", then I don't really know what the hell is.
Secondly, and I hate to be a broken record, but even if we don't think about it or gave much to say, so what? To be honest I don't see the connection behind your initial thought experiment and the justification you're giving to why you presented it. To me, as I probably already implied in my response, I see the question not even so much as a trans issue, but a question of a child's indiviual rights vs the parents expectations of protecting them. Theres a backdrop of trans issues by the theming, of course, but I didn't see it as the central question.
That being said, I do really think it's my child's right to make those kind of decisions themselves. Yes, it's a comforting thought knowing they won't have to go through the same pain and self loathing I did, but... at what cost did that come? A little melodramatic, but I kind of just murdered who my child is supposed to be by doing that, and it's actually pretty uncomfortable thinking about that. If my child wanted to have that gene therapy, that's fine with me, but that would be their choice. Just like I would never choose to take it.
Necessary disclaimer: I know a lot of transphobic people use "trans experience" and "illness/disorder" as terms to discredit trans people or to otherwise make them feel wrong for being who they are. That isn't my intention here. When I refer to being trans as an illness, I mean before treatment and clarified realization. It's a problem, and the solution is to transition in whatever capacity the individual sees fit. The trans experience simply refers to the experience of being trans, much like how if I talk about a core part of my identity (being disabled), I'd refer to it as the disabled experience. It's not meant to imply an optional lifestyle or an us vs. them approach, just a representation of what a large part of their existence has been about.
No need to apologize; I actually said something like this earlier in the thread
here.
Do you think trans people have/had some kind of purpose too, like people with ADHD?
Honestly, no.
I heard about the gay uncle theory in regards to homosexuality (basicilly, having a gay family member, usually referred to as an uncle but it could be female too, means that your own kids won't have to compete with your gay sibling's kids for resources. That gay sibling could in turn also devote their own resources in raising and protecting your own kids, further increasing their chances of survival. Hence, while homosexuality might remove yourself from the genepool, it helps the bloodline as a whole), but nothing which really explains why transsexualism developed. TBH I think we're just genetic rejects, as terrible as it sounds.
