pustluk:

i feel like there are a lot of half-truths and straight up lies we have to stop telling kids about biomedical transition, some of which are mythology derived more from the medical and mental health institutions than trans people themselves but all of which are circulated within gay and trans communities, among them:

– that they’ll be the person they were before

– that physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists know better than they do, and that trauma and desire to transition have to be completely separate for transition to be a valid option

– that transition has any kind of endpoint

– that it’s guaranteed to change their mental health for the better in an uncomplicated way

– that it will cure dysphoria, that their dysphoria is guaranteed to improve in every way or even stay the same, and that persistence or even worsening dysphoria always means biomedical transition was the wrong choice

– that hormone replacement and gender-confirming surgeries are supposed to be uncomplicated emotional experiences

– that they aren’t allowed to have second thoughts and that second thoughts always mean biomedical transition was the wrong choice (i’m over two years in, i’ve had some surgery, and i still have moments where i think ‘what the hell am i doing’ even though i know it’s saved my life)

– that any kind of transition, public or internal, biomedical or otherwise, is a linear process with a specific blueprint they have to follow, and

– that biomedical transition has to be the highlight of their lives or otherwise a life-or-death decision, and that their decisions about what to do with their bodies have moral consequences.

there are definitely a lot of others, but i feel like hearing some of this much earlier in my life would have spared me a lot of internal conflict, agony, and lost time

– that they need to experience disphoria or dislike their body in order to want to change it. That simply feeling like change would be in improvement isn’t reason enough to change your body.

– that going off hormones or undoing biomedical changes means the original need for those changes was not real, their original gender experience was not real or that they ‘regret’ their decision.

– that the amount of biomedical changes someone choses is a reflection of their place on the gender spectrum, instead of just a personal choice about their body

– that some biomedical changes are real health care needs whhile others are always purely cosmetic

– that they can’t change their mind on biomedical choices based on the side effects

– that making the ‘wrong’ choice when changing your body can be psychologically damaging but putting off the right choice can not. 

– that the waitinglists, regulations and further gatekeeping doctors do is a nuance at most and not something that can do intense damage to trans people and harm their ability to perceive their gender in non-pathologized ways and make informed decisions about their life.