I was never under the impression that you didn’t understand that. I continue to be under the impression that many of the attendees of of religious reich churches are basically nice people that don’t understand.
nice people should seek to understand. if they don’t, then i would seriously question if they are actually nice, or only want to appear as nice for their own self image.
almost certainly there’s a whole theory of ethics discussing whether it matters if we do something because of what’s in our hearts versus what we merely do out of habit – but if the outcome is the same … that’s ultimately what matters to trans kids.
unfortunately, that’s not the way things work.
sure: at any point a government employee could say: this law is immoral, or this guidance is immoral – and we certainly hope they do – but ultimately they are being asked to do specific tasks for their job. the boss’s instruction always has weight. when a person fails to do their job, it can have bad side effects for them and their families.
and that’s just for the well meaning people.
there are always people who are waiting for the greenlight to cause harm. and this certainly gives them that cover. as we are already seeing.
9 Likes
One could almost call them “good Christians”
8 Likes
yeah. american christianity’s fascination with twisting the old testament into knots to uphold white supremacy is no small thing.
fwiw there are some small groups:
and i especially see unitarian universalists out there doing good work. but then i guess it’s notable they’re not strictly christian anymore. so maybe their exception proves the rule.
9 Likes
That’s cute. You think facts matter to them one tiny bit? Not if they get in the way of inflicting suffering on an outgroup to gin up support for their own awful positions. Gotta protect kids from the trans / the gays/ the libs / the Jews… You know how it goes from there.
9 Likes
Not that you don’t already know this, but for reference:
Of course, happier, better adjusted, alive trans people would ruin the whole position that “they are sick, damaged, irredeemable demons who must be put down.” Or some such bullshit.
17 Likes
this is the study I was specifically thinking of when I wrote that comment. Thanks for the additional info.
I am pretty sure there was a more recent one, that I am unable to find at the moment, that showed that trans teens with supportive family were also less likely to commit suicide.
15 Likes
I can verify that this applies to adults as well. I had much worse issues with depression before I figure out I’m trans and started expressing myself more. Related issue: only knowing about a limited number of options of gender really kept me from figuring this out for many decades. Finding there are hormone options for non-binary people helped yet more. Having family (of choice) that encourage me to be my authentic self? That’s the most helpful of all.
My chronic depression has not gone away completely. It never will; it just doesn’t work that way. However I’m able to cope with it a lot better with the support of the people that love me. I wish I had known these things about myself when I was a teen, but given my mother’s reaction a few years ago, it’s perhaps best that I didn’t.
17 Likes
Your history mirrors mine quite closely. I’m glad you managed to hang in there too.
14 Likes
I also dealt with significant depression for a long time, though in my case, I’ve known I was trans since I was 15. I then spent the next 20+ years in various states of denial, causing me a significant number of issues. I haven’t even been on HRT for a year yet, but already feel significantly better than I ever have.
13 Likes
Oh, there’s lots of evidence in retrospect, but when I’d start investigating farther, I just wasn’t getting a lot of the same feelings that I’d hear binary trans people describe. For a long time I knew I didn’t have a strong affintity with my assigned gender, but I didn’t know there were options other than man or woman. It really opened my world when I finally got to have conversations when some gender queer students when I finally went to get my degree in my 40’s, as one does.
I’ve been socially transitioning for a few years now, getting more than more comfortable with myself. The new job being really supportive and accepting has helped that a lot. I just started blockers at the beginning of this year and I agree with you – I can already tell a difference and will continue to go forward on it.
13 Likes
Yeah, things were a lot harder for non-binary people years ago. As a binary trans person, even the process I would have had to go through at the time was difficult enough for me to feel the need to suppress everything I was feeling.
11 Likes
I knew I was trans since at least 1989 (I have memories in a house we moved out of that year that are very trans) and finally accepted I was trans this past year. I didn’t know much about non-binary identities when I came out, so I figured I was binary, but after meeting a lot of queer folks this past year, I’ve realized that non-binary fit better. I’m so glad we have the language and awareness to help people figure themselves out these days.
12 Likes
To a fundamentalist scripture/doctrine only serves a purpose to justify acting assholish behavior to others.
Its all quote mining and spurious arguments for them to get to the ends they seek.
There is no sense of arguing theology, beliefs, or basic tenets of a faith to that crowd.
Their only real belief is “I will say anything to attack you”.
5 Likes
There wasn’t really a whole lot of that when I was younger, most of the knowledge I had to glean for myself somehow. While I might have known I was different from a very young age I literally didn’t have the language or understanding to explain it to myself or others for decades.
Being trans isn’t a choice, no matter what the asshats and fundies think, but what you do about it IS, and that’s up to just one person; yourself. Be yourself just as hard as you can because you are valid and you are worth it.
18 Likes
This…I did a significant amount of gender non conforming things as a young child. Most of those were done secretly as society taught you being different was frowned upon. Anyway, I lacked any sort of vocabulary to express or understand the things I was feeling. It wasn’t until high school that I gained that vocabulary.
12 Likes
I’m glad you found it and I hope its helped you 
9 Likes
Well, it took over 20 years after finding that info to do anything about it, but it eventually helped.
9 Likes
I’m of the opinion that you’re ready when you’re ready. These things take time, no matter what the decisions one comes to.
11 Likes
Yeah, the language back then was pretty terrible and I internalized way too much of it. I knew I wanted to be a girl, but I didn’t know it was possible until I found a random porno mag in the back alley with a massively problematic ad in the back for trans phone sex. I thought it was a perversion for a long time thanks to that. The general cultural attitudes towards trans people (i.e. man in a dress, sex workers, victims) helped reinforce that. Finally broke through that programming and I am so much happier for it.
And yeah, not a choice. If it was possible to just ‘not be trans’ I would have done it. I tried for ages to just ‘be a man’, but you can’t be what you aren’t. Glad I’m finally me.
16 Likes
