SigmatheZeta
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2021
- Messages
- 615
- Gender
- she/her
- Basic Beliefs
- Generally, I am rooted in both ancient Epicurean and ancient Pyrrhonist sentiments, although I am somewhat sympathetic toward the intentions behind ancient Cynicism.
According to the guy that first suggested the idea of autogynephilia, many of them are effectively asexual due to their sexual feelings being completely satisfied by actually being a woman, and as weird as it sounds, he seems to think his research supports the idea.Sure, that's generally a good approach. I'd also say "when someone shows you who they are, believe them". There are a fair number of people out there whose behavior leads me to think that there are multiple categories under the current transgender umbrella, and that perhaps different approaches are needed for different categories.The only way you can really get to know somebody is to get to know them.
It's something that a lot of people will get bent about, but the truth is that at least some portion of people who currently identify as transgender are autogynephiles. They are men with a sexual paraphilia, who are aroused at the thought of themselves as women. They are usually (not always) attracted to females, and frequently express their paraphilia by arousal at being in female spaces.
And while it may very well anger some people here and there, I really don't think that the accommodations provided for many transgender people are appropriate to extend to autogynephilic transgender people.
A lot of people seem to have misunderstood the DSM reclassification of gender dysphoria. Many seem to take this to mean that psychologists no longer think that gender dysphoria is a mental health condition at all, and further extend that to mean that gender identity as a philosophical concept is validated by that change. But that's not actually what happened. The change in classification recognizes that gender dysphoria is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself. It is a symptom that can arise from many different underlying conditions.
Some of those conditions are neurobiological, as was demonstrated by the research you posted. I'm tickled that there's evidence to support that, I think it's fantastic. But some of those conditions are purely psychological. Gender dysphoria, in its most common form, is incredibly common among teenagers whose bodies are changing from that of a child to that of an adult, and who are experiencing the sexualization of their bodies as well as their minds, and the influence that sex has on how other people interact with you. Almost every teenage girl on the planet goes through a period of dysphoria because their puberty places significant limits on their movements, their freedoms, and their behavior.
But dysphoria can also be a deflection and a coping mechanism reflective of prior childhood trauma, or of some neuro-atypicalities that frequently pair with delays in the formation of romantic relationships.
That's all a very long way of saying that the topic of gender identity, gender dysphoria, and accommodations for transgender identifying people is complex and multifaceted, and that we all really need to be able to discuss it from different perspectives if we're going to come up with an approach that makes sense.
In my experience, actually, transgender lesbians seem to be pretty strongly attracted to other transgender lesbians. I think it is partly due to common experience bringing them together. They understand each other, so there is chemistry due to that. I'm not saying this based on any science, just based on how I've seen those relationships develop in other communities I have traveled in. It's kind of cute.
I'm attracted to...really nerdy dudes that like dragons. *nods*