Psychology is the same field that recommended lobotomies roughly a generation ago. Unlike the difference between medieval plague doctors and modern doctors, it does not seem that psychology has reformed in that time, and as such anything coming out of that field should be regarded as noise.
Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
181–190 of 358 posts
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd love to hear your theories if you'd be willing to share them.
Trans people in general were largely ignored by research until the 2010s, so there's very little we do know at this point. But as for unresearched hunches... There's lots of jokes in the trans community about how your stereotypical trans girl is on the autism spectrum, with rainbow-colored hair, and into kink, anime, and programming. I think there's more of a willingness to challenge societal expectations of us in th…
I don't find that as extremely as you've given it here, but I do know what you mean and I'm a bog-standard cis male. But I never fitted in, never understood the blokey stuff - or maybe I did, but blokes take their nature (which are different from women, no doubt) and then push it to extremes[0] (you like to go out? Great! We must drink whether you like it or not! Maybe you like footy? OK, let's get extreme and tribal about it! But that brightly coloured thing you're wearing makes you look like a poof by the way).
I never fitted in and it can wear you down. As a straight guy I find the company of gays quite fine because they are more accepting.
edit: [0] this seems more prevalent in younger males. As we age, we become less so and more thoughtful, and therefore tolerant.
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
Trans people in general were largely ignored by research until the 2010s, so there's very little we do know at this point. But as for unresearched hunches... There's lots of jokes in the trans community about how your stereotypical trans girl is on the autism spectrum, with rainbow-colored hair, and into kink, anime, and programming. I think there's more of a willingness to challenge societal expectations of us in th…
Interesting. What you describe about not fitting in etc. is very similar to my experience. Only that I’m a straight male. Could it be that transitioning is not so much about gender but about fitting in? If I could put a name to my angst and the barriers with others, it might be “transgender”. Which could give me a community of similar folks, a measure of acceptance, a handle, on why I’m not like the others. The resea…
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd love to hear your theories if you'd be willing to share them.
Not OP, but I fancy this rough theory: According to armchair psychologists and a joke, the answer to every psychological question is 'your mother'. If you look at ways to deal with conflicts [1], it could be that being transgender is a form of dealing with inner conflicts. Being autistic means that there is some distortion (no judgement intended) in the relationship to other people. The distortion most likely origina…
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The thing i worry about is that folks that go through all of the physical and emotional (and financial) stress of transitioning only to find that it doesn’t soothe the pain are likely to perceive a social pressure to keep a lid on it. Nope, "de-transitioners" are very welcome in the trans community, to tell their story, to hang out, to help others. There's absolutely nothing that should force them to not speak out…
I find your broad "nope" troubling. How are you so comfortable speaking for the entirety of several others' experiences? (While problematic) the nature of the gp's claim would be impossible to prove or disprove without mind reading powers. Even if many or most trans-accepting groups make an active effort to support those with regrets...the social pressures for someone to not voice those regrets are blatantly obvious.
Or by using inferential statistics.
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#186One other correlation I have seen is "intelligence" trans person. It's very weird how many absurdly smart people happen to be trans. It plays into the idea that mental illness correlates with IQ.
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
In HN's context, this and your other posts in the thread constitute flamebait—that is, inflammatory and unsubstantive. You're violating these two guidelines: " Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. " " Eschew flamebait. " If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and sticking to the rules, we'd be grateful.
It’s a clear disagreement and not “bait”. But yes, I get it.
You see male/female as being genetic therefore effectively unalterable, therefore the label of male/female cannot be changed.
I am comfortable with the idea that if a person wishes to be seen in a particular way that I do so. Actual example: a couple I know were F/F when I first met them. Now one prefers to use a male name and be referred to as 'he'. Took a bit of adjusting to, ok.
Now genetically one thing, but socially speaking another, isn't it just polite to make them feel comfortable? Would you call them 'her' to their face, knowing how it could upset them?
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don’t they have much higher suicide rates? How happy can that be?
Post-transition transgender people have lower suicide rates and better mental health overall than those that are pre-transition[0]. [0]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24344788/
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#189trans people, might reasonably be described as people "whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful". Since that phrase got ripped straight off the dsm diagnostic criteria for autism on https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-diagnosis-criteria-dsm-5 , it should not be any surprise whatsoever that these are correlated (same as with any other category of significantly 'odd' people).
> trans people, might reasonably be described as people "whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful". This is a thoroughly bizarre assertion. Why can trans people be described thus?
Re: Elevated rates of autism in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
Trans people in general were largely ignored by research until the 2010s, so there's very little we do know at this point. But as for unresearched hunches... There's lots of jokes in the trans community about how your stereotypical trans girl is on the autism spectrum, with rainbow-colored hair, and into kink, anime, and programming. I think there's more of a willingness to challenge societal expectations of us in th…
Interesting. What you describe about not fitting in etc. is very similar to my experience. Only that I’m a straight male. Could it be that transitioning is not so much about gender but about fitting in? If I could put a name to my angst and the barriers with others, it might be “transgender”. Which could give me a community of similar folks, a measure of acceptance, a handle, on why I’m not like the others. The resea…