AN ONGOING CONVERSATION REGARDING “rogd”

lindsayjin
Sep 6, 2018 · 5 min read

Thank you for your response, Colin

I really don’t pay a lot of attention to the chirping of the Blanshard, Zucker, Bailey, Lawrence, Littman cabal, but I’ll take your word regarding Littman’s use of capitals or lack thereof.

Oh, we are so lucky to have an expert like Julia Serano in the ring with us, so to speak. She tells the truth in that, having spoke with a number of my friends and associates (most of them trans) and touching on many topics, de-transitioning included of course, we all agree that since people are only human, mistakes are and will continue to be made, and instead of ignoring the possibility of such we should completely empathize with those who feel they’ve made this mistake and try to minimize the harm (and especially the harm they may bring on themselves) by taking these unfortunates into our circle or keeping them in should they be there already. All my friends agree on this point. These people should not be shunned by the trans community, left alone or made to feel less in any way.

I’ve read the entire article, followed his link to “Third Way Trans” and read that was well. Extremely unfortunate, but not unheard of and we will hear of more cases like his, I’m sure.

Elan’s reporting of feeling like “being at the bottom of the heap” and thinking of transitioning in order to alleviate his “ place at the bottom of the male hierarchy” is certainly telling. I’m no expert or even trained in psychology, but that really does sound like the wrong reason for transitioning. He might as well have stated: “I wasn’t doing very well in sports, so I transitioned so I could compete with the women”, FFS!

No, he was either getting the wrong advice or no advice at all, and was on a DIY kind of plan. I knew plenty of girls back in TO who, having been denied HRT for whatever stupid reasons the Clarke (may they continue to burn in hell) came up with, and got Spiros and Premmies off the street. I even helped friends get some back in the 80’s. Ya, just dated myself, I know.

Elan says he formulated the thought of transitioning because of his low confidence being male. That he felt “unsafe being a man”. Wow, that is not a good, valid or even healthy reason to transition. This was the 90's?!! My god, who was he seeing in Ohio? I could recommend a good lawyer.

Regarding his comments on bullying… who wasn’t bullied FFS? My bullies were relentless, but that only made me try harder at being ‘the other’… I really should have won some Academy Awards for my early performances around the alphas… but he decides life would be easier as female, and the bullies would leave him alone?!! Wow. That’s just not the way the world works, dear. The GDC he was attending and the shrinks and psychs therewith really dropped the ball on him. Again, he should seek the advice of a lawyer.

His final words: that there are “more clinicians who are interested in looking at alternative ways to deal with dysphoria” is also very telling. What alternative ways? Shock treatments? The laying on of hands? Massive doses of psilocybin? My understanding is that the only, ONLY way to treat true gender dysphoria is to transition, and with the help of experts… shrinks, psychs, endocrinologists, family doctor, etc. Worked for me and everyone I know.

I believe that we will be seeing less and less people detransing since we are getting much better at first, recognizing the true symptoms and second, recognizing cases like Elan, who demonstrate all the wrong symptoms.

Was he rushed into it? Who knows. The talk around the community (and I can’t imagine it’s become any less with the advent of the internet) when I was a baby trans was to tell the shrinks what was necessary to get you the green light. “A woman trapped in a man’s body” That kind of thing. I believe that mindset was a direct result of the gate-keeping mentality that was predominant up until the turn of the century and resonated from within the psychiatric establishment back then. I mean, although not desperate, we did not want to be denied, and told the shrinks what they expected to hear.

In my one and only visit to a GDC support group back in ’86, I was appalled and saddened at the level of misery and disjunction from reality coming from the people attending, and have no doubt that a large number of those were doing what they were doing for similarly wrong reasons. I also have no doubt that more than one or two of those “wrong-headed trans” slipped through the cracks by reasons afore-mentioned and are now suffering like Elan.

I’m sure we have increased our awareness of these problems and as such, I feel comfortable saying that we will see less detrans than we have in the past.

Colin, no… gatekeeping was much more insidious than what you appear to understand it to have been. First off, if you didn’t really look the part, you were denied outright. You had to be stunning! Second, they (Zucker and his cronies at the Clarke — may they continue to roast in hell) actually wired up my girlfriend’s penis, showed her porn (gay, lesbian, wtf!) and if her wee willy registered ANY reaction at all?… denied. Then they would invariably use the results they obtained to prop up their twisted little theories (autogynephelia and the like), the sick turds. That was gatekeeping. They did not care one iota regarding the lives they were screwing up, only about their places in the medical journals and re-living the glories they achieved from the kudos of lesser shrinks by coming up with these outlandish pet theories, and selling their tainted books… and people believed this crap!

What is actually more unbelievable is the fact that we went along with their BS! Not to mention the fact that one or more of them are not this day swinging from a yardarm... unbelievable! The luckiest ones avoided Toronto and went to Vancouver (like me — YAA!) where we were treated with dignity and respect by the likes of the great Dr. Diane Watson (now deceased) at the VGH GDC.

No, today we expect and appreciate the psychological counselling that is available and necessary for our treatment. We have learned much from our mistakes, and no transgender person today (at least here in Canada) has to endure the dehumanizing effects of any gatekeepers barring our way for illegitimate reasons that in the past bordered on criminal negligence if not actual fraud (ya, Zucker/Blanshard/Bailey, you quacks, I said it! FRAUD!).

Hope this helps,

peace to you from LJ

lindsayjin

Written by

Transfeminist wildflower and mother; just your average girl, though interrupted for way too long

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade