To add: something like BDD or OCD you can’t treat with exposure bc the person HATES the thoughts and wants to be rid of them. With something like a cross-gender identity, the person WANTS to be the opposite sex and therefore wants to transition. But would they really want to transition if they were told (honestly) that they’d never chang…
To add: something like BDD or OCD you can’t treat with exposure bc the person HATES the thoughts and wants to be rid of them. With something like a cross-gender identity, the person WANTS to be the opposite sex and therefore wants to transition. But would they really want to transition if they were told (honestly) that they’d never change their sex? That’s the question. So if you view gender transition as the compulsion and gender dysphoria as the obsession...then it’s no different to any other OCD or BDD anxiety disorder. But we’ve sold people the lie that this particular compulsion coping mechanism (gender transition) actually WILL make the anxiety go away. It seems to me like it won’t.
Excellent points. When it comes to transition, the main driver of sunk cost fallacy is the prospect of losing face. For many dysphoric people, and especially the younger ones, they initially experienced significant pushback from parents when they indicated they wanted to advance from social transition to puberty blockers and surgeries. Even in cases where the parents have immediately given support to the trans-identified person to go forward with transition, the person is surely going to detect the anxiety and confusion of their family members. That's quite a burden of guilt. And the costs are staggering when insurance doesn't cover it. If the person is lucky and there are no complications, they're looking at spending $15,000 - $30,000. But there are always complications. Insurance often doesn't cover the additional surgeries, and it rarely covers any procedure related to detransition. One estimate, from the first counseling appointment, to double mastectomy, to completion of phalloplasty, and management of complications, was $275,000. Imagine telling your parents that you made a mistake, after demanding a medical procedure that cost more than their mortgage, and threatening suicide when they balked. It would be tough to admit it was all for nothing. On top of that, they know how detransitioners will be treated by the trans community, especially if they gained any amount of celebrity in their community or the media when they started their "journey". Someone who already had an anxiety disorder wouldn't stand a chance.
That’s a really good point about the financial and psychosocial barriers to detransition/desistance. I can’t imagine the emotional strength you’d have to have to withstand it. Spending your parents mortgage? Holy shit. I imagine the shame would be almost unbearable. But I think that most people love their kids enough that they’d do more than go bankrupt- they’d take a bullet for them- they wouldn’t set any price on their child’s or adult child’s health and happiness. $275,000 doesn’t just slide down the drain bc your kid’s an idiot or fucked up. Many, many therapists and doctors basically committed medical fraud and malpractice against your unwell child. There really need to start being lawsuits. Once the first successful lawsuit happens in the US, it’s (the unregulated, zero-evidence gender medicine industry) all over.
That's why so many left-leaning lawyers, judges, and legal organizations are so hellbent against letting any such lawsuits happen. It will be quite a while before we see any relief on that front.
They are? Where have you seen that? I know the ACLU has sadly been captured by anti-free speech and anti-feminist trans activists, but I’m not aware of any other groups.
Kara Dansky on her Substack has posted several articles documenting instances in which organizations and judges displayed clear personal bias in favor of "trans ideology."
To add: something like BDD or OCD you can’t treat with exposure bc the person HATES the thoughts and wants to be rid of them. With something like a cross-gender identity, the person WANTS to be the opposite sex and therefore wants to transition. But would they really want to transition if they were told (honestly) that they’d never change their sex? That’s the question. So if you view gender transition as the compulsion and gender dysphoria as the obsession...then it’s no different to any other OCD or BDD anxiety disorder. But we’ve sold people the lie that this particular compulsion coping mechanism (gender transition) actually WILL make the anxiety go away. It seems to me like it won’t.
Excellent points. When it comes to transition, the main driver of sunk cost fallacy is the prospect of losing face. For many dysphoric people, and especially the younger ones, they initially experienced significant pushback from parents when they indicated they wanted to advance from social transition to puberty blockers and surgeries. Even in cases where the parents have immediately given support to the trans-identified person to go forward with transition, the person is surely going to detect the anxiety and confusion of their family members. That's quite a burden of guilt. And the costs are staggering when insurance doesn't cover it. If the person is lucky and there are no complications, they're looking at spending $15,000 - $30,000. But there are always complications. Insurance often doesn't cover the additional surgeries, and it rarely covers any procedure related to detransition. One estimate, from the first counseling appointment, to double mastectomy, to completion of phalloplasty, and management of complications, was $275,000. Imagine telling your parents that you made a mistake, after demanding a medical procedure that cost more than their mortgage, and threatening suicide when they balked. It would be tough to admit it was all for nothing. On top of that, they know how detransitioners will be treated by the trans community, especially if they gained any amount of celebrity in their community or the media when they started their "journey". Someone who already had an anxiety disorder wouldn't stand a chance.
That’s a really good point about the financial and psychosocial barriers to detransition/desistance. I can’t imagine the emotional strength you’d have to have to withstand it. Spending your parents mortgage? Holy shit. I imagine the shame would be almost unbearable. But I think that most people love their kids enough that they’d do more than go bankrupt- they’d take a bullet for them- they wouldn’t set any price on their child’s or adult child’s health and happiness. $275,000 doesn’t just slide down the drain bc your kid’s an idiot or fucked up. Many, many therapists and doctors basically committed medical fraud and malpractice against your unwell child. There really need to start being lawsuits. Once the first successful lawsuit happens in the US, it’s (the unregulated, zero-evidence gender medicine industry) all over.
That's why so many left-leaning lawyers, judges, and legal organizations are so hellbent against letting any such lawsuits happen. It will be quite a while before we see any relief on that front.
They are? Where have you seen that? I know the ACLU has sadly been captured by anti-free speech and anti-feminist trans activists, but I’m not aware of any other groups.
Kara Dansky on her Substack has posted several articles documenting instances in which organizations and judges displayed clear personal bias in favor of "trans ideology."
Sorry I meant CAN treat BDD or OCD with exposure