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Ah, the "no true transsexual" fallacy. I bet that averted quite a few malpractice suits over the years. It's right up there with the ducking stool test for witches. If you died, that proved you were "no true witch". Thanks again for doing this important work.

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Thank you for this exposé! The "gender wars" are so tiring because people keep reinventing the wheel. A lot of criticism of these stupid regressive ideas was done (by radfems since the 70s, pomo queers since the 90s, etc etc) but has become taboo to cite in the race towards the latest new theory. The GID diagnosis was heavily criticised from pretty much all quarters including trans activists (who got it replaced with gender dysphoria and later "depathologised"). The best takedown I found is by Paul Vasey and co-authors, pointing out that "GID" only causes distress in repressive gender systems like the contemporary West. But queer theorists like Eve Sedgwick were also scathing about the medicalisation of "sissy boys". Judith Butler, true to form, wrote a really stupid, incoherent critique of it in Undoing Gender, basically just fanning the flames of homophobia and siding with the true gender souls. Bernice Hausman wrote an excellent book back in 95 on how monsters like Money and Stoller invented "gender identity" to defend trying out their new "sex change" techniques (first on children with DSDs) and how that was the birth of the "transsexual". (Hausman's brain is all marinated in poststructuralism so she tries to set her critique off from Raymond's with some mumbo jumbo about sex being really complicated and not at all binary but it's still a very useful book.)

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Well done! And thanks for doing all that slogging!!

20/20 30-year hindsight is 20/20. Congratulations.

But yeah, they didn't know what the F they were doing. I agree.

Plenty of sexism and misogyny, plenty of obtuse stereotypical thinking, PLENTY of catering to parental egos.

Plenty of being constrained by the limits of time and the need to appear like they could help the kid when they knew it was very unlikely they could make a difference.

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There is a montage of "look at my top surgery results" in this gender critical video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBInNGgdF2M&t=1013s starting around 15:55. One of the young women has Downs Syndrome. Tell me she gave informed consent....

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There's a term that economic justice advocates use: predatory inclusion

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Great job! I hate that folks who did great harm are getting a pass.

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I'm reminded of a simple, startling fact.

In my childhood when you got a bad scrape, you were to spray bactine on it, let it dry and scab, occasionally rip the band-aid off along with the scab, eventually leaving a scar.

Now, you are to bandage with a touch of "aquaphor" (vaseline) to keep the wound moist to and nonstick to facilitate healing (studies show). Do not use Neosporin, it can cause inflammation.

A male child with an ichoate feeling for men who realizes helplessly that men may only like girls can effortleasly adopt the behaviors of girls around them.

Ripping the band-aid off only builds up painful scar tissue. Being supportive until eventually being part of a gay community achieves fewer scars.

Studies show.

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