Any other "truscum"/transmedicalists?

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For any of those who don't know, transmedicalists (or "truscum" as Tumblr has labeled us) are persons (usually trans themselves) who believe you have to have gender dysphoria to be transgender/transsexual. Some are also critical of non-binary identities/believe there are only 2 genders, but that is not a requirement to be a transmedicalist. Basically we believe in the medical side of transsexualism and don't want it used as a political statement. I have a Youtube channel (not sure if I want to plug, if you guys are interested I will) in which I discuss my views on this issue. Many people hate on me for my views, but I try to not let it get to me. I was wondering if there was anyone else with similar views.

I am not trans, so my opinion may not matter, but I've never understood how a person could be transgender without experiencing dysphoria. I mean, isn't that essentially the entire point, that you feel as if you were born into a body of the wrong gender? How can you feel that way, while simultaneously experiencing no distress at your incorrectly assigned body parts?

No, I think your opinion matters too. What you said is the gist of why I believe you have to have dysphoria to be trans- otherwise, what makes you trans? You can have any level of dysphoria, be it mild or severe, but you still have to have dysphoria on some fundamental level.

Why not simply allow the individual to decide their own gender identity, sexuality, or orientation? Surly it isn'a a matter for others to dictate?

Sorry, I don't agree.

I try not to be anything that requires looking up in a dictionary.

I'm trans. A bunch of my friends are trans. Some of them didn't experience dysphoria pre-transition. In some cases they were okay with who they were but realized they'd be even happier transitioning. In other cases they'd totally emotionally stuffed their dysphoria or didn't process it as dysphoria because they didn't realize transitioning was an option. Some of my friends have a lot more social dysphoria than dysphoria around their hormone balance or body parts. And a lot of my friends have delayed their transitions for years or even decades because firm transmedicalists have convinced them--either passively or actively--that they weren't trans enough simply because the way they processed their relationship to gender identity didn't measure up to someone else's standards.

If I'm totally honest, transmedicalist claims have done some pretty severe harm to a lot of my friends. I genuinely wish the entire line of argument would just go away and let people process their gender without judgment and interference.

I've only rarely encountered Trans folk. I remember one; a pre-op Trans woman I ran on as a paramedic. Frustrated with the transition process, she had tried to castrate herself, but only got about halfway; it was too painful. It really deeply grieved me that she was in so much suffering that in extremis she'd felt that there was no other option than to hurt herself so grievously, but it absolutely enraged me that the other first responders on the scene (all male) treated her with barely disguised contempt, and couldn't transcend their homophobia and wouldn't touch her; her penis was partially severed and bleeding profusely. The most minimal, basic level of care required, demanded direct pressure on the wound, yet none of these macho heroes could bring themselves to touch someone else's cock, so I held her's in my hand (with a handful of bloody 4X4's) all the way to the ER. I hope she found peace.
I try to refrain from psychoanalyzing other folks; other's thoughts and motivations simply baffle me. I just wish that we wouldn't be so horrible to one another.

Thank you for sharing, epilanthanomai.

"I will repeat: gender is not a choice or an identity. It is a fact of how your brain is. It is not just a fun label you slap on. "

I see...and that's for YOU to decide is it? I'd suggest you let people make their own life choices...Its not harming you. Even if you think its a mistake, it's not you problem is it?

Perhaps "you do you" and let others do them?

Do you have to be trans to be a truscum or does this apply to anyone who believes the DSM that you need to have a dysphoria to be trans?

I believe every transgender person has some sort of dysphoria but some might not have it as bad as others which could explain why some were able to live their whole lives as their bio sex while some others had committed suicide. Some might need to do the sex reassignment surgery because of their dysphoria while for another trans person, they might not need it because them taking hormones, living as their gender, and passing is good enough and they feel fine with themselves. That doesn't mean they don't have a dysphoria. They just took care of it by being on hormones and passing and living as the other gender. Just because a kid was fine with their body doesn't mean they never had a dysphoria, they just never felt fine with their pronouns or what they had down there. Some take it to extreme by trying to cut off their penis and dysphoria just gets worse in puberty when their body changes, that doesn't mean they never had it to begin with.

I think some transmed views stem from a sense of false scarcity. People think that including individuals who don’t have dysphoria will create a shortage of treatment options for those with dysphoria. This is false.
There is no shortage of hormone therapy or treatment. The availability of medicine will increase with demand. So others seeking treatment will actually increase available treatment options over time.
Other transmeds seem to be taking a stance that I call the “oppression olympics”. Saying “I have it worse than you because ____”. The philosophy is “I had to suffer so others should suffer like I did” instead of “I had to suffer so I don’t want others to suffer like me”. I get that on some levels. It can be really hard to see someone easily navigate the road that you have been down. Except when you went down that road it was a mess of your blood sweat and tears. Maybe you feel bad about yourself, maybe you feel like you’re not good enough because it was so hard for you but so easy for them. I get that, but also you should take a step back from your hurt feelings and think. It’s not bad that they had it easier than you. It’s bad that it had to be so hard for YOU. It should have been better for you but it wasn’t. You can’t change that. What you CAN do is try to make it easier for everyone coming after you. Or...you can be a transmed and try to make it harder.

Honestly I think the most major and necessary factor of trans medicalists is internalized transphobia. On some level you think being trans is wrong and bad. So you need to see people suffering enough to be allowed to transition. If being trans was completely acceptable you wouldn’t be policing it like you are.

Well, being trans is not bad and wrong. We shouldn’t need to suffer to be trans. I hate my dysphoria. It has made my life so much worse and there is nothing I can do about it. If one of my children was transgender I would hope that they didn’t have dysphoria. I would not teach them that they needed to be in constant pain before I let them seek treatment. I would listen to them and give them options and let them choose how they want to proceed.

I also think the transmed view is harmful to people with dysphoria. People socialized as female are taught to hate their bodies to the point that even cis people experience dysphoria. Cis men are catching up to cis women in body disturbance, too. Meanwhile Transmeds set up this weird dynamic that keeps people from exploring their gender and finding what is right for them. It keeps people from being satisfied and finally enjoying their body and coming to terms with what they can’t change. It’s elitist and ignores transgender people in poverty or trans people who can’t safely transition for any other reason.

Furthermore there is safety in numbers for all of us. We have such a small community. The suicide rate in our community is obscene! Not to mention all the violence directed toward our community. The rejection our community members experience leads to more mental and physical health problems and poverty and death than ANY other demographic (those numbers become equal to the rest of the population if they have a supportive environment). We don’t need to perpetuate rejection INSIDE of the community. I for one will welcome every single trans person under this umbrella. We need everyone. We need the weirdos, we need the as*holes, we need the fashionistas, we need the people that can’t be bothered to present traditional genders, we need the lazy people, we need the advocates, we need the guy that changes his name every two weeks, we need the trans people that perform drag, we need the trans folks with dysphoria and we need the ones with gender euphoria.

Being trans is great and I demand more trans people!