Just a curious thought: How do you think internalized misogyny fits into gender dysphoria for females? I have no scientific proof, just a generalized impression after listening to female detransitioners and transitioners.. I get a feeling that several of these have struggled with internalized misogyny and a desire to escape the feminine gender role. Would this be a part of trauma-induced dysphoria?

As a therapist working in this practice area, I find that almost all of this rings true. I especially appreciate your reframing "internalized homophobia" as shame. We need to avoid this scientific-sounding terminology and instead choose emotional language that people understand.

I'm an autistic person who detransitioned. I didn't go on hormones but I socially transitioned for three years. I think my story is interesting because I actually got diagnosed with autism whilst going through gender therapy at the gender clinic. The porn thing was true, but I was also mimicking my idols. I have always been very gender non-conforming and I have a lot of sensory issues. I didn't know I was autistic so I thought it was just dysphoria. Being diagnosed with autism at age 20 was strange, it explained so much. I also went through a sexual assault by someone who wanted to 'cure' me of my 'queerness' (I am between asexual and bisexual, androgynous/tomboyish, was considering transition at the time). After that I kind of snowballed. When I got my autism diagnosis, the clinician warned me that hormones could make my sensory issues worse and I should get trauma therapy and sit with the autism diagnosis first. My dysphoria resolved after this, I also reached the later stage of puberty so I began feeling more comfortable and stable in my body

Step dad of a non-binary-to-trans kid here. Your views expressed in this video mirror a lot of my sentiments, and reinforce the extreme hesitancy I have towards approving the further medicalization/surgery of said kid. Thank you for sticking your neck out there and spurring conversations that need to be had, and for educating people like me with this and your other videos. I can only hope the editors of the DSM ## see content like this and begin to dig deeper to ensure medical professionals are giving the best advice for treatment as possible.

Former “Non-binary” female. Yea I’d say autism and misogyny led me down that path… I wish the Non-binary label never became a thing, it kinda promotes toxic individualism

Watched two guys I dated get lost to the trans identity. One suffered from horrific delusions and hallucinations but was convinced by the Universitys therapist that transition was the answer. Another was autistic and became trans after there gay friend group bullied them into it. Its sad and disgusting to see so many young people not getting help and treatment for there disorders, and instead getting there wallets sucked dry by HRT and gender therapists and still having those same core issues for years un-adressed and un-treated.

Very insightful! The borderline/unstable identity and autism really resonated with me. I went back and forth between "cis"/trans identified for a long time before finally waking up to the absurdity of this gender stuff. I appreciate you having the courage to share your experiences online.

I have a friend who's son had severe ADHD. He started identifying as extremely flamboyant gay at a VERY young age. (Just want to throw in that her dad, his grandfather, was a cross dresser, who committed suicide before he was born). Anyway, the older perverts immediately started grooming him & his mom was just helpless to stop her son. Immediately he contracted HIV & hepatitis. Like immediately. Now he is damaged forever, left emotionally broken & pretty much cant even function in society. So sad.

somehow i doubt gender dysphoria would happen in a vacuum, like in a very primitive tribe or complete isolation. It seems heavily socially influenced from things like social hierarchies, beauty standards, peer pressure on those who are already suggestable.

It's all about dissociation. People with dissociative disorders have self-phobia and develop parts of self to escape other parts of self. Also known as "dissociative phobias". I believe that's the underlying mechanism. The scary part is that society is fueling this process and almost enforcing it. Although I'm not surprised as the study of dissociation itself is quite neglected and disparaged, in favor of other models of mental illness that are more profitable. Infact, if the illness lies in the individual brain, you can sell drugs or surgery. However if you accept that the illness lies in relationships and how out mind responds to them, and model itself on them, then it would mean that the wellbeing of society should be everyone's priority, when it clearly isn't.

I wish my gay grandson who now thinks he is a transwoman would watch your videos. Thanks you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge with us.

I believe this 5 category hypothesis will contribute to a future taxonomy someday. You describe it interestingly - much insight. Well done as usual very well thought out in my opinion.

What you mentioned about hair loss makes so much sense. I don't have any gender dysphoria but I have shaved my head due to hair loss and I honestly don't think that I look bad per se; what bothers me is that as a bald man there's only one way you can present yourself (confident masculine) which is wholly contradictory to my temperament and self-image . I also noted this issue in the comment section of KZfaq videos about hair loss where some girls would say that the only reason they don't transition to male is that they are afraid of hair loss (their father or brother has it for example), and I felt puzzled because male pattern hair loss is a visual signal of masculinity and I wondered why would a FtM trans person hate it that much. It makes sense when you realize their issue is more about feeling attractive/unattractive and gender transition is an attempt to "re-brand" your body.

I had a long comment written but deleted it and realized I just really want to say thank you for sharing your journey and also your insights, observations, and opinions are so valuable, interesting, and refreshing! I’m sorry for your struggles and can relate on many levels and I want to encourage you to keep going….you give breath and words we need in this world today!

Years ago I had a friend who was “Trans” before it was even a thing. By the time she was 14 she ended her life, rather violently. There were a lot of problems in her family, divorce & remarried parents who were busy with careers as intellectuals in education. I suspect she had some learning disabilities, I have them so I a familiar. She went to a fancy private school for a minute & didn’t last long. A lot of shame from her family for not being brilliant like them. She was also someone who developed early & fast. Very pretty girl but that can be overwhelming when you still have then mind of a child. I wonder if the attention she began to get from men added to it all. It is hard as a teen or young woman but at like 5Th grade. She was pretty grandiose as well early on, speaking with accents & lying about things like having ESP. It didn’t look like her parents cared at all. She was probably the 1st person I knew of like this in the 80’s. I think about her from time to time especially now with all of this going on.

The way you explain things is so easy to digest. I’m autistic and for a while now I was starting to think I was borderline, in the past I thought I might be a narcissist and it’s weird because this is the first time anyone ever has said that we can mirror the disorders of the people around us. It’s ironic because now you have said it, I see it so clearly but up until now I was just going through the list of all the things wrong with me. Maybe I’m just autistic. I might go into hermit mode and see if that helps. Thank you Isaac ❤️

This was quite brilliant, Isaac. You should think of writing a book.

Amazing and very informative. I've watched detransitioners for almost two years and changed my opinion on trans issues quite a lot (or rather, gained an opinion instead of hypothetical pro-affirmative stance based on nothing concrete), and still, you provide new information to consider. Thank you for the video, it's obvious your opinion is based both on your experience and extensive observation of other people with dysphoria.

Great video, this covered more bases than are usually discussed as often as the AGP/cluster B/autism angles are.

I think my gender dysphoria was caused by wanting to avoid male attention and AAP. Because it was all sexual for me, a way to not be the submissive woman. But it just sort of faded away in my mid twenties.

Very interesting insights. I have a grandson with autism. When I first moved closer to my daughter he was around 8 years old and was constantly asking "Is that funny?". I explained to him that if "he" found it funny, that it was funny, we all have a different sense of humor, it's normal and great. He's gotten bullied in school to the point where it's been decided to home school him twice now. He's also been taken advantage of on an internet gaming site, supposedly age appropriate. My daughter caught someone trying to introduce him to gay porn or influence him in that direction. He's 16, but emotionally around 13. He can't help having autism and I can absolutely see how he could be manipulated into "fitting in" by people who would want to take advantage of his disability. Thankfully he has a good support system and parents who pay attention to what and who he is exposed to. Thank you.

Thank you so much for this video! I used to want to say similar thoughts in my school, then my trans classmate turned mad and call me transphobia and bigot. After that I got attacked by several people online, and my teacher also silenced me. I stopped saying anything about it because nobody around me speaked out and I didn’t have the courage to put myself in more dangerous. I can imagine what pressure you are taking for posting this. The only thing I can say is thank you very very much.

Thanks for this. I certainly does seem like these people suffer from a lot of co-morbidities. But the bottom line is that we simple do not understand the phenomenon enough to justify using hormones on minors.

I am a man and I took hormones for years because I was abused by my stepfather and felt ugly since childhood. In my mind only women were beautiful and I wanted to copy the look.

This is illuminating! I struggled with gender dysphoria because of shame and not being like the men in my family.

This is so helpful. My nephew has just told his parents he is trans and wow you described him perfectly.

You just described my ex husband. I wish I had known this before we married. It occurred to me while we were married that he was always trying to be the better woman. This was before I forced him out of the closet, as he was living a double life. Once he did merge his 2 lives, then I understood why he was always trying to out-do me. Now hearing what you're saying here gives me greater perspective. Thanks.

Thank you, Cluniac for a superb video. And I don’t think we can afford to lose your voice-hoping you will continue to add to the voices on the side of sanity. Love, and light from Delray Beach, FL.

You really have described my son who admitted to a traumatic sexual experience with another boy at age 13, which I have been convinced is at the core of his trans identification. We also suspect he is autistic. It is so hard to try and get through to him. Thank you for this.

I think you're right on most of these. I'm interested in the rapid onset gender dysphoria too, especially in girls. I'm not sure that any of the above would necessarily fit the exact profile but I think there are overlaps though and probably there are elements of autism in some of the young girls atm. Also there's such a wave of young girls who have fixated, through discord, fanfiction etc on feeling they should be a gay man. Fortunately I'm old enough to be past the peak of being heavily influenced by online social media, but I am pretty sure that I would have been one of those ROGD girls. What I'm not sure about is why, as I don't fit any of those categories. There's definitely loads to think about with this video, well done.

@Cluniac I enjoyed hearing your hypothesis on this subject. You are a person after my own heart. Curious and questioning orthodoxies. The trauma theory I get simply because I lived it. I was an SA child who was horrified at the prospect of developing secondary sex characteristics. I truly was petrified, because I think I sensed, even at such a young age, that it would increase my chances of further abuse. I also think I was becoming acutely aware that my tomboy days of adventure would be coming to an end soon. The very idea of losing my freedom and the prospect of having to don the uniform of restrictive and identifying frilly dressage became a living nightmare to me. I also just happened to be an on the spectrum back in the day when such things were rarely diagnosed. To say that I was fully hyper fixated on my female bodily changes/functions in a very negative and obsessive way is an understatement. I often wonder how many prepubescent girls went as far as I did back in those days, secretly binding their breasts in an desperate attempt to thwart their inevitable development. Interestingly, it was the neighbourhood lesbian who taught me that trick, by suggesting I use a sports tensor bandage. How that whole thing evolved after my one and only confrontation with her, was as bizarre and surreal as it sounds. I do recall that her appearance confused me right from the start of that meeting, because she sported a perfectly styled, Elvis Presley "Brylcreemed" comb back and wore a mans work shirt and jeans. It gave her an ersatz manly aura despite her obvious female form. I also knew there were whispers of disapproval surrounding her and hints to the fact that I should avoid engaging with her, but it was all so vague and confusing to me that I never registered it in any concrete way. Keep in mind that I was a very dissociative and socially awkward child who avoided contact with others and especially adults. My recollection of the dialogue is somewhat murky except that I do recall the conversation occurring after I was caught trespassing on her front lawn...lol I was probably looking for insects, but I digress. In any case, she stood on her porch chastising me and somehow, I think she must have asked if I was a boy or a girl. I was very androgynous at that pre pubescent stage and I had just had my glorious mane of long hair shorn into a grotesquely short pixie style. A punishment I might add, meted out for not keeping it acceptably brushed and tied into a neat and tidy little style. It was the sixties and long hair was all the rage. From there I'm guessing she must have ascertained my discomfort on some level but for the life of me I cannot connect how we got on the topic of my budding breasts. I know I would have been mortified beyond words to talk with a stranger about such things.and yet somehow she managed to pass on that bandage protip. I never spoke with her again. I look back on that encounter with adult eyes and see the strange ickyness of it all. What business did an adult stranger have talking to a child about sexual development and gender identity. The inappropriateness of it all is disturbing. I obviously never told a soul back then, and for anyone who wonders, I never did have any luck with that hot tip. I developed into a very buxom female despite my vain attempts to do otherwise. I am, however very relieved that I was born in an era that despite carrying a reputation for propagating rigid sex stereotypes, it still allowed for tomboy girls. I shudder to think that had I been born into a family of progressive, liberal thinkers today, I may have been carted off to the gender clinic, post haste. Just to think back and imagine where I would be now if I had never been given the opportunity to fully deal with my CSA trauma is a very disturbing thought. Obviously, because of my own subjective history I'm strongly in favour of mandating psychiatric assessments and treatment as the first response to gender confusion and dysphoria.

Just found your videos today and I must say you really are brilliant. And oftentimes such intelligent people who can put all this stuff together can’t explain it to others very well but you really are able to! I’ve been becoming increasingly concerned and passionate about what is going on in the world with the trans and gender stuff and have come to the conclusion this is one of the biggest issues of our time especially concerning youth. Knowing they are giving puberty blockers and the monumental damage they cause and mastectomies for 12 year olds I am very determined to spread info and fight this as much as possible. I really appreciate your videos as resources to share to better explain to others what is really going on and the truth. Thank you so much for making these videos, keep it up 🙏💛

Fascinating insights, thank you. I agree about treating the whole person rather than just one manifestation of their discomfort (which should be true of all therapy). I also believe that connection with, and acceptance of the body is key, there seems to be a whole generation that have become disconnected from the body and nature generally, preferring to inhabit virtual worlds. From there it's a small step to believe you can create your avatar body and laugh in the face of the unimaginable intelligence of nature that has taken millions of years to perfect this exquisite organism.

You’re just really brilliant. Excellent video.

The homophobia element is a big deal. Not just internalized but external forces pushing homophobia too. Feels like we have gone backwards in the last 20 years. anyway great talk.

Thank you so much Isaac, you will be a clinical psychologist or similar! I studied personality disorders and can totally relate to this new knowledge. Also quite interesting was your information regarding autism. It allowed me to identify my daughter 's main reasons for ending up identifying as a gay man and displaying cluster B personality traits out of the blue. It also shed light on her other behaviours. This video really helped, I hope it will help many other parents 🙏 💜

I'm autistic on top of subclinical antisocial / factor 2 psychopathy. These traits are a lot more common in men so makes sense why I identified out of being a woman. When you said antisocials transition very briefly and move onto other things, I laughed, because my coming out and transition lasted 5 weeks. Before I took hormones, I only thought about it for a couple weeks and got Plume very quickly (impulsivity, lack of future planning). Reason mostly being I wanted to be the stronger sex to feel more powerful even if I was "gay." I could tell the people around me were disturbed by how casually transitioned and detransitioned (lack of fear or regret). Meanwhile I was already onto the next project. I detransitioned from the sensory issues from having a dry pp and transition is also a lot of planning and dedication and didn't solve boredom. I also had a bit of autoandophilia for sure. This and AGP are also very common in autistics as well as grandiose narc. It's the imagination combined with sexuality. Excellent analysis here. I think this is a foundational video of yours. It matches my experience with the trans people I've met irl and online.

The last two videos you've made have both been fantastic. They're insightful and concise, which makes them easy to share.

You are definitely right about this needing to be looked into! I wish instead of just pushing dysphoric persons down the trans affirmation and transition route they did this! They did a deep dive into why these individuals become dysphoric and treat it that way accordingly!

Excellent! The best original thought and forward progress I have seen in this area. So many thoughts!

Hi, glad to discover your channel. What you think about transgenderism is what I always tought about in my life, what I sensed to be the issue, and that's the first time I see another person speaking "with my toughts". That is really hearthwarming to me. I truly don't think gender dysphoria even exists, what I believe is that "gender non conforming" is the real deal and that society is not accepting people that are non conforming into gender stereotypes, nor the person itself is accepting that. Too much painful to be so different and not cathegorized into a label that make yourself feel less lonely and gives you some sort of instructions on how to live your life. The thruth is, when you are and feel so different, that you are alone, all by yourself, trying to survive without guidance. Au contraire, if you transition and adopt a label and a way of life, you are no more alone fighting to survive. But that's not the truth, that's illusion. Basically, they are erasing personalities in order to conform people, because misfits are no more accepted. Do we really want to get erased? I am a heterosexual girl, always been happy and comfort to be one, never wanted to be a boy or even think about that. But I experienced my whole life the feeling to be different from the other girls, to be difficul to relate to them and get along with them. I've always been very boysh, tomboy and like "non girl stuff". Kinda gender non conforming stuff I think. Glad I'm born in 90's and transgendering was not in fashion and was unknown, plus I'm italian and here things are different. But, guess what, in my 30's I get diagnosed with autism...what a surprise I was experiencing "gender non conformity" in my childhood, eh? 😅

This was intriguing. I think it makes a lot of sense. Good for you for putting all this out there at a time when it goes so sharply against the grain.

This is so well presented and so well spoken. Thank you for your insights.

Your perspective is very interesting, I am grateful for your willingness to share.

OMG the autistic scent issue...I have a very different take on the scent point. To make a long story short I'm an autistic woman & pick my sex partners (men) based on scent/pheromones. (This is also why I don't watch much porn besides kink technique stuff anymore; I can't get off on the visual human body). Never wanted to transition but met 5+ trans people & they frankly smelled horrible... Imo cross-sex hormones make the human body smell revolting bc trans people smell like both sexes at once when they sweat. No idea how many months it takes for a person's natural pheromones to reset. But the other issue is autistic people can alternate between hypersensitivity & hyposensitivity to ones own body odor. Being able to smell yourself regardless of hygiene can be very off putting.

Great video, very elucidating. And good points at the end about treatment. Thanks!

Oh my gosh, this is hitting all my theories I've had working in mental health and simply through experience. You know your stuff!

I don’t know much about this topic, but it is so interesting when we watch someone intelligent explaining and making his points. Congratulations!

Hey so glad I found ur channel saw some of ur old videos too glad to see u come far in ur journey much love to u and u are so encouraging

Thanks for this Issac. As somebody currently trying to understand their Gender Dysphoria and having had a LOT of therapy I have some things to add. I think I fall into your Trauma group predominantly. though likely the Autistic and Dissociative BPD one as well. I am a rather effeminate male but also hate being 'identified' as male because of peoples expectations AND assumptions of what being Male means! The Trauma side interestingly doesn't come from 'gender' related issues but because of having been treated so horrifically be several people, along with other mental health issues that cause me a LOT of distress, I HATE being 'me'! Being 'Steph' only works if I can look at my own reflection and no longer see 'me'! Somehow im mentally able to disassociate Steph from 'me' to the point I am able to experience relief from being 'me'. Its like im able to say to myself "All that bad stuff didn't happen to Steph". So most of the mental anguish I deal with daily disappears when im Steph! But there is also the component of how im treated differently by others when im Steph which I think seems to be because im nolnger perceived as being part of that 'Male' group! So I don't have to deal with the crap that naturally comes from being 'seen' as Male. There is a LOT more complexity to it than this but I just wanted to share this part as it adds a bit to what you have accurately identified here Issac. Namely that the Trauma doesnt have to have been resulting from sexual abuse or even gender related at all.

Another great video, very informative and I love your honest opinion about this topic. *Hugs*

Been looking forward to this one. This was a great video.

Hi, Cluniac. I really loved the video. There's one more type, a very common one as well. Some men perceive that society treats women better than men or that women's lives are easier and transition as a way to be treated better.

You're correct in my opinion and you're one of the few people that can do something about this horror. Society says nothing out of fear of being seen as discriminatory.

this seems so much more accurate than the “HSTS/AGP” dichotomy

Great video. As always it's good to see you.

Fascinating video. As someone who recently detransitioned, I can relate to several of those points. a. I related heavily to the concept of being porn addicted when I was younger and poor experiences with women causing me to view the "ideal" woman as myself as a woman. b. Being on the autism spectrum I do find myself mimmicking my environment a lot. For me as well, having a male sex drive makes me very uncomfortable.

Very insightful! I feel like these issues on a broader scale touch all "gender non-conforming" people, and a lot of the trans activism seems misguided and ends up reinforcing stereotypes.

10:05 - 10:26 You are the first person I’ve seen that just perfectly explained my old friend Kenny’s dysphoria. I even told them that they’re dysphoria comes from their childhood SA when they were 7 and them hitting puberty shortly after that but Kenny brushed it off and ignored me and recently went on testosterone. Poor bastard cut off contact with me after I answered a question of theirs the wrong way and now they’re gonna have to learn the hard way I guess. “He” very firmly believes in the male brain/female brain shit and drowns themself in validation from other trans people on Twitter and Reddit. The question was: “Do you see me as a girl?” What good of a friend would I be if I lied to their face?

I've added this to some of my playlists & will be sharing it with some counselors I know. This did make me think of something that has had me curious for some time and that is the enthusiasm some hetero women have for gay men & gay relationships. I think of how women went wild over Jake Gyllenhall & Heath Ledger when Brokeback Mountain came out. They seemed to really love the idea of these guys being sexual partners, even though the movie was tragic af. That's when I first noticed it, but more recently I've seen a large contingent of the fans of "Klaine" (Kurt & Blaine) on Glee were women, and I can tell you right now, they weren't lesbian women!! In fact, I've seen the comments & vids where these women gush over Klaine and invest in their relationship the way lesbian & bi women would invest in the female couples we'd see on TV. For many of them, Klaine was the reason they watched the show & they were their fave couple, even over the hetero couples! They would celebrate when things went well with Klaine & feel so much distress when things went badly. I've also noticed that gay male couples have been on soaps for some time now and seem to be accepted among this traditionally conservative audience of mostly hetero women. Which soap is it that has had a gay male couple on for like a decade but has yet to have a bi or lesbian female couple? Is it Days of Our Lives? It's just an interesting sociological phenomenon that I would love for someone to study. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Is this something that you have also observed??

This video is very interesting, and also reminds me of the first video of yours that I watched, which is the autoandrophobia video + people have mentioned ROGD and that could fit into your framework but I was also wondering about a more isolated form of AGP (as in people who aren't necessarily NPD) because it also reminds me of a fetish called apotemnophilia where one fetishes the idea of themselves as an amputee and its related to Body Integrety Identity Disorder (BIID)

Excellent and very interesting. Thank you for an informative piece. Question: With autistic folks, you mentioned porn and "sexualized content". Anime stands out to me as being over-represented among trans identified males. Would you consider types of anime as a gateway to the porn or perhaps as the driving force within that category? Edit: Have you thought about becoming a therapist, counselor or mentor of some kind? You come across as very empathetic and calm while also very candid.

These days l rarely watch KZfaq posts to the end, this one was too good and l watched to the end. Thanks for your valued opinion. I hope it helps those in need/in query.

Trauma is modeled, this I believe might be the second half of the driving force behind creation. So what does modeling mean? Like.. modeling with clay, creating through action. So modeling trauma, is recreating a trauma in attempt to find success over where it went wrong and became trauma. Also, another take of mine that can be separable from the above comment: autism is in affect, developmental ptsd. The more intense the symptoms of autism seem to be the earlier into development there seems to have been trauma. And trauma does not always mean physical violence, trauma at its core is a psychological hang up or incompleteness. When something goes unfathomably wrong, when it does not make sense- what ever that “it” may be per individual. You are so spot on, thank you for your candor and honesty.

Never heard anyone else mention personality disorders in these kinds of videos! Autism is rarely mentioned, for fear of being accused of being ableist, but it's definitely something that can affect your gender perception (which doesn't mean transitioning can't be right for you if you're autistic, though). It seems that it's taboo to talk about causes of dysphoria, as if it were "accusing" dysphoric people of not dealing with their issues. But it seems much healthier longterm and absolutely essential to do before medically transitioning. Personally, I've come to terms with having internalized homophobia (as a bi person assigned female at birth) and misogyny. I was also bullied at 13-14 for being GNC, and that led to a truly intense desire to both affirm my existence (by socially transitioning and "doing something for myself") and fit in with society (by conforming to gender roles). Also, I have hyperandrogenism giving me some male secondary characteristics and difficulties with sexual penetration, which makes me feel like I could never fit in as a woman. In the end, here I am: I'm 22 with a quite hollow social life and almost no experience in romance. I'm completely passive in my own life, not because I'm "pre-T so insecure" like I told myself for years (I came out as trans at 14), but because different issues led to me feeling inadequate in every area of my life. I'm truly considering therapy, and I hope it'll help, but these videos truly are a first step for me. I've been considering detransitioning for about 2 years, on and off, but today I feel like I should actually try it out. Edit, over a year later: I'm still deeply dysphoric despite a better social life. "Living life" actually led to me realizing I don't want to detransition (socially, as I haven't transitioned medically but pass). I think there's a possibility I'll always regret not medically transitioning if I don't do it. We'll see.

Really appreciate this video. This has been my up close and personal experience with my former SO.... Really sad vast majority are not getting help and living in pain...but the underlying conditions can make for very psychologically toxic relationships.

I see you are struggling. Youre incredibly strong to recognize it and I truely hope you find what you need. I just stumbled across your channel and I look forward to listening to your views.

Still one of if not the best video on KZfaq for understanding what’s really happening when someone claims to be gender dysphoric. I come back to it time and time again when the discourse has me feeling insane and I need help getting anchored back to reality.

Really interesting analysis, have you ever been interviewed on 'Gender - a Wider Lens'? I would love to hear you talking to Stella and Sacha about your insights, I think this is the most granular analysis I've heard yet of the non trauma based theories (though you include trauma of course but I think that's the aspect quite often explored elsewhere, along with AGP - and even there you go a bit further to explore it from a different perspective). Your content is such a unique and valuable contribution to understanding this intellectually, emotionally and politically complex topic.

I think this is the most amazingly well constructed and well said video about gender dysphoria. I midly suffer from it and i tell you i can place my self in one of these categories and it all makes sense.

You're my saving grace right now. So glad I found you.

Isaac - you are well skilled in psychology without any sort of formal training. You are knowledgeable and empathetic. If you do not already have a chosen career path, you would probably be an excellent counselor.

My own personal experience (not sure if it’s really gender dysphoria or what): When I was a child I always hated wearing dresses/skirts. Something about it felt so uncomfortable. Even going shopping, my mom would be buying me clothes. I’d pick something out but then try it on and it didn’t feel right. I didn’t know how to describe the feeling or why I felt that way. Also around the same time I was into videogames and idolized this character and wanted to be called his name, “daxter”. I had people call me that name instead of my own for a while. Also I was very insecure of my looks. I felt like I wasn’t feminine looking enough. I was bullied for having dark hair (shows up everywhere). Other kids would tease me for having a “mustache”. I would look at myself and feel ugly. I didn’t see a pretty girl in the mirror. I just saw an ugly person. Idk. Eventually I stopped feeling this way. Flash forward to sometime in middle school/highschool I had a profile picture of a anime guy on a website. In a weird way I started identifying as a man. I felt more like a man for a while. Eventually I stopped using whatever website I was using and the feeling stopped. Now I’m an adult and I’m happy to be a woman. I’m happy no one pressured me or talked me into transitioning. I no longer feel that way about dresses (most of the time).

@cluniac/Isaac I love this video and I do think you are absolutely correct - especially about treatment being actually calibrated to the individual rather than as a whole. The one thing I feel very strongly about as a woman who has endured assault and as a gender critical feminist - that I feel you left out of your equations is the powerful and deep normalization of misogyny/patriarchy/gender ideology as a whole. I know I have a lot less experience in these communities that you for sure - and many others - but as a TRA turned Terf one thing I've witnessed is that what all people who subscribe to trans ideology/gender ideology have in common is the internalized idea that there is no inherent, unique value in womanhood/femininity/femaleness beyond being a) sexually available to men, & b) having and raising children (performing unpaid labour for society/economy/men). In order for a women to be seen as valuable she must either do these things (be a good and selfless girlfriend, wife, mother, daughter, friend, sister, caregiver, etc), or do things that gender ideology says are 'masculine:' have a high flying career, present as 'masculine' in her mannerisms and/or physical presentation, be unemotional, 'logical,' etc. Usually in order for a woman to be valuable though, she has to somehow do both. None of my former community (TRAs/LGBTQIA++ allies) ever really questioned or deconstructed the status quo of a patriarchal/colonial/capitalist society at all. They could not see how plain sexist it was to say 'Well if you're uncomfortable with your breasts as a young teen, and you don't like long hair, and you want to wear comfortable, non sexualized clothing - you must not be a girl!' (Or for young boys who just want some freedom of expression beyond what's 'acceptable'). I personally believe the entirety of the trans movement and ideology, and gender ideology as a whole is firmly rooted in the intersection of patriarchy and post humanist capitalism - and that provides the underlying or perhaps overarching framework for all the causes you talked about. Big love - you are doing important work

fucking spot on, been stating we're in the dark ages of psychology as well for a long time .. I'm an autistic of 50 years .. and society has failed me at every single fucking step of the way as well no matter which direction I took. (never been inclined to be trans though)

I've recently found out that ADHD/ADD is much more common among trans people than cis people. Why could this be the case?

Yesss mine was internalized homophobia. My family was very strict on social gender norms. I am just in feminine energy more. Of course I step into masculine. But yeah it was definitely trauma

Thank you for sharing. I think your videos are very informative. As a therapist, YOUR opinions, and the best!

I’ve watched a lot of transition and detransition videos and I think your categories are spot on. It’s been clear to me that different people have different reasons for transitioning. And of course it is important to treat the underlying condition. No matter how you frame it the person is suffering a mental issue so how is “treatment” with hormones and surgery the first idea?

Brilliant insights that feel instinctively correct to me, based on the various individuals I have observed with GD. I also think in a lot of young teens and preteens it's induced by both the anxiety and bodily disassociation that social media creates plus the popularity points they'll automatically get by "coming out" as NB or trans.

When I was growing up, the whole Catholic priest abuse of young boys and female teachers abusing their young male students was hot in the media. At the same time though, jokes were constantly made about it (and, often, the boys who were abused by female teachers were said to be "lucky") and these boys' trauma was made into a joke. I would also often see movies and shows make sexual assault against men and boys a punchline. Growing up, this made me terrified to be a boy, believing predators (both male and female) were around every corner, ready to pounce on me and that, if I did get abused, it would just be turned into some joke. I never wanted to transition or become a girl, but it made me very uneasy with my sex. It disgusted me (and continues to disgust me) how underage boys are hypersexualized and seen as willing participants in their own abuse. Had someone come along and told me that I could become something like "non-binary" and appear neither male or female, I very well could have jumped on that train just because of the uneasiness I felt being a boy. I'm happy with who I am now but I know a lot of boys (and girls) feel uneasiness with their bodies for that same reason. It has nothing to do with wanting to be the opposite sex, it's a desire to protect yourself (the most innate instinct we have).

Very interesting insights, thank you! Brilliant, sympathetic and humble, as always.

I like your voice. I'm straight and doing research on this issue. Brilliant.

Love this video you poured it out very well & it makes so much sense

It seems like a lot of the girls who transition had a hard time coping with the pain, bloating and feelings of depression that come with the menstrual cycle. So many say "I would get depressed one week out of the month and the doctors put me on anti-depressants and they didn't work" Anti-depressants aren't going to alleviate PMS. It's a shame these young women didnt have one female in their lives that could talk to them about PMS and treat it. They needed hormone treatments to regulate their periods, not testosterone to change their gender.

Some interesting thoughts. Different people come to these conclusions for different reasons and underlying issues are most definitely worth working through. The outcomes of that may vary.

#3 shame about homosexuality / gender non-conformity was the main one for me. I've always been gay, uncommonly feminine, and had stereotypically "girly" interests and appearance. This led to me not only being a social outcast, but also internalizing the messages I would see and hear around me. Everyone said boys didn't like the things that I liked; I looked more like the female characters in movies, video games, etc. than the male characters; etc. All these things gave me a sense of not "feeling like a boy." And when the trans community seemed so accepting and affirmed these feelings that I had, of course I gravitated towards it

Awesome explanations. You are very smart and informed. Thank you!

I've been drawn to this channel's videos because I've been thinking about gender a lot, and he seems to be very intelligent. I've found the outspoken trans community to be extreme at times. The problem I face though is that I myself have gender dysphoria and don't fit into any of these categories, at least not as neatly he as he suggested. I'm autistic, so you could say I fit into the last category, but the sexual aspects didn't apply to me, and I can't honestly shape my experiences to match the other explanations he provided. I'm GNC too, but was never shamed for it, I was too blind to social cues to even know if I was. I do think the people he described exist, but how do these apply to people who express dysphoria at a young age? I've felt this since I was young, and since puberty I knew I wanted chest surgery. I want to go to therapy, but gender therapists are too affirming and regular therapists are too uneducated or afraid to talk about the topic. Identifying as trans or not, I do think I'll pursue top surgery, just maybe in the form of a breast reduction instead of a full mastectomy.

Thank you for this information. I asked the question online: what causes gender dysphoria? Because it really is becoming disconcerting how many children now claim this and I wanted some information on what and where this comes from, causing literally an explosion in transitioning. Personally I believe that it is related to psychological problems. You confirmed to me that it is so. To say: "I not comfortable with who I am", clearly is psychological. Also sexual abuse quite possibly can cause feelings of dislike etc. And yes, schoolyard bullying. "Feelings" starts with thoughts, emotions fed by peer groups, movies, pornography, social media etc. So it is terrible that young children and teenagers, who are still growing (I mean the frontal lobe of the brain only develops fully from about age 14 onwards) are being "counselled" to do irreversible harm to themselves. Is this a new money spinner for "scientists/medical professionals"? I was surprised that you said "narcissists" have this problem - obviously not all of them, but it makes sense. You used the term "a force outside themselves tells them they are in the wrong body". Well that is clearly demonic. I wonder how much of the "gender dysphoria" is caused by demonic influence and whether some old school exorcism won't bring deliverance. Don't stone me for daring to say this but yes, when God is left out of the equation, then Satan takes over. Thank you for what you are doing to hopefully get honest attention by compassionate medical professionals and scientists, who will research/study this phenomenon and hopefully, come up with good solid treatment until a child has fully developed in all aspects of personhood, before being irreversibly mutilated for life!

Interesting typology, I agree with most of it. It's definitely more focused on males who transitioned, but that's hardly surprising considering you are one! I'm firmly in the autism category, but have been detransitioned for 3 years thankfully. I remember I wrote a similar list of 5 or 6 root causes of dysphoria around the time I detransitioned, but mine was specifically about women & girls who transition. I wish I could find it to compare!

One of your explanations, women feeling sexualised by men or been abused by men reminded me of Ash Hardell who has made me think certain cases of gender dysphoria are a sign of or cause by a sort of Peter Pan Syndrome, not wanting to grow up physically/sexually, wanting to stay a child physically. Ash Hardell used to call herself a "boy" (not a man) despite being an adult woman and cultivates a boyish appearance. She removed her breast. Probably, to her boys (and not girls) represent ideal lack of sexual maturity and she idealises it.

Very interesting analysis, very cogently argued. It all makes a great deal of sense.

Friend, this is an AMAZING video lecture. If there's the possibility to get a PhD in the subject, that would be a blessing to society.

Really enjoy your videos. The way you talk it’s like talking to my smart bestie

Me and my sisters found puberty disgusting and humiliating. I couldn't stand the attention and male graze. I couldn't wear enough clothes. I remember purposely dressing like a tomboy. ....honestly I don't think I ever found a safe enough place for healthy sexuality to grow. All the relationships I had we tainted with this. During the act I often split. The one being something for him and the one observing from a distance. Yeah I'd get feeling or waves come over when a young woman of complete vulnerable nakedness. Makes you want to curl up into a ball.

12:20. God you nailed it. I never ever noticed this pattern until I detransitioned but it occurred multiple times throughout my life. and not even all of it was SA - physical and emotional abuse at the hands of men taking on a controlling or dominant role can also make you take on that "want to be a toy" persona or reinforce jt. man youre so eloquent thank you

Off topic : is Exulansic's channel gone again? It was just back. I can not find it

I am so impressed from your videos. You are a very smart and observing young man. Thank you. 🌺

I'm 33.... A biological female.... Pretty much all my life I've been told that I can't find a man because I'm too much of a tomboy or not "feminine enough".... If I was a lesbian this wouldn't be an issue but I'm not... What am I supposed to do? Just pretend I'm something I'm not so I can finally tell the world that I'm married?? What does it even mean to be a woman?? Like I gotta post pictures of roses and apply lipstick every two hours and bake cakes?? What if I just don't care that much about makeup, I get exhausted while applying it and feel like a clown also.