thank you!! i think everything about people's psyche and mentality is never clear cut and requires nuance in understanding. i can get where the confusion or lack of relatability comes (= different personal experiences, no communication with people who do have these experiences), but can't grasp what causes pure aggression or fear in some.

the topic of gender has, admittedly and sadly, become a political instrument, so people tend to see only 2 major stances in attitude to it - fully support or completely discard. but each side has extremes i can't get behind.

to elaborate on 'what can even be extreme in fully supporting freedom of gender expression?' - i was recently approached by a person online who claimed to be 'trans' because of being 'trans-body'. as in, all food made them nauseous and they hated to eat as well as "be covered with skin". they didn't explain right away but when they did, i cautiously suggested that maybe it was a mental rather than just a gender issue that they should address. i was called transphobic and a few days after they deleted their profile.

i'm not an expert in diagnosis or trans experiences - this just sounded life-threatening to me. i was shut down with one word and i simply stepped back bc i'm just a stranger. but what if people (including doctors) who genuinely want to help this person address their disorder aren't listened to either and are just branded 'phobic'? what if there are people who (possibly gen-z, fearful of appearing transphobic to this person) support them in "you're so valid, yes, burn your skin off"? the dangerous paradoxical extreme is see here is: if we put a complete veto on questioning personal experiences (which are definitely difficult to question, due to being innately personal), we inadvertently let people with other mental illnesses "find a loophole" to stay undiagnosed and at risk...

i agree that the odd person i've encountered is not a popular trans representation, though. but it still shows that the only concern i have on the issue is somewhat relevant. that's why i'm still all for a certain (non-exhausting and not years-long) level of diagnostics before any treatment. other than that - please be whoever you want to be~

sorry for the uncalled for addition and details, haha, but thanks a lot - i'm glad if my views appear to be nuanced and thoughtful enough for the people in the community!