Misconception and reality

Labelling trans people as traumatised negates who they are

Dr Helen Webberley on GB News: puberty blockers, with Lucy Johnston, GBNews

What people think

Trans people are trans because something went wrong in their lives. The thinking goes that trauma, depression, or difficult experiences somehow produce gender dysphoria, and that if you treat the underlying distress, the gender identity will resolve itself.

What is actually true

Trauma doesn't cause gender dysphoria, and depression doesn't cause gender dysphoria. I feel strongly about this, because the moment we start framing trans people as people whose identity is a symptom of something else, we are denying them the truth of who they are. Gender identity is not a wound. It is not a response to pain. Trans people are trans because they are trans, and that deserves to be taken seriously on its own terms, not explained away.

Whatever brought you here, I'm glad you came. Tell me what is on your mind and we can talk it through.

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