Gender dysphoria

[Realworldjack]

This is a question for Christians, but I would invite others to join in as well. Is gender dysphoria a real condition? Or do you believe gender dysphoria to be a choice? If I were to ask this differently, are there folks who are born with gender dysphoria?

[Purple Knight]

I accept that it is true but not being a sufferer myself, I can never really know. None of us can. I don't like having to accept something without evidence that it is true, and gender dysphoria occurs entirely within the mind, so there can never really be any such evidence. The only way you could get it, is to have a way to fully change someone's gender, as in make you functionally that sex, and use it to swap 1000 people, half of whom identify as gender dysphoric. Then, if those who so identified said they were happier in, say, a year, at higher rates than those who did not identify as gender dysphoric, you'd have the best proof you could get.

[1213]

This is a question for Christians, but I would invite others to join in as well. Is gender dysphoria a real condition? Or do you believe gender dysphoria to be a choice? If I were to ask this differently, are there folks who are born with gender dysphoria?

It depends on what it means. Can you give a definition for it?

[Realworldjack]

[Replying to Purple Knight in post #2]

Okay, allow me to make my stand here, and that is I believe we can know. As a heterosexual I can assure you that there is no way I could perform with the same sex. It is not going to happen. With this being the case, if there are those who can perform with the same sex, then it is obvious they are far different than I am, and I do not see how this can be a choice they are making, in that I could never, ever make the choice. As far as gender dysphoria is concerned, I would make the same argument. I am convinced there are those who suffer from this condition from birth, and it would be insane for these folks to make this sort of thing up, when they could go on to live what we call a normal life. In other words, why would one want to put themselves in a situation that would bring on all the trouble associated with it? I mean, be for real. No one would ever want to live out their whole existence battling something they have no battle against.

[Realworldjack]

[Replying to 1213 in post #3]

Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity.

[AgnosticBoy]

This is a question for Christians, but I would invite others to join in as well. Is gender dysphoria a real condition? Or do you believe gender dysphoria to be a choice? If I were to ask this differently, are there folks who are born with gender dysphoria?

My position has evolved on a lot of behavior after realizing that much of our behaviors that people think are just biology or just environment are really both ( the same goes for even gene expression - as found in the field of epigenetics). So in that sense, we have some choice or level of control over most of our behaviors. The question for me is what level of control do we have over it. If the choice is not as easy as choosing between flavors of ice cream, then generally, I don't consider it to be the type of choice that most people commonly think of when we say "choice".

So for now, I'll say people have little to no control over gender dysphoria, especially since it tends to occur at a young age similar to what we find for sexual orientation.

[1213]

[Replying to 1213 in post #3]

Gender dysphoria is a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity.

Thank you. By what I see, people are not able nowadays to define what is a woman. For example it is said that men can get pregnant and do whatever women do. How it is possible to have any gender identity when there seems to be nothing that defines a woman or a man?

[AgnosticBoy]

How it is possible to have any gender identity when there seems to be nothing that defines a woman or a man?

That is largely political. In the medical and scientific context, the distinctions are made between a biological woman and a trans woman. Some in the political arena would have you think that those definitions are discriminatory because it leaves out trans woman as being women. But in my view, it all depends on the context or situation.

[Purple Knight]

Okay, allow me to make my stand here, and that is I believe we can know. As a heterosexual I can assure you that there is no way I could perform with the same sex. It is not going to happen.

I agree and that's evidence for homosexuals not being possibly faking it. If they were like us, they could do this for no less than, "Or, you have to die."

I am convinced there are those who suffer from this condition from birth, and it would be insane for these folks to make this sort of thing up, when they could go on to live what we call a normal life. In other words, why would one want to put themselves in a situation that would bring on all the trouble associated with it? I mean, be for real. No one would ever want to live out their whole existence battling something they have no battle against.

One reason is to stop bullying in school. The ugly girl is going to take it all, have no recourse, but if she says, oh I am transgender, I am really a boy, she will be protected. And you don't have to take it up the butt (which is what I could never ever do) to gain protection against discrimination. You just have to say you're trans. Could I put on a wig and some makeup and try to pass, if I was being discriminated against and needed the protection? Sure. Not only is there reason to fake it, there's nothing inherently horrid about it, like there is with taking it up the butt.

[1213]

How it is possible to have any gender identity when there seems to be nothing that defines a woman or a man?

That is largely political. In the medical and scientific context, the distinctions are made between a biological woman and a trans woman. Some in the political arena would have you think that those definitions are discriminatory because it leaves out trans woman as being women. But in my view, it all depends on the context or situation.

I agree that it is largely political, not scientific. I think it would be best to define sex/gender biologically.