Oh no, it's a thread about trans issues made by John Dule

[Del Tachi]

To the whole "is it a mental illness of not" question, I'll stick to what I've opined before:

Mental illness is made up.  Different cultures have varying interpretations as to what constitutes optimal versus pathological psychological functioning.  That certain behavior patterns are valued, accepted, encouraged, or even statistically normative is not universal.  Clinical conceptions of mental illness cannot be separated from subjective personal or cultural values.   

That gender dysphoria was "delisted" as a mental illness reflects this basic truth. 

However, if trans advocates insist that gender dysphoria *isn't a mental illness then I believe you have to arrive at the conclusion that HRT and SRS have to be understood as purely elective, cosmetic procedures.  And that's even before questioning the ethicality of letting doctors operate-on and alter perfectly normal, healthy human body parts. 

[Del Tachi]

Yankees have a very different set of manners. For one thing, men, especially fathers, are far more powerful. Southern women are in charge of most families, which is why, as I’ve explained to several sociologists, the South is a matriarchal society.

This is entirely a product of African-American culture (which originated in the South but has now diffused all over the U.S. thanks to the Great Migration); Southern Whites are no more "matriarchial" than White people in other parts of the Anglosphere.

[Del Tachi]

This is entirely a product of African-American culture (which originated in the South but has now diffused all over the U.S. thanks to the Great Migration); Southern Whites are no more "matriarchial" than White people in other parts of the Anglosphere.

This is not really that accurate. Women, especially old women, are still seen as family leaders in most rural parts and even some suburbs in the South. Most don't consider themselves in charge, but their husbands know they are.

The recent Hispanic immigrants to the region, alongside the large black population, may reinforce this, especially considering the heightened rates of interracial marriage.

https://www.al.com/opinion/2015/05/lessons_from_a_southern_matria.html
https://networks.h-net.org/node/73374/announcements/910535/through-mama%E2%80%99s-eyes-unique-perspectives-southern-matriarchy

Henpecked husbands are not a unique or universal Southern phenomenon, lol.  And at any rate, I'm unsure a personal anecdote and a call for essays for a one-day symposium hosted by the gender studies department at third-rate university really suggest a bona fide sociological theory about motherhood in the South.  I'd be interested in hearing you elucidate your perspectives on this issue (perhaps in another thread or a PM), but I'll stop here for the sake of not getting this thread OT.   

[Del Tachi]

One aspect that I haven't seen raised, is that there are findings that in some trans persons the biological brain doesn't match the sexual phenotype of the body. The studies are more compelling in the case of FtM and less so in MtF. As our ability to discern the affected brain structures improves with technology, then it seems that some trans diagnoses can move out of the purely psychological or sociological and into physical medical science.

Some of the stigma associated with the choice of label comes from their use for mental conditions as opposed to physical conditions. It would be great if mental conditions were treated by society in the same way as physical conditions, but that may be a long time off. In the short term, I would hope that the stigma due to label association would diminish as more trans cases look like straightforward physical medical conditions.

Using brain scans to "diagnose" something as personal and subjective as someone's gender is downright terrifying.  Reducing gender identity to a straightforward, biological explanation would be a huge step backward for LGBT people and everyone else.   

Putting that aside, my understanding is that the early evidence used to suggest the "developmental mismatch theory" relied on studying the dead brain tissues of older individuals.  I don't think there's any evidence that these (limited, not universal) differences in brain structure exist in utero or in young children, which means they could be the result of developmental or environmental changes later in life.