Draw from the strength of the love for you across multiple identities for boldly speaking the truth, and please soldier on, because your voice on this issue is critically needed for all, but especially the children.
As a trans/transsexual man, I really can't relate to this. Is gender dysphoria a mental disorder? Yeah, because it can impact your daily functioning, but a lot of trans people don't have that anymore after they transition. Many trans people feel weird thing to measure yourself by for these reasons. Also, I don't agree with the way a lot of the trans community has come after you. It's counterproductive. That said, I don't think you have actually absorbed the heart of these criticisms.
We should have better care across the board. Better guidelines for trans people to get the best care and to prevent regret. That said, there are going to be rare cases where minors need trans care. That should be a last resort but it should be there for those that need it. I transitioned as an adult and I have an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria. I use Plume because my local services suggested to me if I didn't want to stay on T long term I could just get my ovaries removed and when I stopped T I wouldn't feminize (untrue and dangerous). I asked to be referred to an endocrinologist and they told me trans care wasn't worth their time. Trans healthcare is broken and it's hurting people, but it's not because of the "trans movement." It's because people frankly don't give a shit about trans people and our healthcare already sucks across the board.
I think your heart is in the right place and you've done a lot historically for our community. I looked up to you when I first came out. That said I think blaming it on the trans movement rather than taking a more nuanced look at these problems can cause additional harm and that's where my personal criticism comes from.
Words cannot express how confusing and upsetting the trans ideology (more like cult) of today have become. And I can only imagine how this makes you, as an ACTUAL trans person, with ACTUAL gender dysphoria, feel.
As you have mentioned multiple times, gender dysphoria is a condition - it’s not a “fun” or easy condition, it’s something that comes with a lot of hardship and struggle. I have a connective tissue disease and other disabilities, and it’s not something I would ever choose or wish upon others. My disease manifested in my early 20’s, and so I have known both what it’s like to be able-bodied, and what it’s like to be disabled. Of course, being an able-bodied person is so much easier in so many ways. Now I’m imagining if having a connective tissue disease/other health condition were to become a “trend” or something pushed upon other people. Or if people who didn’t *actually* have a connective tissue disorder were being told that they did, and treated (with risky drugs/surgeries) as if they did. How dangerous and confusing is that?! Not to mention harmful to those who actually do have it!
Now obviously I’m not saying that gender dysphoria is the same as a health condition or disability, but I’m making the comparison because of how insane and dangerous it is to attempt to make someone’s condition into a popular trend. What’s happening is wrong on so many levels and I feel genuinely scared of all the children and youth who will inevitably become victims to today’s trans movement. The medical establishment knows no bounds to their greed and I truly feel that this movement is being pushed from the top down for profit...and perhaps also for reasons even more nefarious than that.
I really don't understand what is happening anymore. As a person who has lived their entire life the way you do, and as a person who has worked so hard and has done so much for trans visibility, I think no one should tell you how to describe yourself and talk about your experience, yourself and your life. At the same time, it's true that times change, language does too, and there is important work out there on gender theory and gender studies that has widened our perception and our vocabulary in the LGBTQIA+ community. But I am honestly baffled about what I see happening. It is mind boggling, and terribly confusing to see people fight about which words to use. Words aren't the only thing that matters. It's the intention, it's the tone, and the purpose behind them. Living in a world where so much of the human experience is mediated, often we lose that part of the equation. We communicate with written messages, in social platforms, and we often lose the context because of it. People pick fights based on spelling. It is ridiculous. Throughout all of that, I have one genuine question to ask you. What do you mean by "agenda." Isn't human rights the only agenda of the LGBT movement? Isn't that the only thing that all of us are fighting for? What else is there? I struggle to comprehend.
Thanks for starting this Substack, Buck. Looking forward to reading your thoughts.
The more Buck the better!
Draw from the strength of the love for you across multiple identities for boldly speaking the truth, and please soldier on, because your voice on this issue is critically needed for all, but especially the children.
Thanks for starting this 'stack, Buck. Looking forward to reading your thoughts.
Nice to follow you on this platform. Hope you can feel heard here. Thanks for all you do.
Looking forward to this Buck
So glad to see this !!! Excited to read your posts !
As a trans/transsexual man, I really can't relate to this. Is gender dysphoria a mental disorder? Yeah, because it can impact your daily functioning, but a lot of trans people don't have that anymore after they transition. Many trans people feel weird thing to measure yourself by for these reasons. Also, I don't agree with the way a lot of the trans community has come after you. It's counterproductive. That said, I don't think you have actually absorbed the heart of these criticisms.
We should have better care across the board. Better guidelines for trans people to get the best care and to prevent regret. That said, there are going to be rare cases where minors need trans care. That should be a last resort but it should be there for those that need it. I transitioned as an adult and I have an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria. I use Plume because my local services suggested to me if I didn't want to stay on T long term I could just get my ovaries removed and when I stopped T I wouldn't feminize (untrue and dangerous). I asked to be referred to an endocrinologist and they told me trans care wasn't worth their time. Trans healthcare is broken and it's hurting people, but it's not because of the "trans movement." It's because people frankly don't give a shit about trans people and our healthcare already sucks across the board.
I think your heart is in the right place and you've done a lot historically for our community. I looked up to you when I first came out. That said I think blaming it on the trans movement rather than taking a more nuanced look at these problems can cause additional harm and that's where my personal criticism comes from.
Words cannot express how confusing and upsetting the trans ideology (more like cult) of today have become. And I can only imagine how this makes you, as an ACTUAL trans person, with ACTUAL gender dysphoria, feel.
As you have mentioned multiple times, gender dysphoria is a condition - it’s not a “fun” or easy condition, it’s something that comes with a lot of hardship and struggle. I have a connective tissue disease and other disabilities, and it’s not something I would ever choose or wish upon others. My disease manifested in my early 20’s, and so I have known both what it’s like to be able-bodied, and what it’s like to be disabled. Of course, being an able-bodied person is so much easier in so many ways. Now I’m imagining if having a connective tissue disease/other health condition were to become a “trend” or something pushed upon other people. Or if people who didn’t *actually* have a connective tissue disorder were being told that they did, and treated (with risky drugs/surgeries) as if they did. How dangerous and confusing is that?! Not to mention harmful to those who actually do have it!
Now obviously I’m not saying that gender dysphoria is the same as a health condition or disability, but I’m making the comparison because of how insane and dangerous it is to attempt to make someone’s condition into a popular trend. What’s happening is wrong on so many levels and I feel genuinely scared of all the children and youth who will inevitably become victims to today’s trans movement. The medical establishment knows no bounds to their greed and I truly feel that this movement is being pushed from the top down for profit...and perhaps also for reasons even more nefarious than that.
I really don't understand what is happening anymore. As a person who has lived their entire life the way you do, and as a person who has worked so hard and has done so much for trans visibility, I think no one should tell you how to describe yourself and talk about your experience, yourself and your life. At the same time, it's true that times change, language does too, and there is important work out there on gender theory and gender studies that has widened our perception and our vocabulary in the LGBTQIA+ community. But I am honestly baffled about what I see happening. It is mind boggling, and terribly confusing to see people fight about which words to use. Words aren't the only thing that matters. It's the intention, it's the tone, and the purpose behind them. Living in a world where so much of the human experience is mediated, often we lose that part of the equation. We communicate with written messages, in social platforms, and we often lose the context because of it. People pick fights based on spelling. It is ridiculous. Throughout all of that, I have one genuine question to ask you. What do you mean by "agenda." Isn't human rights the only agenda of the LGBT movement? Isn't that the only thing that all of us are fighting for? What else is there? I struggle to comprehend.