Thread by @reclaimingtrans

Robert Stoller, transphobic psychoanalyst, thought transmasculinity was caused by an afab child developing too close of a relationship with their father, while developing a distant relationship with their mother. He summed it up as "Too much father, not enough mother".

Rad fem theory is similar in some ways, too much patriarchy, not enough positive (radical feminist) female influence. Both of them posit an outside masculine influence distorting the development of a "proper" female identity in a transmasculine person.

Both theories assume an afab person should develop a female sense of self though bonding with cis women and see any deviation from that as a problem that should be corrected if at all possible, through therapy or radical feminist consciousness raising, respectively.

Stoller didn't have much hope in "curing" adult trans people, since he thought gender identity became fixed after a certain point and also watched most attempts to "cure" people through therapy fail. He thought it might work on kids though.

Transphobic rad fems have more faith in their methods and do seem to have more "success" but they have the advantage of being a political cult that can give people a feeling of belonging, group praise and a sense of purpose one typically doesn't get from therapy.

They also tolerate more gender nonconformity than heterosexist psychoanalysts, encouraging transmasculine people to live as butch lesbians or otherwise GNC women rather than as feminine straight women.

Their methods can't actually "cure" a transmasculine person though, just help them live with their dysphoria as a woman. The group support and encouragement from other detrans women and rad fems plays a big role in helping people stick with it.

And detrans transmasculine people are given an important role in what's supposed to be a larger struggle between women and the "trans cult" and/or "gender industry". They're told they're helping to save lesbian culture or taking down big Pharma or whatever.

This is their "alternative treatment" for gender dysphoria, giving people a group to belong to, praise, and a sense that they're doing something meaningful, in exchange for choosing to "manage" one's dysphoria instead of living as a trans person.