Anonymous
asked:
Hi! I saw your previous post talking about how you think HRT etc should be an absolute last resort for people who believe themselves to be trans!! I was just curious as to what other things you think should be tried first?? Thank you in advance!!

The idea—and it is an idea—that one’s body is wrong, and thus must be altered for the rest of one’s life with chemicals and surgery, is a denial of objective, biological reality. I’d like to see therapists and doctors attempt to help a person with dysphoria (and I don’t doubt dysphoria is a real experience) to integrate their identity with the body they have. A person’s brain and body are one whole reality, a gestalt, not some crazy mistake, and I think working on resolving the psychological issue of dissociation should be tackled head on. Plastic surgery, amputation, and medicating a body because a person doesn’t “identify” with it is a very extreme treatment and should be seen as such. I feel this especially strongly for children and teens, which is the exact opposite of how psychiatrists and surgeons approach things now. Right now, hormone and surgical treatments are fast tracked.