Originally posted 2020-07-30 14:40:05.
In 2018 the Portman and Tavistock, (now the Portman Institute) the UK’s main gender clinic for young patients, reported a more than 4500% increase in referrals for Gender Dysphoria over 8 years. FOUR THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED PER CENT in EIGHT years.
The total referrals for Gender Dysphoria in the last year accounted for were some 2500, up from 97 eight years before. Of these later figures, 1800 were young females. Nearly 2000 were under 18, in the previous year alone. That beats any stats on this, anywhere and to make it even more shocking, whereas the historic prevalence amongst females has always been less than 1/3 that for males, in the more recent referrals this is reversed, with more than 2/3 being female. But what has this to do with Feminism?
In classic theory, gender transition is provoked by Gender Dysphoria, a sense of more or less intense discomfort at being obliged to socially present as the gender one’s birth sex might suggest. It occurs in males and females and in two completely distinct forms in each: homosexual and non-homosexual. This might not always seem to be the most sympathetic way to triage the forms, especially in cultures which remain deeply uncomfortable with sex, such as the Anglo-Saxon ones, but it works.
Homosexual transsexuals and Homosexual Gender Dysphoria
Homosexual Gender Dysphoria leads to Homosexual transsexualism or HSTS and is relatively rare in the West, although all feminine homosexual males are potential transsexuals. Since this Dysphoria ONLY affects persons who are already both cross-gender identified and uniquely homosexual, from their earliest experiences, there is an upper bound on the numbers. Numerous studies have been carried out which suggest that the total numbers of innate, feminine homosexual males is probably not more than 5% of population, although this again is subject to the definition of ‘homosexual’ being used and the general social climate. HSTS, being a subset of these, must necessarily be fewer.
Homosexual Gender Dysphoria is quite distinctive and in boys with this, hormone therapy and even surgery is often entirely appropriate, though at reasonable ages as outlined in the WPATH Standards of Care. It can lead to a full and satisfying life in the target gender. Subjects, if male, can integrate into society as women and may find partners amongst regular heterosexual men. They reject relations with other homosexual males, do not become a part of the ‘gay’ lifestyle and often simply vanish. This life-path even has a name: ‘woodworking’.
The precursors to homosexual Gender Dysphoria may onset as early as age two. If it persists through puberty, then action should be taken to prevent masculinisation. Usually this will be in the form of hormone therapy. The boy should also be prepared psychologically for a life as a woman.
Non-homosexual gender dysphoria in males.
In males, non-homosexual Gender Dysphoria is caused by Autogynephilia, ‘a man’s propensity to be aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman'(Blanchard.) These individuals are not homosexual although they may well begin to seek relations with men as a function of their Autogynephilia. (Pseudo-bisexualism.) Again, this linking of gender to sexuality does not please some people, but it works and the profile is consistently accurate.
Young females
The problem today is overwhelmingly amongst young females. The Portman figures are replicated, as far as we know, across the West. There is literally, today, an epidemic of ‘trans-identification’, mostly amongst non-homosexuals, a majority of whom are female.
An important paper was published by Littman, in August 2018, that addressed this. It posits a number of hypotheses that might illuminate the current massive increase in the numbers of referrals to clinics specialising in the care of trans-identified individuals. These are centred on the idea that a phenomenon called Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria is central to the epidemic.
The trouble is, nobody knows what Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria might actually be.
We should expect to see more referrals as awareness of trans lives increases, alongside lessened social intolerance, obviously, and this is something I have been saying for years. However, the staggering amount of the increase and, more importantly, the inversion of the relative rates male to female, must give pause.
So, what is happening to young women? Unfortunately, in a repetition of a common error, the published figures do not classify by sexual orientation. But it is clear from anecdotal evidence that a significant proportion of these females are non-homosexual. Females with no previous history of lesbian attraction or childhood cross-gender identification are presenting as ‘trans’.
Autohomoeroticism: a social contagion?
If some of these cases are of non-homosexual Gender Dysphoria, it seems possible at least that their condition might be inversely related to AGP, in which case it may be ‘Autohomoeroticism’ (AHE) a woman’s propensity to be aroused by the thought or image of herself as a homosexual man’ (Blanchard). This might well exhibit the same characteristics of rapid onset as Autogynephilia. (Note: ‘Arousal’ does not always mean in a strictly physical, sexual manner. Other forms of reward also apply and in females particularly, these seem more social than sexual.)
Until recently, Blanchard and others were sceptical of the existence of AAP in females. AHE seems to have replaced this.
We have little knowledge of how AHE might work, except to note that it does appear to be principally a social phenomenon. This agrees with the Littman paper, which views Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria as a species of social contagion aggravated by social media use.
Autohomoerotocism or AHE is a condition experienced in females who become obsessed with the idea of being ‘gay men’ in a relationship with a homosexual male.
How Feminism harms women: an eyewitness testimony
Although the site ‘4th Wave Now’ is infested with gender-crits, that is, those who, for political reasons, seek to abolish all forms of transition, we can still glean useful information there. It is clear from this that not only social media is implicated; the problem goes deep into our culture.
This excerpt, from a post by ‘Emily Williams’ (a pseudonym) is chilling. Emily is a 20-year old college junior at a selective liberal arts college in the US, according to the 4th Wave site and, of course, these are well-known hotbeds of feminism and SJW extremism.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is a social contagion among college students. At my school, it is trendy to be transgender, and to people who feel like they don’t fit in, particularly with other people of their biological sex, choosing to transition to the opposite sex, and become a member of the opposite sex, may certainly seem like a more viable option than continuing to feel rejected while trying to fit in.
It seemed that most of the students who were suddenly transitioning were biological females who were smart but socially awkward. They revealed their identities as trans men, usually through a haircut and new wardrobe, followed by a Facebook post alerting associates to a name and pronoun change. They would soon take to social media, student forums, and classroom discussions to rant about “cis privilege,” how oppressed they are because they get stared at by strangers, how they want to assault people who misgender them, and how in love with their “queer” identities they are.
She illustrates the coercive nature of this:
… a lot of this culture surrounding trans teens and college students is aggressively narcissistic and cutesy — selfies captioned “i love being nonbinary,”… and “baby’s first binder!”
In this alternative universe ‘gay’ becomes a lifestyle identity that anyone can espouse: “you’re gay no matter who you date.”
While ‘gay’ is indeed a lifestyle, until now it was posited on the basis of same-sex attraction; in this understanding, it is something different: not being ‘straight’ and ‘cis-gender’. The links between this fashion and many other youth movements of teenage rebellion, like punk and emo, are all too clear — but while punks and emos might have abused their bodies with piercings, they did not remove their genitalia, or render themselves sterile for life, in the name of a fad.
Feminism: a harmful narrative
The massive levels of peer pressure and social compulsion to identify as ‘trans’ are made clear:
I am not allowed to speak honestly and openly on this subject without being defamed as a conservative, a transphobe, intolerant, and anti-feminist. As someone who is not trans, I am not allowed to think or talk about trans issues unless I am agreeing with a trans person. Because I can’t know what it’s like to feel born in the wrong body.
(As if anyone could know what it feels like to be ‘born in the wrong body’.)
Emily points out the rapidity with which this fashion for body-reconstruction can lead to permanent self-harm:
What has been even more upsetting is to see is how quickly these new identities are accompanied by medical changes. I know several young women who were able to easily access testosterone soon after deciding they were trans. I know four who have had mastectomies. One is currently raising funds for her breast removal as part of a GoFundMe campaign.
The author, perhaps because of her youth or her political leanings, does not give a clear indication of what she thinks is causing this phenomenon, but she hints at one:
(They say) If you can’t determine gender by someone’s appearance, why have gender at all?
and, most telling of all:
… they (the ‘trans’ community around her) are aggressively anti “straight white men,” apparently the worst species on earth and the ones responsible for all hardship, as they threaten professors and other students who dare to hint at an observation that doesn’t sound affirmative of transgender identities.
In other words, a feminist narrative is implicated in this.
Thoughtful
Emily’s thoughtful, well written missive gives us a clear indication that this is indeed a disorder, spread by social contagion. But what is behind it?
Ironically, Emily says she is a feminist, yet does not appear to realise that the campaign to eradicate gender, which is the root of this problem, one which she herself points out, is in fact a core feminist aim. In other words, the culpable actor behind this unheard-of upsurge in what was previously a rare condition, is feminism itself and its insane, irresponsible insistence that ‘gender is not real’.
Mental disorder
Autogynephilia in males is not true transsexualism; it is a narcissistic paraphilia, a mental disorder. Why would its female equivalent be any different? In few areas of mental health do we assist people to mutilate their bodies because they have an identifiable disorder; where this does occur, it is extremely rare and only carried out as the very last option.
The sexes are not equal
The sexes are not equal in this, as in so many things. Feminising hormones, principally oestrogen, are relatively mild in effect; a large part of the reason Male-to-Feminine HSTS appear so feminine is that they naturally are, anyway. Further, most of the effects of oestrogen are reversible; if the subject has not had orchidectomy or Genital Reconstruction Surgery and they stop taking the hormone therapy, they will masculinise. Testosterone, on the other hand, is not gentle at all. Its effects are drastic and permanent, even after cessation. I deplore its use in non-homosexual female Gender Dysphria under any circumstances.
Personally I am highly sceptical of genital Reconstruction Surgery in treating any form of transsexualism and have made many enemies saying so. Even for HSTS, it is basically a really stupid move. It will not, contrary to the propaganda, improve the individual’s chances of forming a stable life partnership with a man. It is just a fact that the very few men who are prepared to enter into such a relationship with a transsexual will do so with or without the penis. Sadly, they really are very few in number.
I am horrified, however, at thousands of perfectly healthy young women mutilating themselves — and being encouraged to do so by so-called ‘responsible adults and carers’ — because they have been force-fed a vile, socially divisive feminist propaganda campaign masquerading as an education.
The shocking rise of ‘trans’, particularly amongst adolescents and young adults, most of which appears to be non-homosexual and practically none of which is HSTS, is the consequence of a misguided, corrupt and malignant socio-political philosophy which has been allowed to completely infest schools and academia generally across the West: Feminism.
Feminism has destroyed the minds of our daughters and now it is destroying their bodies. I really wish I could feel good about saying ‘I told you so’.
(First published July 2018; updated June 2022)