- Joined
- Dec 14, 2021
I
Here are the comorbidities for (adolescent) BDD:
Past or current self harm
Suicide attempts
Desire for cosmetic procedures
Mood disorders
"delusional beliefs"
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01677-3
This is just a single study, but I believe these findings are pretty consistent.
Here are the comorbidities for Gender Dysphoric adolescents:
Suicide attempts (note: "It is noteworthy that FTM youth were more vulnerable to both suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviors than their MTF counterparts")
Self harm
Co-occuring psychiatric disorders, the most prevalent being depression
The study did not measure desire for cosmetic procedures, but realistically those would be higher, and this population may be more likely to score higher on "delusional beliefs" as well.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12289
I am not an expert on this by any means, and obviously a lot of the above-mentioned factors typically co-occur; however, it is ... ahem... interesting that when these factors co-occur with an teenage girl wanting to be a transgender the go-to explanation is, "that's because society is mean to her", but when these factors co-occur with a teenage girl having some form of BDD, then we (correctly, IMO) say that these are, at least to a degree, "symptomatic of a psychiatric disorder."
To me, particularly in teenage girls (the population most prone to body dysmorphic issues; DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_738_19), there seems to be substantial conceptual and behavioural overlap between body dysmorphia in general and transgenderism. However, one is seen as a public issue, whereas the other is not, despite the comorbidities being very similar.
What is the differences between being body dysmorphic BECAUSE YOU ARE TRANS vs being body dysmorphic BECAUSE OF FACTOR X? As far as I am aware, no one has answered this question theoretically, let alone empirically (you could probably do some sort of factor analysis?).
I think that a lot of the adolescent FtM transgender craze is a product of girls not being happy with their body. They then turn to the new hot thing - being trans/non-binary - as a means of trying to mitigate these feelings. Some even go to the extreme of wanting cosmetic surgery (see: BDD). Yet, we celebrate this, and not when an adolescent girl is obsessed to the point of potential distress with wanting bigger boobs, or a smaller nose, etc. Why?
To what extent are these transgendered females unique from the females who identify as women but have symptoms of BDD? To me, I cannot understand what this distinction would be. In the 90s, what percentage of currently transgender females would have turned up anorexic, as opposed to trans? If the number is quite high, then that challenges the whole notion of this transgender movement, TBH. It also provides support to there being an underlying psychiatric issue.
All part of it, but also, transgenderism is so behaviourally and psychologically similar to being body dysmorphic in general (e.g., anorexic) - people have questioned how distinct they are as constructs.Internalized misogyny is part of it, but it can also be one or more of the following:
1) wanting to be edgy
2) being a pervert
3) having been sexually assaulted
4) being autistic, which leads to being uncomfortable with your body and unsure about social rules. it’s not the same as internalized misogyny and it’s a mischaracterization to see it as such. it’s an inherent part of autism that’s not linked to what your environment is like.
5) having another mental illness, especially one like BPD that leads to having an unstable identity
6) being sexually undesirable, because you’re fat. again I see this as separate from internalized misogyny. being fat also already messes up your hormones.
or any combination of the above!
it’s also worth acknowledging that lesbians have always felt disconnected from womanhood and femininity. a girl who goes by a gender neutral nickname and ‘they/them’ pronouns but otherwise looks and acts like a woman is part of this tradition. it’s not the same as being an FTM. it might be dumb, but it’s not the same.
Here are the comorbidities for (adolescent) BDD:
Past or current self harm
Suicide attempts
Desire for cosmetic procedures
Mood disorders
"delusional beliefs"
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01677-3
This is just a single study, but I believe these findings are pretty consistent.
Here are the comorbidities for Gender Dysphoric adolescents:
Suicide attempts (note: "It is noteworthy that FTM youth were more vulnerable to both suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviors than their MTF counterparts")
Self harm
Co-occuring psychiatric disorders, the most prevalent being depression
The study did not measure desire for cosmetic procedures, but realistically those would be higher, and this population may be more likely to score higher on "delusional beliefs" as well.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12289
I am not an expert on this by any means, and obviously a lot of the above-mentioned factors typically co-occur; however, it is ... ahem... interesting that when these factors co-occur with an teenage girl wanting to be a transgender the go-to explanation is, "that's because society is mean to her", but when these factors co-occur with a teenage girl having some form of BDD, then we (correctly, IMO) say that these are, at least to a degree, "symptomatic of a psychiatric disorder."
To me, particularly in teenage girls (the population most prone to body dysmorphic issues; DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_738_19), there seems to be substantial conceptual and behavioural overlap between body dysmorphia in general and transgenderism. However, one is seen as a public issue, whereas the other is not, despite the comorbidities being very similar.
What is the differences between being body dysmorphic BECAUSE YOU ARE TRANS vs being body dysmorphic BECAUSE OF FACTOR X? As far as I am aware, no one has answered this question theoretically, let alone empirically (you could probably do some sort of factor analysis?).
I think that a lot of the adolescent FtM transgender craze is a product of girls not being happy with their body. They then turn to the new hot thing - being trans/non-binary - as a means of trying to mitigate these feelings. Some even go to the extreme of wanting cosmetic surgery (see: BDD). Yet, we celebrate this, and not when an adolescent girl is obsessed to the point of potential distress with wanting bigger boobs, or a smaller nose, etc. Why?
To what extent are these transgendered females unique from the females who identify as women but have symptoms of BDD? To me, I cannot understand what this distinction would be. In the 90s, what percentage of currently transgender females would have turned up anorexic, as opposed to trans? If the number is quite high, then that challenges the whole notion of this transgender movement, TBH. It also provides support to there being an underlying psychiatric issue.