Why Are People Transgender? Why Does It Matter?

On 12/20/2022, Erin Reed published an article on Substack with the headline “‘Gender Exploratory Therapy’: A New Anti-trans Conversion Therapy With A Misleading Name.” In it, she notes a new form of “therapy” many transgender youth are being forced to undergo, dedicated to attempting to figure out why they’re transgender as opposed to actually helping them transition. The goal is to find some way to delegitimize transgender identities — blaming them on something negative in society, a mental disorder the person has, or some failing on the part of the person with the identity. Reed specifically uses the example of the website Parents of ROGD Kids (“ROGD” standing for “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria”), which has a page called “Other Known Caused for Gender Dysphoria” that lists the following as reasons somebody might have a transgender identity:

• Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Autogynoephilia
• Body Dismorphic Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Bullied for being a Sissy
• Bullied for being too Butch
• Cultural Homophobia
• Depression and Anxiety
• Desire to please a parent