>>4374>"Gender dysphoria isn't natural; it's a mental illness like anorexia, a distortion of perception."If it's 'unnatural' in that sense, but we have evidence of physiological correlates (brain structure, prenatal hormone theories, etc.), then that physiological basis
is natural. It's a natural variation, like being left-handed.
Labeling something "unnatural" is often a value judgment disguised as a scientific one. When people compare it to anorexia in this context, they are usually invoking the concept of a "false belief about the body" (body dysmorphia). This analogy falls apart if the feeling of dysphoria arises from a
congruence with a differently-sexed brain map rather than a
distortion of a congruent one.
There is no biological test for "depression" or "schizophrenia" in the way there is for diabetes. Diagnoses are based on clusters of behaviors and reported experiences that a society has deemed "dysfunctional" or "deviant."
What gets categorized as an "illness" shifts with time and culture (e.g., homosexuality was in the DSM). Therefore, calling something a "mental illness" is a social act that carries power, it determines who gets treatment, who is institutionalized, who is seen as competent, and what is considered "normal."
Certain neurobiological traits (brain structures, sensory processing patterns common in autism/ADHD, etc.) are natural variations. Biology provides the canvas, society provides the context and language. Socialization, available cultural scripts, stigma, acceptance, and material conditions determine how those biological traits are expressed, experienced, and interpreted.
A person with a brain structure that diverges from their assigned sex might not experience crippling dysphoria in a highly accepting, gender-fluid society. Conversely, a person with no such divergence might still explore a different gender identity if the social context allows for it. The outcome is an emergent property of the constant interaction between the internal (biological) and the external (social).
The "Chemical Imbalance" myth was a simplistic, drug-company-marketing-friendly model for depression. It individualizes a complex problem. The reality is that depression and other forms of distress are often reasonable responses to traumatic, isolating, or oppressive conditions (poverty, alienation, discrimination, etc.).
By framing conditions like depression, anxiety, or even gender dysphoria as purely internal, "chemical," or "brain-structure" problems, the systemic causes are erased. The solution becomes fixing the individual (with medication, therapy) rather than fixing the sick society that produces the distress. This is convenient for a capitalist system that relies on individual productivity and avoids addressing its own pathological structures.
The "problem" isn't that a trans person has a "disordered" identity, but that society is structured in a way that pathologizes and creates immense suffering for them. The "problem" isn't that an autistic person's brain is "wrong," but that the world is designed for neurotypical sensibilities, making their natural way of being a "disability."
In this framework, the goal shifts from "curing" or "normalizing" the individual to dismantling the social and systemic barriers that cause their suffering. The focus becomes on acceptance, accommodation, liberation, and social change, rather than just individual treatment.