Q: What do people misunderstand about gender dysphoria?

What do people misunderstand about gender dysphoria?

Many people think that a choice is involved – that transgender people choose to be transgender, and therefore somehow bring Gender Dysphoria upon themselves. This is a mistaken belief.

Gender Dysphoria has to do with the distress caused by a misalignment between the gender someone is assigned at birth and what they experience. If there weren’t such rigid adherence to gender assumptions and expectations, the distress a transgender person felt could be reduced. Giving people (and especially kids) the freedom and support in exploring their gender helps everyone, as we are all hurt by the policing of gender roles. But giving that space to transgender people can tangibly reduce the Gender Dysphoria they experience and significantly improve their lives.

Unfortunately, too often, transgender people are forced to defy gender roles at their own peril, and are made to suffer consequences just for daring to step outside of the (artificially and arbitrarily drawn) lines. Instead of policing the lines, let’s erase them. We will all be better for it.