Baptists rally to attack gay marriage again..

[Magical Realist]

I don't see how gay marriage is even an indirect cause of transgenderism. Most all transgenders are raised in heterosexual families. So it doesn't seem to depend on their environment at all.

[Syne]

Let's try a little Socratic reasoning.

What do you think is needed in a culture for us to take claims that minors are transgender seriously?

[Magical Realist]

Consult with certified psychiatrists and psychologists about that condition and what the signs of it are.

[Syne]

You think the culture needs to consult with psychiatrists and psychologists before they take something seriously?
If so, what would motivate seeking such consulting?

[Magical Realist]

You think the culture needs to consult with psychiatrists and psychologists before they take something seriously?
If so, what would motivate seeking such consulting?

If you have a mental condition that keeps showing up in millions of kids nationwide that is symptomized by depression and the insistence that they are the opposite of their birth gender. That these kids are so persistent in this belief that they actually become withdrawn and self-harming and even suicidal trying to live as their birth gender. That would be enough for me. Parents just want their kids to be happy in the end, no matter what it takes.

[Syne]

Isn't that just a reaction after the fact?
What led to it reaching a critical mass to reach the public consciousness in the first place?

[Magical Realist]

It is a growing social awareness of transgenderism itself based on the increasing diagnostic range and broadening experience of modern psychiatry. Other mental conditions that have come to be recognized over the past few decades include autism, attention deficit syndrome, bulimia, depression, bipolarism and many others added to the diagnostic manual. Transgenderism is simply one more of these conditions raised to social awareness. But its official definition did occur in phases:

AI Overview:

"The diagnosis of transgender-related conditions has evolved significantly over time, with the term "transsexualism" appearing in the DSM-III in 1980. This was followed by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in 1990, which also included "transsexualism". Later, "gender identity disorder" replaced "transsexualism" in the DSM-IV, and finally, "gender dysphoria" replaced "gender identity disorder" in the DSM-5. These changes reflect a shift in understanding, focusing on the distress experienced by transgender individuals rather than pathologizing their gender identity."

[Syne]

Why did gender dysphoria go from a mental illness diagnosis to pushing for "gender-affirming care?"

[Magical Realist]

"Gender dysphoria is not classified as a mental illness in the way that conditions like depression or schizophrenia are. Instead, it is recognized as a condition in which the incongruence between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth causes significant distress. This distinction is crucial: the distress comes not from being transgender itself but from the mismatch between identity and physical or social realities.

To clarify further, leading medical organizations, including the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization, explicitly state that being transgender is not a mental illness. In 2019, the WHO removed “gender identity disorder” from its list of mental disorders and reclassified it as “gender incongruence,” framing it as a condition related to sexual health rather than a psychiatric issue. This reflects a growing understanding that the stigma of labeling transgender identities as mental illnesses contributes to discrimination and poor mental health outcomes, rather than addressing the actual needs of transgender individuals."----
https://www.reddit.com/r/TooAfraidToAskL..._a_mental/

[Syne]

Every other mental illness is defined by the distress it causes. So why is gender dysphoria a special case, where the physiology is blamed for the distress, instead of the disorder? Is it only appeals to authorities, or is there a cultural reason for this change?