Stefanie Bode #transphobia 4w.pub
Four Reasons To Stop Saying “Gender Dysphoria”
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There are many other ways to refer to someone’s mental distress in relation to sex or sex role stereotypes. For example, this person experiences sadness, despair, suicidal thoughts, the belief that she must fulfill a specific sex role, the distress over not fulfilling a socially expected sex role, insecurity, fear, body dysphoria, rejection of one’s sexed body or, in the words of Jennifer Bilek, dissociation from one’s body, being glorified and promoted by a huge industry.
There is no need for using a psychiatric term that conveys only sexist notions and reveals no specific information about what one is referring to. When others refer to “gender dysphoria”, we need to ask them: What do you mean by that? Seeking clarification helps the speaker and audience more clearly understand the socially constructive nature of transgenderism and enables a critical view of it, including in conversations with people who use the label for themselves.
The feminist activists Elie and Nele from the campaign Post Trans report that many affected women find relief in naming each feeling “for what it is,” instead of referring to the term “gender dysphoria.”
They explain that women can specify their experiences, for instance by saying they feel “discomfort from being seen as a woman” or “feeling uncomfortable with my breasts.” Breaking down psychiatric terms to specific experiences and perceptions is a great way to de-pathologize women, to stress our common experiences and to connect with each other.
3. It supports the ideas and practices of transgenderism
Use of the term “gender dysphoria” is accompanied by the assumption that the perception or experience at hand needs some form of clinical intervention. It is, after all, a clinical diagnosis.
The so-called “treatment” recommended by the clinical community in 2022 consists of hormone blockers, affirmation of cross-sex fantasies and invasive surgery. But even if psychotherapy is recommended instead of medical interventions, this still operates within a psychiatric misogynistic framework.
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