No, medical transitions are not the result of societal pressure.
I recently read an article by a person I presume to be a cis man trying to crack the gender code entitled “The Nonsense Of Gender Theory”. The title drew my attention because I knew its contents could be anything from “TERFs bad, trans isn't always medical” to “trans people are fake”. Sadly, it was closer to the latter. I am not sure why he is compelled to speak out on the “truths” of gender when his experience has seemingly fit with the stereotypes he so vehemently opposes. Plus, it’s a little offputting to be schooled on gender by this guy, who again seems to be cis, when trans people live it. I dove in anyway.
The author begins rather rationally, establishing and defining “masculine traits” and “feminine traits”- something we would normally call “(western) societal gender roles”- and explains that this, solely, is gender.
His (their?) case is then made: “Gender Identity is the individual accepting a premise like: if females tend to be (nurturing, empathetic, gentle, supportive, and creative), and I feel (nurturing, empathetic, gentle, supportive, and creative), then I am a female.”
Gender identity, apparently, is the same as stereotyping oneself. Saying you are a man is, apparently, because you believe all men are [x].
This, of course, is wrong. Gender, as we know, is a collection of the below:
feelings and desires:
social: pronouns, names
expression: clothing, makeup, hair, presentation (i.e. binding or tucking)
to ignore the feelings, as he does, would define gender solely based on outward appearances.
It’s not.
Those of us who transition, whether or not it involves a medical transition, are a gender because we just are. Not because we have identified a desire to be masculine or feminine; of course, you can have “masculine traits” and “feminine traits” without being a man or a woman. This is what the essay misses.
Upon further interaction with the author, he told me afab trans people who take testosterone do so because it “alleviates brain fog” and “helps mood”. This is a direct lift from the TERF playbook: “testosterone is only making you happy in the short term, and you only go on it to fit society”.
This idea is deeply harmful and deeply personal to me- it’s the line my family has used when I first told them I planned to go on testosterone. I was told I was trying to be binary- that my desire to have facial hair meant I desired to “pass” as a man.
That was never the case- personally, going on testosterone made me more comfortable presenting more feminine- and I’ve never been a man. Still just a gender non-conforming person.
The second-to-final paragraph contains another TERF-y calamity: “We are now heading down that path again, and it’s not pretty. It is resulting in abhorrent behaviours, like telling our children that if they like a certain thing, that this ‘makes’ them a boy or a girl. It is causing us to demand that individuals fit a pre-ordained mould, rather than allowing them the freedom to exist in a way that is unique and requires no change. It is placing the expectation on many thousands of (particularly young) people that they must change their physical appearance/bodies in order to align themselves with their (or society’s) preconceptions, rather than celebrating their differences and beauty as they are.”
This, again, is personal, Jimmy! This paragraph is attacking trans youth, accusing us, as we often are, of being confused.
Again, gender identity is NOT gender roles! Just because gender is not sex does not mean pink is for girls and blue is for boys.
Trans people transitioning does not validate the gender binary or gender norms. It often has the opposite effect.
P.S. Have you ever heard the term “dysphoria”? It is very common in the trans community. It is the discomfort that can come from one's body and/or gender, such as suppressing your gender expression or when being misgendered in social situations. If gender identity were solely personality traits, why do so many trans people have dysphoria? As a response to your essay said, if I were trapped on an island without a society or human contact, I would still desire the physical (not emotional) effects of testosterone.
Again, no one is encouraging youth to be trans. If anything, they’re firmly resisting it: minors aren’t allowed to transition without parental consent and occasionally are not allowed, even then.
In conclusion, I hope you realize that this ideology is genuinely harmful, and I hope trans voices are treated with (at least) equal respect on trans issues.
