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Comment by spurgu | Hacker News Reader

> the vast majority of people who transition are glad to have done so

According to a study with a ~12 month follow-up period after transitioning? I read something similarly misleading recently.

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12 months? What about 3, 5 or 10 years? Wouldn't that be more reasonable period to consider.

So you would think and the prospect doesn't necessarily look that rosy when you do.

I’m interested in the sources you’re referring to. Loss of follow-up seems well-cited as a potential weakness by legitimate sources in my brief investigation, but more importantly they have a reasonable amount of data from very old sources as well. I didn’t have to look hard.

I completely believe all those feelings are completely real but I fail to see how changing anything related to your appearance will bring true lasting happiness. To me it seems like the pinnacle of an image obsessed society. Additionally, let's be honest, most trans will never look 100% like their desired gender, none of them will look close without hormone therapy, and many are much less fortunate even with all the pills and operations. It's a spiral of self-delusion and refusal to accept boundaries and the limits of nature.

Your comment strikes me as interesting because you mention an image obsessed society but then you make some statements about image that seem to suggest a personal endorsement of this standard. Let’s hypothetically assume that your statements about failure to be perceived as they wish are 100% true as well as the idea that we should be less image focused are true too. Why should they or anyone else care if they never look like their desired gender if they feel better and lead productive lives?

I’ve certainly gotten dressed up to go nowhere, and I know women who put on makeup just for themselves too. I realize this doesn’t lie in exactly the same realm, but I hope you can see my point. Are we deluded? It seems to me that nature is a slippery slope.

If people say that the placebo effect will be diminished.

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