When transgenderism started to be discussed more in the mainstream, I happened to be thinking about how people should research controversial topics, especially political ones where people typically already have strong opinions, like abortion or gun control. This type of research relates to my job.
I decided to look at transgenderism as objectively as I could since it was in the news, and I really didn't know much about it. That's not entirely possible, but I tried to approach it without opinions. I sampled information from every catergory of source I could think of — Mainstream left and right wing news, alternative left and right wing news, centrist news, far left, far right, older sources, newer sources, youtube videos made independent of media or organizations featuring transgender people and those against it. I looked at blatant propaganda from both sides, as well as more reasonable sources. I looked at medical information new and old. I weighted everything I read against each other.
I came to the conclusion that it is a mental disorder which shouldn't be encouraged, especially among children. Despite what political activists say, there is a connection between trauma and transgenderism. Not every trans person has experienced trauma, and not everyone who experiences trauma becomes transgender. There is likely some biological aspect involved in at least some cases.
I read numerous accounts of children who figured out through therapy their desire to be the opposite sex came from neglect, fatherlessness, abuse, and autism.
A woman living as a man recently realized that the reason she did so was because she had been repeatedly raped as a child, and thought if she didn't have a vagina she couldn't be hurt. It's a crazy response, but when something so horrific happens to a child, the brain needs to find a way to protect itself.
There is a school with a disproportionate number of trans kids. A teacher said they are all autistic and being coached by other kids into seeing trapped in the wrong body as a way to cope with their autism.
I've read lots of accounts of transgender people who regret it. Activists say it's small, but it's growing. There was a man who was the first person to get his driver license changed to no gender. He had been in the military and got an article celebrating him in a major newspaper. He recently said he realized he is a man, but the same media outlets supporting him then didn't.
I also came to the conclusion that the high suicide rate is not entirely due to discrimination.
A lot of the above information is kept out of mainstream discussions from the left, and education in general, because it's viewed as bigoted.
In the past, I've had a more libertarian attitude toward LGBT issues. I thought just let people do what they want if they don't hurt others. Still, I didn't like how political activists outright deny evidence like above. For example, I always wondered why people who identify as straight now but used to be gay, were not supported by political activists, especially if their motto was Love is Love, and let people love who they want and identify as something different from the mainstream. It didn't seem tolerate.
I try to look into things independently of a political group, and in doing so I came the conclusion that a lot of information presented about transgenderism is false or not the complete story.
