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Comment by junon | Hacker News Reader

If I have clinical depression, saying "you're completely normal and do not have depression" doesn't make the depression go away or subside in any way.

Gender dysphoria is oftentimes treated via transitioning in some fashion. Having groupthink on online spaces doesn't alleviate symptoms.

I've never heard anyone except trans activists talking about the specifics of someone's trans-ness in an open setting. Certainly not something someone who's just trying to go about their day would even care about, let alone making a point that "hey by the way you're not biologically a woman, peace".

It's such a weird argument to me. Then again, I'm a dirty "transmedicalist" as labelled by the twitter trans community, so what do I know.

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>If I have clinical depression, saying "you're completely normal and do not have depression" doesn't make the depression go away or subside in any way.

This is really not a good analogy. An identity-linked issue like this would be closer to someone not being included into a certain in-group.

For example an African-American who grows up in a predominantly caucasian could be called "not black" or "not black enough" by someone trying to hurt them based on the way they speak or act differently.

You can imagine that this would be alleviated by people not putting up arbitrary rules on who "can be called black".

Gender dysphoria is a mental disorder (saying this in the most scientific way possible). It's not a cultural stigma.

So no, I disagree that it has any semblance to the "not black enough" argument.

I did not claim it was not a mental disorder. I said it is linked with identity in a way which is dissimilar to the depression analogy.

Is it far-fetched to say that the severity of negative emotional and mental effects on a person depends on how accepting the culture is of those who do not fit into the majority?

No, but that's not what you insinuated, and I feel as though you missed my point - I was simply talking about the reaction by others to a mental condition: saying "you're a biological woman" to a trans woman does about as much good as saying "just be happy" to a depressed person. It doesn't solve anything, and it reduces the very real condition and the effects of said condition down to talking points and virtue signalling.

Having gender dysphoria isn't a thing to be ashamed of, just any other mental health condition is not something to be ashamed of. Saying "you're a biological woman sis" is like saying "we're just going to act like you don't have it because it's shameful".

It doesn't make any sense from me, nor does it make sense to most of the trans individuals I follow. It seems, yet again, to be the allies that cause the most misinformation (just like we faced with the gay marriage debates).

Not sure why you're getting downvoted.. your analogy is a closer one than that of depression analogy

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