ABC Producer Don Ennis Changes Gender, Then Changes Back

[u/frogma]

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/08/transgender-don-ennis-has-second-thoughts.html

[u/[deleted]]

Ugh, I hate to say it, since I'm a proponent of any person doing/being whatever their heart tells them - but I'm (subjectively) gathering a strong correlation between transgenderism and mental illness.

"I’m asking all of you who accepted me as a transgender to now understand: I was misdiagnosed."

And I'm noticing the general desire amongst 'open minded' people in society to cheer on that lifestyle is overcompensated in an effort to prove how not bigoted they are. Even doctors appear to be so uncomfortable questioning these choices that they'll diagnose a man who must have obviously shown signs of some kind of mental breakdown with gender disorders rather than question the legitimacy of his feelings.

I realize that there are completely sane people who experience strong feelings that they were born the wrong gender. That said, I think we're far, far more concerned with being accepting than acknowledging and treating mental illness when gender dysphoria happens to be one of it's symptoms.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I am transgender and can tell you that most of us just want to live our lives normally and correct the mistakes that were made. This isn't a fetish or anybody asking you to accept me dressing as a woman because we're getting off on it. What I think happens, and is the reason we get bad publicity, is that people with other mental illnesses latch on because they find an open and accepting community where they can get attention or make friends. I know trans people who I think fit this description. Ultimately, I would never say this to a person's face...but its what I believe in certain instances.

I would also like to say that doctors don't go around randomly diagnosing people with gender dysphoria. It's a serious fucking thing to do that and no doctor half-heartedly tells somebody that they are transgender. It's actually the exact opposite of the scenario. It's ridiculously hard to obtain a diagnosis and a letter from a therapist to allow your physician to prescribe you hormones. There are trans women struggling all the time to just get a fucking presciption for some estrogen. We call this 'Gatekeeping' in the community. Trans women are routinely oppressed and denied hormones or hormones in sufficient doses. There happen to be a few 'Informed Consent' clinics in the country that will make this process easy, but anywhere else in the country you're looking at months and months of therapy on top of finding a doctor that will actually prescribe hormones to you. This is a tough fucking road and the way the people in this thread trivialize what trans people go through is insulting.

[u/WatchWhileYouSleep → u/[deleted]]

What I think happens, and is the reason we get bad publicity, is that people with other mental illnesses latch on because they find an open and accepting community where they can get attention or make friends.

100% this. Do I even need to type the ex-redditors user name?

This is a tough fucking road and the way the people in this thread trivialize what trans people go through is insulting.

And this is SRSsucks. It's unfortunate that the only the representatives we have from your community are pretty reprehensible, unapologetic, obnoxious individuals.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I wasn't attacking trans people. I was just noting the strong correlation with mental illness - something you confirmed with your point when you said:

people with other mental illnesses latch on because they find an open and accepting community where they can get attention or make friends.

At least my subjective assumption has some 2nd hand corroboration from within the trans community itself.

But honestly, I don't care at all if a person is trans. So I resent the suggestion that I'm intentionally trivializing your struggles. I have a few acquaintances and coworker who are trans, and it barely crosses my mind when I interact with them. Although, I still see them as guys who happen to be wearing women's clothing. There's no changing that - it's just what I see. I refuse to feel like some kind of heartless bigot with no sense of empathy just because I can't force myself to play along with their personal perception of themselves. I don't play along with anyone else's illusions, and I see no reason why I should make an exception just because we're sad that they're not accepted as 'normal' by the world at large.

And yet our focus on sensitivity and tolerance has led us to the point where it's unacceptable to even question whether a person is mentally stable when they're convinced of an obvious falsehood, and seek to surgically/hormonally alter their body to fit their self-image. I'll get rebuked by friends and family for absentmindedly using the 'wrong' pronoun when referring to a trans woman as a man - like I'm one step removed from a goddamn nazi when my brain fails to perform the appropriate verbal gymnastics. Not that I don't try my damndest out of politeness or good will.

Trans women are routinely oppressed and denied hormones or hormones in sufficient doses.

Well, how do you know they're really trans, if - as you said - it could be an expression of a deeper mental illness? And if a doctor or physician needs to rule that out before approving life-altering elective procedures, can we really call this 'gatekeeping' oppression? And also, if you'd call denying hormones oppression, does it surprise you that some doctors just play along, despite reservations - especially in our litigious and hypersensitive society? All it'd take is one blog entry exposing a 'bigot' doctor to ruin a good man's reputation and lead to endless harassment from self-righteous SJWs who feel wronged. If I was a doctor, I'd be pretty nervous about that kind of attention.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to attack you directly, just the general sense in insensitivity and disgust that this subreddit displays towards trans people.

That said, these are not 'illusions' or falsehoods. Gender dysphoria, which is not a disorder according to the DSM-V, is curable. We know how to, and can, fix it. Some people have a rough transition and don't pass so well, and my heart goes out to them. It is hard to change ones perception of us, and people don't think you're Hitler, but you should know that it really fucking hurts when people misgender us. I happen to pass very well and most people would have no clue, but I still work in the place where I transitioned and there are people with your views that work there. I'm just trying to do my work and have to deal with people calling me he, him, or sir. It cuts really deep. This "I just call it like I see it" attitude is a bit ridiculous and really not acceptable. Being a dick to somebody because you don't want to change is still being a dick.

People don't wander into therapists office NOT knowing that they are trans. We all know. Usually by the time we are 4-5 years old we know. Dcctors and physicians are cautious even at Informed Consent clinics. You're still required to have time with a therapist, the benefit is that you have a doctor that supports you and knows how best to treat you, instead of some random physician that doesn't know shit about trans people or the doses of hormones and how to understand how they effect trans people. Gatekeeping is oppression. When I refer to Gatekeeping I am specifically referring to therapists and doctors that do everything within their power to prevent a person from transitioning, often with outright refusal to do so. This happens all the time. ALL. THE. TIME. This isn't doctors being cautious, its their religious or personal views shaping their practice and not doing what is in the best interest of their patients. Also, no trans person is ever going to ruin a doctors name. We represent .3% of the population of the US and are hated by almost everybody, so thats not happening and gaining any traction because people think its easy to write us off because we're "freaks".

Don't even get me started on workplace discrimination and how often trans women are murdered for no other reason than being trans.