Transsexuality is a mental disorder.

While I agree with some of the points you made, my argument is not the humanity of it. Whether or not we should as a society change our views on genetics, gender, and the sexuality that make men and women different in order to facilitate this "fair treatment" of transgenders, is a great topic for another discussion. I will say that I find the interaction between then feminist movement and the transgender movement quite hilarious. The feminist movement advocates for women empowerment yet we have men winning women of the year awards. I often ask peoples opinion on this hypothetical situation. Let's say we have a man who decided he was born into the wrong body and is a woman, and even undergoes gender reassignment. That same individual later decides to campaign to be elected as the president of the United States, and wins the election. Will women finally say "The first female president has finally been elected! This is a huge moment for the progress of women!" Subjects like this are interesting for me as well, and perhaps we can discuss them in another debate. However the issue I am more focused on discussing is simply this. Are we wrong to classify individuals who fall under the transsexual umbrella as suffering from a mental disorder? You made the reference that, to claim they have a mental illness, is to also say they have a disease. I disagree with this statement. Recent studies have shown that mental disorders can be developed over time, from a variety of factors. Any number of circumstances"for instance, sexual abuse, falling victim to crime, or the breakup of a relationship"can produce psychosocial stress. But experts assume each of these circumstances triggers more primal reactions, such as feelings of loss or danger, which serve to push victims toward a particular mental state. "Feelings of pure loss might lead to depressive disorders, while feelings of pure danger might lead to anxiety disorders," explains Ronald Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. "And feelings of loss and danger might lead to both simultaneously." Either alone or in combination, psychosocial and physiological stressors can interact with genetic vulnerability to alter brain chemistry and thus alter the individual"s mental health. Several lines of evidence point to an environmental role in psychiatric disease. Among identical twins, if one becomes schizophrenic, the risk to the other is on average less than 50%, suggesting that environmental influences must somehow be involved. Similar findings have been observed with depression and other mental disorders. So I will agree with you that transsexuality can be, and perhaps is a learned behavior. However this does not mean that it is also not a mental disorder. Up until recently, transgenderism was called Gender Identity Disorder or GID. The name has since been changed to Gender Dysphoria. Not because new evidence suggests that it is no longer associative of a disorder, but simply because people campaigned that it was discriminatory. The root of my argument is this, why is associating Gender Dysphoria with mental illness, discriminatory? As mentioned, I recognize that perhaps not all people who are transgender suffer from a mental disorder, but that is a very slim portion when compared to the statistics. There have been people who suffer from schizophrenia, yet were functional and so they never reported it and were able to live a healthy and relatively normal life, at least in the eyes of the society. This does not mean that they weren't suffering from a mental illness. If people truly wanted to advocate for transgender awareness, wouldn't we want to recognize the mental stress and issues that come with it? Would it not be beneficial to know that 30% to 50% of transgenders commit suicide, and that 90% of them suffer from depression, anxiety, and a variety of mental issues? This is why I have an issue with people who push for transgender awareness and rights, yet lecture me when I state its a mental disorder. Lets get back to the discussion that being transgender is a developed behavior. "The frequency of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and associated symptoms were examined in a cross-sectional study of 97 transgender participants who had been classified as male at birth. A total of 98% reported at least one PTE and 91% endorsed multiple events. Of those with PTE exposures, 42% reported that at least one event was transgender bias-related. Among those with PTEs, 17.8% endorsed clinically significant symptoms of PTSD and 64% reported clinically significant depressive symptoms. The percentage of transgender individuals in this sample reporting clinically significant symptoms was higher than in trauma-exposed samples of men in the general population, but roughly similar to rates of female trauma survivors. Amount of time spent dressed consistent with gender identity was associated with increased risk for PTE exposure and was positively associated with mental health symptoms. No differences in symptoms were observed when comparing those with and without transgender bias-related PTEs. Overall, transgender individuals endorsed high prevalence of PTE exposure along with elevated PTSD and depressive symptoms, when compared to other traumatized populations." There are many studies that suggest that a vast majority of people who identify as transgender, also suffered from some form of childhood trauma or event. This events range from childhood neglect, to molestation and rape. So it is reasonable to suggest that it can be a learned behavior either through personal events, society, or perversion as you suggested. There are also studies and arguments that show the problem can lie genetically as well. "A twin study (based on seven people in a 314 sample) suggested that GID may be 62% heritable, indicating the possibility of a genetic influence or prenatal development as its origin, in these cases." I do not concern myself with how these people come to be transgender. But we should link them to having a mental illness. Believing in your mind that you are a gender other than what you are genetically, is certainly a mental state that is causing significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. There are also many benefits in relation to classifying it as a mental disorder for individuals who are transgender. I believe more focus should be put on the mental side as far as treatment goes, because there is proof that changing ones gender through gender reassignment, does not improve the transgender individuals mental state. However those seeking a reassignment operation, would benefit from its classification as a mental disorder. "Individuals with gender dysphoria may or may not regard their own cross-gender feelings and behaviors as a disorder. Advantages and disadvantages exist to classifying gender dysphoria as a disorder. Because gender dysphoria had been classified as a disorder in medical texts (such as the previous DSM manual, the DSM-IV-TR, under the name "gender identity disorder"), many insurance companies are willing to cover some of the expenses of sex reassignment therapy. Without the classification of gender dysphoria as a medical disorder, sex reassignment therapy may be viewed as cosmetic treatment, rather than medically necessary treatment, and may not be covered." Despite this, people are still trying to make a movement to remove the association of Gender Dysphoira with poor mental health. You cannot join the military with mental health issues yet in 2018, they will be eligible. A group of people with a suicide rate of 40%. I'm not against their willingness to serve their country, I think its commendable. I am not here to debate whether or not they will be capable of serving in the military, it simply has relation to my argument. The issue remains that this is a mental disorder, and to state that is not discriminatory.