> What separates a cis child from a trans child? How could you reliably detect/diagnose such a condition?
> how could you possibly diagnose gender dysphoria off the fleeting whims of a preteen child?
I'd recommend you take a look at the diagnostic criteria [0] for what you're talking about. Take note at how much stricter the criteria are for being diagnosed as a child. And then consider that mental health services already tend to discount the lived experiences of their adult clients. I can only imagine the crap young trans people have to go through.
> particularly when it is advertised as a solution to the typical confusion and angst that teens feel as they transition into adulthood.
I'm curious where you've been reading this. I only see people say this stuff in jest, and only if you take it out of context could you think it was serious.
Being a lesbian, I don't have to worry so much about having a partner who refuses to wash their ass or do chores because "that's gay," but that doesn't eliminate homophobia or catcalling or men thinking "I'm not interested, I have a girlfriend" means "I want to have a threesome with you and am playing hard to get, please continue to hit on me." Anyone who thinks about coming out knows that, even if being LGBT solves problem A, it creates problems B, C, and D.
But even if there is an epidemic of people thinking they're LGBT, what's the harm in that? Undergrad psychology students self-diagnose themselves all the time, and then they realize they're being stupid by the end of the semester. Trans people can't just write their own HRT prescriptions, the process is actually quite lengthy if you're a minor, and even for adults it can take awhile (and even then permanent effects take awhile, so if you realize you're not trans, it won't have lifelong consequences).
> gender dysphoria is socially infectious
It's not "socially infectious" like a disease, it's "socially infectious" in the sense of "oh wait, so these feelings I've been dealing with have a name, and I don't have to keep being miserable?" LGBT people tend to find each other and become friends, even while they're all still in the closet, and one coming out tends to have a bit of a chain reaction. It's not a bad thing unless you view being LGBT as a bad thing.
> It's not "socially infectious" like a disease, it's "socially infectious" in the sense of "oh wait, so these feelings I've been dealing with have a name, and I don't have to keep being miserable?" LGBT people tend to find each other and become friends, even while they're all still in the closet, and one coming out tends to have a bit of a chain reaction. It's not a bad thing unless you view being LGBT as a bad thing.
> how could you possibly diagnose gender dysphoria off the fleeting whims of a preteen child?
I'd recommend you take a look at the diagnostic criteria [0] for what you're talking about. Take note at how much stricter the criteria are for being diagnosed as a child. And then consider that mental health services already tend to discount the lived experiences of their adult clients. I can only imagine the crap young trans people have to go through.
> particularly when it is advertised as a solution to the typical confusion and angst that teens feel as they transition into adulthood.
I'm curious where you've been reading this. I only see people say this stuff in jest, and only if you take it out of context could you think it was serious.
Being a lesbian, I don't have to worry so much about having a partner who refuses to wash their ass or do chores because "that's gay," but that doesn't eliminate homophobia or catcalling or men thinking "I'm not interested, I have a girlfriend" means "I want to have a threesome with you and am playing hard to get, please continue to hit on me." Anyone who thinks about coming out knows that, even if being LGBT solves problem A, it creates problems B, C, and D.
But even if there is an epidemic of people thinking they're LGBT, what's the harm in that? Undergrad psychology students self-diagnose themselves all the time, and then they realize they're being stupid by the end of the semester. Trans people can't just write their own HRT prescriptions, the process is actually quite lengthy if you're a minor, and even for adults it can take awhile (and even then permanent effects take awhile, so if you realize you're not trans, it won't have lifelong consequences).
> gender dysphoria is socially infectious
It's not "socially infectious" like a disease, it's "socially infectious" in the sense of "oh wait, so these feelings I've been dealing with have a name, and I don't have to keep being miserable?" LGBT people tend to find each other and become friends, even while they're all still in the closet, and one coming out tends to have a bit of a chain reaction. It's not a bad thing unless you view being LGBT as a bad thing.
[0]: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphori...