Thread by @rdqb80

Important things to note about this “true transsexualism” narrative that many push:

1) There is this myth that autogynephilic men and autohomoerotic women who call themselves “lesbians” and “gay men” respectively were never “true trans”. This is false

Male-to-female transsexuals who called themselves “lesbians” go as far back as the 1960s and 70s, it’s just that psychiatrists did not understand their driving force to transition, and they were able to fool their doctors out of a “transvestic fetish” diagnosis.

The first woman to want to transition to a “gay man” goes as far back as the late 1970s. Although she was rejected by most clinics, she was able to obtain private alternative hormone “therapy” and a double mastectomy as early as the 1980s. She identified as transsexual.

Autogynephilia and autohomoeroticism were very much part of 20th century transsexualism, it’s just that much of the gate keeping to prevent transition has been removed, and formation of the transgender movement in the 1990s eventually removed social obstacles.

2) Transsexualism was promoted in the US in the 1950/60s before homosexuality was taken off the DSM as a mental illness in 1973. Psychiatrists were very willing to transition homosexual men/women who were unhappy with themselves while stating that homosexuality was an aberration.

“True transsexualism” has always been at odds with accepting oneself as lesbian or gay, hence why it wasn’t supported by most early gay and lesbian liberationists despite attempts at inclusion. Thanks to “transgenderism” those priorities have changed.

I understand that it’s an unpopular opinion to point out the pitfalls of “true transsexualism”. Everybody wants to be an ally and supporter of the gender dysphoric. But the reality is that “an internal sense of gender at odds with one’s sex” can come from sexism.

And misogyny, and homophobia, internalized or otherwise. It can also come from heterosexual fetishes alien to actual homosexuality. That is why it has always been a thorn on the side of women’s and gay liberationist movements.

That’s why, knowing this history, I cannot and will not support the idea of “true transsexualism”. It’s a false category. It hides fetishes, and it is at odds with the philosophy that lesbians and gay men should accept themselves and seek that society accepts them.