Bradley Manning wants to be a woman

[MRT144]

Quibbling here but being in ROTC is not the same as being in the military fyi.

Right. So what makes you a better authority on the realm of gender identity other than the firmness of your belief.

[Lorizael]

Right. So what makes you a better authority on the realm of gender identity other than the firmness of your belief.

To be fair, understanding that how strongly you believe in something bears no relevance to the veracity of your belief is very difficult. Psychology teaches us that.

[self biased]

To be fair, understanding that how strongly you believe in something bears no relevance to the veracity of your belief is very difficult. Psychology teaches us that.

but... But... Psychology doesn't exist! He just said that!


I don't know what to believe anymore.

[Hauldren Collider]

cut the poor kid some slack: understanding gender identity and its effect on people is challenging for even top psychologists. It would be unfair to apply those standards to Holden Caulfield here.

I've barely commented on the tranny stuff in this thread.

EDIT: I suppose I'll take this opportunity to weigh in, since I've been called out. In person, I'd be perfectly willing to indulge in their little transexual fantasy, but otherwise I'm not going to pretend that it's anything other than a mental illness. And I personally think that permanent disfigurement should not be the medically indicated treatment for the vast majority of people with this problem. I also have a strong suspicion that a lot of people who claim to be transexual are seeking attention due to some other psychological disorder.

Even if we indulge in mangling the English language for their sensibilities, which I'm honestly fine with doing while speaking to their faces as a matter of politeness (because really who cares), there's a lot of things we can't change. They are still medically and biologically men (in the male-to-female case), and they aren't suddenly going to be sent to gynecologists, they shouldn't suddenly be using women's restrooms, etc. Vice versa of course for female-to-male (which as I recall is much less common).

[Elok]

Can't we go like, two weeks without another thread arguing about transwhatsits?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Bloomberg was a twit for banning transfats. FACT

[Lorizael]

...I'm not going to pretend that it's anything other than a mental illness.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but you should be aware that the consensus amongst experts on mental illness is that you are wrong. Specifically, absent societal pressure against transgendered people, there's little evidence to believe their quality of life would suffer.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Side question, at what point does the majority opinion become consensus? I see the term consensus often being used and wonder if it is intended to claim a practical unanimity of opinion or merely a strong majority of opinion.


Also Trans Am sux. Haven't had a worthwhile one since smokey and the bandit.

[Hauldren Collider]

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but you should be aware that the consensus amongst experts on mental illness is that you are wrong. Specifically, absent societal pressure against transgendered people, there's little evidence to believe their quality of life would suffer.

It's not an illness, I swear! But it does indicate invasive surgery and prescription drugs with permanent effects.

I can't roll my eyes hard enough at that. It's ****ing stupid.

This "consensus" is just obviously bull****. Seriously, can you actually say with a straight face that someone that desires such treatment would be perfectly normal in any society? Really?

[giblets]

Top psychologists like deluding themselves into thinking it can somehow be normal to believe you're something biologically completely different from what you are. Or that it's somehow reality's fault that it doesn't line up with your expectations.

How do you know so much about psychologists?

[giblets]

This "consensus" is just obviously bull****. Seriously, can you actually say with a straight face that someone that desires such treatment would be perfectly normal in any society? Really?

Yes, if we are defining "normal" as "accepted by society". Since there are people who consider transsexuals to be acceptable I see no reason why such views could not be prevalent in a feasible human society. Society would function just fine if altering one's own body were considered normal behavior. Too few people have transsexual desires for it to significantly interfere with the replication of the species and embracing transexualism does not make any significant additional contribution to existential threats like nuclear warfare or climate change.

[notyoueither]

They are gaining prevalence now, though obviously some dinosaurs continue to walk the Earth...

[MRT144]

It's not an illness, I swear! But it does indicate invasive surgery and prescription drugs with permanent effects.

I can't roll my eyes hard enough at that. It's ****ing stupid.

This "consensus" is just obviously bull****. Seriously, can you actually say with a straight face that someone that desires such treatment would be perfectly normal in any society? Really?

Man, are you really so lacking in self awareness that you cant see how analogous this is to people accepting gays. Based on your own morals, worldview, etc etc this something is very taboo to the point that you dismiss it wholesale as being possible or real.

Your attitude towards things move at a glacial pace. I highly doubt you dont accept homosexuality as strongly as transgender.

[MRT144]

Yes, if we are defining "normal" as "accepted by society". Since there are people who consider transsexuals to be acceptable I see no reason why such views could not be prevalent in a feasible human society. Society would function just fine if altering one's own body were considered normal behavior. Too few people have transsexual desires for it to significantly interfere with the replication of the species and embracing transexualism does not make any significant additional contribution to existential threats like nuclear warfare or climate change.

HC probably disapproves of tattoos and body piercings for completely unexplainable and esoteric reasons.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Obviously experts on mental illness and psychologists are just all lying. Yeah, that must be it!