transgenderresearch

[transgenderresearch]

i had to

[transgenderresearch]

Transmedicalism spreads internalized transphobia through its need for cisnormativity and suffering through gender dysphoria. It erases an entire group of non-binary trans people who don’t experience gender dysphoria but still don’t feel comfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth. It ignores the societal standards and performativity of gender, and the period of transition and experimentation that is crucial for people, cis and trans alike, to feel comfortable in their bodies. 

[transgenderresearch]

Non-binary identities are amongst the most debated in transmed circles. But going back to Wynn’s video, she defines gender dysphoria for trans women as “discomfort in a male body, or a male social role or however you want to put it,” putting emphasis on the societal standards that go along with the birth assignment. For many non-binary people, they see these social roles and experience gender dysphoria from the identity that is forced upon them, and experience gender euphoria when they begin breaking the societal rules they perceive and are recognized in a way that makes them more comfortable. 

But why does this cause so much discomfort for transmeds? They find non-binary and trans people who do not experience gender dysphoria insulting to their suffering, experiences with transphobia, and oppression from their visible trans identity. While I am sympathetic toward this, it likely stems from internalized transphobia. Internalized transphobia can be defined as “the negative societal attitudes and prejudices that are learned and adopted by transgender people.” (David, 228) Transmeds most commonly identify as either male to female or female to male. Their goal of transitioning is to appear cis, and to distance themselves from their trans identity (Tumblr, 2019). They feel that the only way to gain acceptance is through mainstream cisnormativity and binary gender expression. It goes back to why transmeds cannot accept non-binary identities and trans people who experience gender euphoria. They view the body in a strict binary way, rather than as a set of possibilities. (Butler, 521)

[transgenderresearch]

ContraPoints is a youtube channel created by Natalie Wynn. In each video she discusses a different topic from varying point of views, each point of view played by her as a different character. There are two sections or acts of the video. 

The first act is a fake centrist news show where Wynn plays the host, a trans woman who hold transmedicalist views, and a non-binary person to represent what the transmed community would call a transtrender. Although it is purposfully a caricature, it does a good job of outlining each side’s arguments. 

Wynn pulls in Judith Butler’s essay on performativity in the second act. In this section she begins to breakdown the view transmedicalists have of non-binary people as social justice warriors (SJW’s). They believe many non-binary people are just pretending to be trans for a statement or for oppression points. 

While the video is campy and over the top, it makes a compelling case against transmedicalism. 

[transgenderresearch]

While I do not think this is the best written article, it is a good introduction to the transmedicalist argument. It is the idea that the diagnosis of gender dysphoria is “the most compelling case” for the existence and validation of transgender identities and the best chance for access to hormones and gender affirming surgery. 

[transgenderresearch]

an intro course.

cw transmedicalism, gender dysphoria

Instagram can be a truly nasty place. That’s why I always make it a point to read the comments. I have scrolled through countless online bickering and pettiness, but the Instagram comments that have stayed with me the most were the ones that inspired me to start keeping up with this conversation. The comments I began to engage with were on a post containing this image. 

Up to this point, I was unaware of this viewpoint within the trans community. Once I realized the conversation had been around for years and was still going on I got even more curious about what this debate meant for the community and the feelings it sparked.

Within the transgender community, there are people who identify themselves as transmedics, or who believe in transmedicalism. Transmedics believe that to be able to call yourself transgender you must also experience gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association, is “...a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and assigned gender.” More broadly, they believe in, what is often referred to as,  the science of being trans. Transmedics believe that if you do not experience gender dysphoria, to some degree, you are a transtrender, or a trender. A trender is someone transmedics believe are faking being trans for social clout, and because of the increased visibility of trans and other gender-variant people. They also refer to trenders as tucutes, stemming from these people being “too cute” to actually be trans. People with the opposite view, trans people do not have to experience gender dysphoria to be trans, refer to transmedicalists as trusum. This stems from their belief that transmedicalists are “true scum”. They believe that transmedics are gatekeeping the trans community with a narrow-minded view of being trans. If all of this terminology sounds a bit like trolling it’s because it was all invented by people who spend a lot of time on the internet.

In addition to the limited view of who is trans, transmeds oftentimes do not validate non-binary trans people as actual trans people unless they feel some level of gender dysphoria. This especially applies to non-binary people whose gender expression matches the gender they were assigned at birth. Within the transmed definition, these non-binary people would be considered cisgender. 

I have found that the conversation around transmedicalism is alive and well on platforms like tumblr, reddit, twitter, and instagram. The conversations taking place seem to always divide into these two camps, and the debates are heated and often end with personal attacks. The biggest issue and source of toxicity in these conversations is the idea promoted by transmedicalists that if you are actually trans there is no way you like being trans. They hold staunchly to the idea that the suffering of gender dysphoria would make any real trans person wish they were cis. But many trans people who do not believe in transmedicalism find this conflation of being trans and suffering to be a dangerous narrative to be pushing. From the perspective of transmedicalists, they are protecting cis people from beginning a false transition that will result in irreversible changes and the development of gender dysphoria post hormones or gender affirming surgery. 

Transmedicalism is rooted in a dependence on the medical system. It is a belief that relies too much on the promotion of suffering and the idea that the only medicine for a trans person is medical help and transitioning. It does not account for societal standards and the pressure of a binary gender system that oppresses, not only trans people but everyone it touches. In this blog, I will examine the growing transmedicalist views on social media and it’s representations from popular figures. I will (try to) dispel myths that are spread by transmedicalists and center transgender identities in readings of gender that hold space for trans people who may or may not experience gender dysphoria.