Genspect, a grassroots educational organization standing in direct opposition to gender ideology, is calling for what they call the “re-psychopathologization” of “transgender” identities. It is an important move for which they are getting expected pushback.
Yes, re-psychopathologization is an uncommon word in most people’s vocabulary, but it simply means reestablishing “trans” identity, not as something to be celebrated and affirmed, but as a psychological state of ill-health to be compassionately treated clinically in the mind of the individual.
As Mia Hughes, research analyst and author of the groundbreaking WPATH Files, explained at the September Genspect conference in Albuquerque, the “monster” in gender ideology is not necessarily the doctors performing experimental, body-modifying medicine on young people. The actual culprit is “an idea; the false belief that being transgender is innate, healthy and something to celebrate.” She stated this “is what is causing all the devastation.” And as a result, she explains, “to be absolutely clear, an entire field of medicine [“gender affirming care”] was built on a false belief; a fiction created by a political movement to serve its own agenda.”
Thus, no one is transgender.
As Focus on the Family has explained, “transgender’ means many different things … and nothing.The American Psychiatric Association explains transgender is “a non-medical term that has been used increasingly since the 1990s as an umbrella term” for anyone who rejects their biological sex believing their mind can be sexed differently than their body. There is no scientific discovery establishing this assumption.
These facts are why Genspect explains, “Re-psychopathologization means restoring transgender identities to their proper place in psychiatry – as conditions of the mind requiring careful therapeutic attention, rather than celebrating them as healthy identities.”
They also explain the term re-psychopathologization is “not an accident of phrasing, nor an unfortunate choice of words.” Nor is it an uncompassionate statement. Genspect hold it “is a deliberate and necessary response to the catastrophic decision made by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) in 2010 to “‘de-psychopathologize’ transgender identities.” That effort to depathologized “trans” identity in clinical practice continues today in examples here, here, here and here.
Genspect correctly holds that you cannot successfully and compassionately treat a condition if you hold an incorrect belief about the thing itself. They explain re-psychopathologization “is a call to restore clarity, compassion, and safeguarding by recognizing that transgender identification is not innate or biologically determined, but an all-consuming pathological belief heavily influenced by culture.”
They see this an essential act of restoring clarity in medicine as “psychiatry must address pathological beliefs rather than collude with them.” It is also a way to restore genuine compassion for people, as those “caught in this cultural wave are innocent victims who need help and support, not experimental body modification in the name of a political ideology.”
Why Now?
Genspect launched its de-psychopathologization effort because “it is now clear that the experiment of ‘gender-affirming care’ has failed.” This is evidenced in many recent factors. One is this year’s June 18thU.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skrmetti which rejected the idea that access to experimental “trans-affirming” procedures is a constitutional right. Second, countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, and England have reviewed the evidence and moved away from allowing drug and surgical experimentation on children in the name of gender ideology. Third, people are increasingly learning of the harms gender policies are having on women, here, here, here and here, as just a few examples.
Genspect explains, “It is time to recognize transgender identification for what it is: a pathological belief requiring careful psychiatric attention, not celebration and widespread medicalization.”
This understanding is more medically and scientifically accurate. As such, it will serve mothers and fathers, children and the clinicians who serve them better.
Related Articles and Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with transgenderism or other sexuality issues, and you don’t know where to turn, Focus on the Family is here to help.
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New Research Shows ‘Transgender’ Identity Dramatically Driven by Immaturity
‘Transgender’ Means Many Different Things — and Nothing
Transgenderism and Minors: What Does the Research Really Show?
What Does it Mean to Be Trans, Anyway?
Do Not Fall for the ‘Affirm Them or They Will Die’ Lie
New Research Confirms Previous Findings: Most Gender Confused Kids Desist
The Shifting Ground of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’
How the “Trans” and Gender Redefinition Issue Attacks the Family
How to Respond to “Trans” and Gender Ideology? Simple: Live Not by Lies
Are Sex and Gender Different Things?
No, Trans Rights Are Certainly NOT Human Rights
The Embarrassing Crack-Up of the LGBT Project
Yes, Transgenderism is a False Belief System
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