The pain of transgender regret
BY WALT HEYER
At the age of 42, Walt Heyer was married and had two children. But he had felt for years that he was stuck in the wrong gender. So he fully transitioned and emerged as Laura Jensen. After living as a woman for eight years, he realised that he had made a terrible mistake. Now he has detransitioned back to his birth gender and provides encouragement to people who regret their gender change.
MercatorNet: Bruce – now Caitlin – Jenner seems perfectly happy with his gender change. Doesn’t his experience prove that a gender change is possible?
Walt Heyer: I was also "perfectly happy" with my gender change for about eight years. No one knows if Jenner will remain happy. It has been only a few months and he has had great financial benefit. When the cameras are no longer rolling and reality sets in, things could change very quickly for Jenner.
MercatorNet: You have been very harshly criticised for your “transphobia” in the media. Does that trouble you?
Walt Heyer: Name calling is hardly a good argument. When people call me names it says much more about them than it does me. The goal of the activists is to silence anyone who disagrees with their agenda.
MercatorNet: Why don’t we hear much about people who have “detransitioned”, like yourself?
Walt Heyer: There is an important reason. They are so ashamed and devastated about their mistake that they do not want to come forward.
MercatorNet: Civil rights for transgender people is the new frontier for human rights, it seems. But barely 10 years ago, it was scarcely a blip on the radar. How did it become so popular?
Walt Heyer: Over a decade ago, there were transvestites, drag queens, cross-dressers and sexual fetishes. Today the reason there is such an explosion in the numbers of transgenders is because those categories no longer exist. Everyone who previously would have identified as one of those is now included in the category of transgender and encouraged to transition.
I think the expansion of the power of LGBT political and sexual activists, along with political correctness, has moved the cause of civil rights for transgenders beyond what anyone could ever have imagined.
In my view this "frontier" ignores the greater need to provide effective and sound diagnosis for transgenders. It is politically incorrect to point out the science that shows transgenders suffer from undiagnosed co-morbid disorders that cause the desire to change genders. The lack of effective diagnosis and treatment of co-existing disorders in transgenders, evidenced by the high rate of suicide attempts, is covered up by the call for civil rights. The politicizing of a medical issue has hindered research and thereby harmed those who suffer from gender dysphoria.
MercatorNet: What is known about the origin of gender dysphoria, or the yearning to live as a different gender? Are people born as transgender?
Walt Heyer: There is no evidence that transgenders are born that way. There is, however, evidence that they are suffering from untreated mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, dissociative disorder, separation anxiety, schizophrenia, and personality disorder. I go into this in depth in my book, Paper Genders.
MercatorNet: Do many transgender people regret their decision? Is suicide an issue? What does transitioning do to their relationships?
Walt Heyer: According to a survey published last year by the Williams Institute, a think tank for LGBT issues at UCLA School of Law, 41 percent of transgenders attempt suicide. I believe that attempting suicide is a sign of regret. Transitioning has good and bad outcomes on relationships. Even Jenner is beginning to experience some of his kids wanting to distance themselves from him. Generally, a parent’s transition has a devastating effect on their children.
- See more at: www.mercatornet.com
At the age of 42, Walt Heyer was married and had two children. But he had felt for years that he was stuck in the wrong gender. So he fully transitioned and emerged as Laura Jensen. After living as a woman for eight years, he realised that he had made a terrible mistake. Now he has detransitioned back to his birth gender and provides encouragement to people who regret their gender change.
MercatorNet: Bruce – now Caitlin – Jenner seems perfectly happy with his gender change. Doesn’t his experience prove that a gender change is possible?
Walt Heyer: I was also "perfectly happy" with my gender change for about eight years. No one knows if Jenner will remain happy. It has been only a few months and he has had great financial benefit. When the cameras are no longer rolling and reality sets in, things could change very quickly for Jenner.
MercatorNet: You have been very harshly criticised for your “transphobia” in the media. Does that trouble you?
Walt Heyer: Name calling is hardly a good argument. When people call me names it says much more about them than it does me. The goal of the activists is to silence anyone who disagrees with their agenda.
MercatorNet: Why don’t we hear much about people who have “detransitioned”, like yourself?
Walt Heyer: There is an important reason. They are so ashamed and devastated about their mistake that they do not want to come forward.
MercatorNet: Civil rights for transgender people is the new frontier for human rights, it seems. But barely 10 years ago, it was scarcely a blip on the radar. How did it become so popular?
Walt Heyer: Over a decade ago, there were transvestites, drag queens, cross-dressers and sexual fetishes. Today the reason there is such an explosion in the numbers of transgenders is because those categories no longer exist. Everyone who previously would have identified as one of those is now included in the category of transgender and encouraged to transition.
I think the expansion of the power of LGBT political and sexual activists, along with political correctness, has moved the cause of civil rights for transgenders beyond what anyone could ever have imagined.
In my view this "frontier" ignores the greater need to provide effective and sound diagnosis for transgenders. It is politically incorrect to point out the science that shows transgenders suffer from undiagnosed co-morbid disorders that cause the desire to change genders. The lack of effective diagnosis and treatment of co-existing disorders in transgenders, evidenced by the high rate of suicide attempts, is covered up by the call for civil rights. The politicizing of a medical issue has hindered research and thereby harmed those who suffer from gender dysphoria.
MercatorNet: What is known about the origin of gender dysphoria, or the yearning to live as a different gender? Are people born as transgender?
Walt Heyer: There is no evidence that transgenders are born that way. There is, however, evidence that they are suffering from untreated mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, dissociative disorder, separation anxiety, schizophrenia, and personality disorder. I go into this in depth in my book, Paper Genders.
MercatorNet: Do many transgender people regret their decision? Is suicide an issue? What does transitioning do to their relationships?
Walt Heyer: According to a survey published last year by the Williams Institute, a think tank for LGBT issues at UCLA School of Law, 41 percent of transgenders attempt suicide. I believe that attempting suicide is a sign of regret. Transitioning has good and bad outcomes on relationships. Even Jenner is beginning to experience some of his kids wanting to distance themselves from him. Generally, a parent’s transition has a devastating effect on their children.
- See more at: www.mercatornet.com
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario