For those looking for more recent Helena. She is here asking a question at Genspect's conference and as sharp as ever. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r8ylq91kndW3nIU.html

I relate so much to this. Being on "queer tumblr" and then realizing something is deeply wrong, going to radfem tumblr and seeing how great the analysis is but then also coming to realize something is wrong ideologically... Growing up way too online with my parents having no clue what I was being surrounded with.

Would love a new interview with her, but I also understand wanting to move on and not be and activist your whole life.

Whatever happened to Helena? She was one of my favorite commentators/activists in the entire movement. Very eloquent and well-spoken, to a greater degree than her contemporaries, I would say.

As a man, I can confirm that anger, struggles with processing emotion are some pretty common traits.

Aww, man, i really wanted to hear from current day Helena. I hope she's doing well.

The method to 'slow down the snow ball effect' would be cognitive behavioral therapy. Its the method used for all other body dysmorphic conditions that cause the feeling of dysphoria. Unfortunately this tried, and substantiated method of helping mood disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, and conditions like ADHD isn't 'affirming'. When something isn't affirming a gender identity its considered conversion therapy; which is now illegal in Canada. This method isn't illegal in-and-of itself; but applied to gender dysphoric individuals it is considered a hate crime.

Thank you for sharing. I’m sure not easy.

Loved this💗

Thanks❤

Wondered when I logged-off for some Monk time, if Mr. Benjamin might drop in an afternoon sneaky 😿Helena is one of my faves, so need to catch up today 🐈

❤

Imagine how far for the Levt you must be to indulge any of this.

My question is how did tumbler become reality???

If you do create a book, I wonder if you could compile a list of statistics or make it something in the appendix or a link to online. The big one I would say is how many people get surgeries before the age of 18 (because it seems everyone I talk to says it doesn’t happen) But, for me it would be interesting to have some kind of data on all the cases you have covered. MTF or FTM, age of starting transition, age of detransition, reason for transitioning (internalized homophobia, AGP, history of trauma, etc), reason for detransitioning, age started puberty blockers, age started hormones, side effects while on hormones, side effects remaining after detransitioning, time between talking to a doctor about transitioning and receiving hormones, whether they have underlying mental health issues and whether those were addressed, and so on. I wish I had been keeping track because I know at least some people that were interviewed said they were put on hormones right away, had surgeries under the age of 18, etc.

"You have friends!? Were you into dump trucks as a kid?" Well, that's an interesting way to start a conversation.

Helena's cool, also Benjamin, that's a very good outro song, one of the half-dozen Ben's that replaced your cat wallpaper, must be a legit musician. I sometimes bore myself lol, with my rambling, guesswork, non-expert comments. Not to overly self-depricate, it's always possible I'm on to something. Gotta idea, I'm definitely no expert psychologist. Weirdly, watching plus kind of studying films, mise en scene etc., has helped lead me to this perspective: Idea involves, a possible insight abt trans, and also suggestion as to why privacy is particularly important, for young ppl and children. What's going on, is the overexposure of young ppl's underdeveloped personalities, eccentricities, idiosyncrasies. It's the result of having a young version of your appearance, mannerisms, thoughts and beliefs, all overly exposed in public, codified, continuously reflected back to you, making it difficult to grow and develop, when you're kind of seeing yourself in that 'mirror,' that has this forever static image, version of you. How does this directly pertain to trans? Well here's what I think, it's definitely debatable, I'm just giving my thoughts, and approximate belief abt what seems to be going on, and how ppl grow and develop. So, I think everyone has something like a characteristically masculine and feminine 'side' to themselves, and there's lots of flexibility in how those characteristics are categorized, plus healthy adults get comfortable with these things mixing together all the time. Also, some boys are born with relatively lower testosterone levels than others, some girls with relatively higher testosterone, and luckily our culture generally accepts that (scientists now suspect) this kind of thing causes some ppl to be homosexual, which used to also present as trans in relatively rare cases. However, I'm not talking abt subtle biological differences so much, more abt the sociological change in media, and how it affects development. I think that when children play, imagine and act out different kinds of thoughts and behaviors, one thing you're seeing there, is how lots of tendencies that will later fit into clearer and more stable mental categories, are jumbled together, and not so clearly differentiated. Even heterosexual, young boys, will sometimes act out tendencies that don't get exhibited in their mature personality, and might be 'effeminate,' just not the right 'fit' for them psychologically, behaviorally, biologically. Girls as well obviously, with 'masculine' tendencies. Now, remember this aspect: what happens when those 'childhood eccentricities,' get recorded for all time, and often played back to you? It's not just the kind of embarrassing stuff that used to be for family photo albums, or home videos. No, now it's more like all your weirdest, most juvenile thoughts/behaviors, perpetually recurring and suggesting to you, that that's what you rly are. And once again, here's the deeper aspect: adults have usually grown up, and gotten comfortable with the implicit fact, that we all contain mannerisms, attitudes and tendencies, both that are more like our own (typically somewhat more characteristically 'masculine' if male, 'feminine' if female,) and ALSO those of the 'other side' of our 'psyche,' which presumably will largely entail characteristic tendencies of the gender with which we're less identified. Adults get this well enough, and can deal with this. Just because I wasn't "acting like myself" that one time recently, doesn't mean I'm this whole other person, or this whole other gender, that I might have momentarily resembled, in certain respects. But now, what if you're a child? And, what if those tendencies can be acted out in a particularly exaggerated fashion sometimes, while you're still going through early life development? Now, once again, what if a record of yourself acting out those tendencies, is constantly fed back to you? What will you think? See how on some subconscious level, you'd probably conclude at a young age, "well, that's me. I'm pretty eccentric, also a crossover/combination of masculine and feminine, and I'm going to act like myself, this is clearly, ostensibly showing me who, and what I am". This line of thinking seems to me to elucidate, both how new media is destabilizing to childhood development, and also potentially gives insight as to the mechanism by which the effects are worsened by bad actors.

Very cool lady

Hope she's ok.

What a surprise. The computer AI raised her because she had incompetent parents.

I'm glad my ex-husband was a hacker cause there was no way an AI robot was going to lead my son astray. He had some sites BLOCKED for our kids.

Cut the cord to the internet and social media. The ideology exists there to be found. Gender dysphoria isnt contagious so it's crazy that so many young people think they have it (social contagion).