Man, it's almost as if humans can't change sex and you can't fix inner problems by changing your outward appearance? Crazy stuff.
It has come up in this thread that "you wouldn't encourage anorexic patients to starve themselves". I usually took it at face value as a nice comparison but these pooners really cemented how similar both are.
While not all anorexics are the same, most I came across developed anorexia more as a symptom of some other underlying issues and the thought processes of the ones I was close with worked the same.
"If I get skinnier, life will get better."
"If I were prettier, all my problems would be solved."
"If I drop 3 more kilos, my social life/my grades/whatever will improve."
And they keep going and restricting/purging more because it will get better at some point, right? You know that losing some weight won't magically make you happier, richer, more desirable, more successful, anything you wish for. And deep down they know it too, but admitting that would mean there's a broader problem that would take more to overcome than just "losing weight".
These pooners do the same. Hell, even non-overtly-fetishistic troons do the same. Maybe they hate their current lives, maybe they hate themselves, and they get sold a miracle cure that doesn't solve jackshit.
Just like how anorexics strive for a new goal weight after reaching their previous one, pooners also keep running milestone to milestone.
"If I cut my hair short, it will be better."
"If I wear male clothes, it will be better."
"If I start taking testosterone, it will be better."
"If I get double mastectomy, it will be better."
"If I grow a full beard, it will be better."
"If I get any type of bottom surgery, it will be better."
And then what? None of these steps work and never will, because they're not solving the actual problem. What they're doing is just burying it.
You won't see a doctor telling the constantly freezing, deathly pale and severely underweight girl that maybe she should lose more weight. But doctors tell these obviously struggling, pumped with cross-sex hormones and physically mutilated women that they need to take the next step. They're selling them a dream that can never come true.
And this all makes me very, very sad.
