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You mean trans people who’ve transitioned and now feel self-actualized in the correct gender? I’m very happy for them!
…That’s probably not what you meant.
So I actually have a lot of trouble saying that I have dysphoria, not because I don’t want to transition, but because it’s hard for a fish to say “I’m wet.” I’ve lived in this body and assigned gender my whole life. I don’t necessarily notice dysphoria, except when certain events sort of rub my nose in it. What I notice more is a glorious, soaring euphoria when people recognize me as male and when I perceive myself as male. Is that euphoria just the way normal life feels to people who don’t have dysphoria? I don’t know. I’m a fish.
Therefore, I have plenty of empathy for trans people who don’t describe their experiences in terms of dysphoria because they’re like me, unable to put a label to it because they’ve never experienced anything else.
But I’m sure, because Tumblr is vast and contains multitudes, that there are some people out there who would object to that characterization, who would say that they have perfectly good insight into their own dysphoria and they seriously don’t have any, they just feel trans regardless.
…And heck, you know what, I support them too. I don’t think that gatekeeping who gets to be trans is ever a good thing. It doesn’t make medically diagnosed dysphoric trans people look more legitimate; it just spreads the idea that trans fakers and wannabes are a serious problem that everyone should watch out for.
Just as I think “sexuality is complex, and many sexualities are okay” is a better narrative for LGBQ people than “we were born this way, so please accommodate our unfortunate situation,” I think “gender is complex, and many genders are okay” is a good narrative for trans people.
Right now, I’m in my fifth month of intensive screening for being a Fake Trans before getting any kind of medical transition treatment. And I’ve got it easy compared to trans people in a lot of places. I don’t think “trans people aren’t doubted enough” is a problem we need to be fighting super hard.
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