Are teenagers (especially girls) mistaking the awkwardness and discomfort that they feel towards their pubescent bodies for gender dysphoria?

submitted by oyasuminasai50 from self.LGBDropTheT

Whereas those of us used to just navigate these feelings of awkwardness and discomfort over our changing bodies, I was thinking. As LGBT rights have made strides in the last 20 years, to what extent has the rising tolerance towards trans identities given teenage girls a way to (at least mentally) opt out of the same fear and uneasiness we all felt going through puberty?

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[–]turtleduck23 35 insightful - 1 fun35 insightful - 0 fun36 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I believe so. A young teen girl had posted on reddit detrans that she hated when she developed breast in middle school because the boys would make rude and sexually jokes. She also said that she hated having her period (what girl/woman enjoys it?). She enjoyed "boy activities" such as sports and hated anything "girly" like makeup. She began following trans and NB people on tumblr who basically told her that she was trans because she liked sports, hated girly clothes and hated having her breasts (even though this was because of unwanted attention from boys), she also had attraction to girls and of course the homophobes told her that she was really a straight guy. Many of the female reddit commentors shared the same story in the comments about hating getting their breast and periods as well as being told online that this was a symptom of gender dysphoria and therefor they were trans.

[–]zephyranthes 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

She also said that she hated having her period (what girl/woman enjoys it?).

I did, for the first half a year or so. Like, whoa, science! Then the novelty wore off and I didn't care.

[–]turtleduck23 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

i enjoyed it the first month because all my friends had theirs and i felt like an adult and then when the next month came it was like "I have to go through this every damn month!"

[–]ThiccDropkickGay 31 insightful - 2 fun31 insightful - 1 fun32 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Probably. But remember, if you even hint that they may not be trans then you're literally killing trans kids

[–]Three_oneFourWanted for thought crimes in countless ideologies 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The only way in which we kill trans kids is that we prevent the number of trans kids from increasing or otherwise reduce the number of children that identify as trans.

In a way, we are "killing" trans kids not by leading to the deaths of children, but by reducing the number of trans kids as a direct result of our actions and words. They just, as always, find a way to misconstrue the facts and reword everything to make themselves sound like the victims

[–]julesburm1891 28 insightful - 2 fun28 insightful - 1 fun29 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Puberty is a weird time for everyone, but it’s an exceptionally weird time for girls. Your body changes a lot very quickly and so do the social rules/expectations/interests. (I remember in seventh grade where one week my friends were talking about bands we liked and literally the next week they were talking about what giving blowjobs would be like.) Not only does your body change, but it’s like everyone else has front row seats to it. Suddenly your body is fair game for ogling, touching, and gross remarks from not just boys your age, but also grown men. It’s disconcerting and uncomfortable to go through.

[–]Three_oneFourWanted for thought crimes in countless ideologies 21 insightful - 1 fun21 insightful - 0 fun22 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Almost certainly. Teenage years are an incredibly vulnerable time for boys and sometimes especially girls. This time, full of body changes, not all of which are at all pleasant, as well as a trend of a rebellious mindset make the perfect breeding ground for potential victims of gender ideology. When they turn to the internet instead of their parents, like any kid in the 21st century, they're easily found and manipulated by cruel people who take advantage of them at their most vulnerable time to turn them into whatever these internet people want the children to become.

[–]QueenBread 18 insightful - 1 fun18 insightful - 0 fun19 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Absolutely. This is why I must say I feel kinda sorry for them. I guess this is an issue that I can understand, because when -I- was a teen, many years before this dumb genderwoowoo trend, I would call myself "a gay man in a girl's body!".

Even now, I'm not exactly a typically feminine person. But I'm not even lesbian, so I can't just go "oh yes I guess I'm masculine because I'm into girls or something". No, I'm a straight woman who just happens to not have many feminine attitudes, behaviours or hobbies. Add to this that I have an assertive personality, and that's a problem too: aggressive and active men are admired, but aggressive and active women are considered sooooo not ladylike.

So I guess this reinforces my hate for gender ideology. Because I could've been one of their victims.

[–][deleted] 11 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 0 fun12 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Absolutely. It's a really common experience for teenage girls to hate their body, think they can't fit it, and be self-loathing. This may be far-fetched, but I also think there is a link between the trans stuff taking off and tumblr banning the pro self-harm and eating disorder tags / blogs in early 2012. You can sort of see it here, tumblr bans the tags, things run their course for a couple of years and then the referrals of teens to gender clinics take off https://www.transgendertrend.com/surge-referral-rates-girls-tavistock-continues-rise/

[–]oyasuminasai50[S] 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I think social media more broadly is to blame. Puberty is an awkward time as is, and it's a vulnerable, confusing, and even sometimes scary time, especially for teenage girls. And now we live in a culture where the emphasis on your appearance has been amplified. The ability to make targeted attacks against people has been amplified in the form of social media and cyberbullying. And I think a lot of teenage girls are having a very difficult time navigating through all of that.

Remember when the dialogue not too long ago was how harmful all of those photoshopped models on the magazines were? Now think of how many photoshopped images of people's faces and bodies we see a day compared to then thanks to Instagram and Facebook. It's increased tenfold.

While I do think there is an organic rise in trans identification as a result of rising acceptance, there is no doubt in my mind that social media has sowed extreme confusion, anxiety, and fear into teenagers. And that being trans is seen as a way to cope with a pubescent experience that is three times as uncomfortable and embarrassing as it used to be.

[–]PassionateIntensity 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

IMO, YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES -- if the awkward teens asking puberty questions online are anything to go by.

[–]Erised 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I have no doubt that if social media, self id ideology, and affirmative care had been around when I was a teenager, I would’ve 100% thought I was trans.

Puberty itself brought on a ton of feelings of dysmorphia for me— one minute I was running around as a carefree kid, and the next my body was revolting against me. I was in crippling pain due to years of undiagnosed endometriosis, I was suddenly getting policed on my clothing and body posture (e.g. close your legs!), looks from men were lingering longer and longer. Combine this with the fact that most media is made for the straight male gaze where women are either docile damsels in distress, “empowered” sex objects, or naggy hags (and I can’t even imagine how hard it would be being a gay boy and practically seeing no gay male role models in the media) — I felt like there wasn’t a place for me in this world, that my body was betraying me.

If I had come across a community that told me the only reason I felt this way was because I was actually a boy and those feelings would all go away if I just transition, I would’ve fell for that hook, line, and sinker.

I wouldn’t have challenged sexist, homophobic, heteronormative conventions. I wouldn’t have tried to push to make things better for teenage girls/ LGB youth so they wouldn’t have to go through the same things I did. I wouldn’t have tried looking inward to get to the root of my depression and anxiety because I would always be chasing that outward solution to improve my self esteem.

[–]HelloMomo 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I did.

A very common trans argument goes, "Well what if you woke up in an opposite-sex body tomorrow morning? Wouldn't you be uncomfortable and want to change it?" To which the answer is usually, "Yes... because it would be unfamiliar." The issue would not be some conflict between sexed body and gendered soul, but rather, that it's a sudden and unexpected change, and differs from the body I'd lived in previously. Whereas if I'd lived in that body since birth, I'd probably be able to roll with it.

And in puberty, you are living in a body that is significantly different from the one you are accustomed to, and lived in your whole life up to this point. Your body up and changes on you without your permission — of course that feels like a betrayal. Of course you're uncomfortable with it. It takes a few years to settle back into your body after that, and make peace with it.