Imagine mental health professionals should address this situation with gender dysmorphia in the same way their might address somebody who wants to get a BBL.
Let’s say the person has dysmorphia about their body and they are willing to undergo one of the most dangerous cosmetic procedures available (1 in 3000 mortality) in order to feel good about themselves. A good therapist/psychologist, and maybe in conjunction with a psychiatrist, should try to get them to a place where they are comfortable with their body and do not have feelings of self harm because of it.
I just want to point out, gender dysphoria is different from body dysmorphia, though the words look very similar. A person with dysphoria (eg, a trans person) sees their body the way it really is, but is uncomfortable with it. A person with dysmorphia (eg, someone with an eating disorder) sees their body as different than it actually is, and is uncomfortable with that perception.
That said, you can’t effectively treat someone experiencing body dysmorphia the same way you’d treat someone experiencing gender dysphoria, and vice versa.
Do they? I guess they’d have to figure out why they’re so set on getting that surgery, if it isn’t a matter of skewed body image. Any treatment is going to have to depend on that, I’d imagine. Has there been research on this subject?
I sincerely doubt a doctor’s first response would be to encourage the patient to get a BBL. Gender-affirming care (specifically here, hrt and surgery) has been extensively scrutinized and researched and has been proven effective for treating gender dysphoria, and other treatments (like conversion therapy) have proven ineffective. As far as I’m aware, the same isn’t true of BBLs and (is there a name for this phenomenon?). From what you said, it sounds like BBLs aren’t nearly as safe as gender-affirming care, so that might make it more difficult to justify. It’s also worth mentioning that gender-affirming care is justified by just how bad the outcomes are without it (e.g. suicide rates, persistent mental health struggles, quality of life). Afaik, similarly negative outcomes haven’t been observed in this case, but please correct me if I’m wrong.
*I’m typing this on my phone, but if you do want sources on the effectiveness and safety of gender-affirming care, effects of conversion therapy, etc., I’d be happy to provide them once I get home.
Idk that they’ve done a lot of research on BBL’s specifically, but people who I know have had cosmetic surgery did so because they were unhappy with how their body was, not because they saw it as something else.
I don’t doubt that gender affirming surgery can help people. I’m just wondering why one type of mental abnormality should be treated with surgery over another.
I’m curious, if society abolished gender, would people still feel the need to have gender affirming surgery? They would only ever be perceived as they them.
Imagine mental health professionals should address this situation with gender dysmorphia in the same way their might address somebody who wants to get a BBL.
Let’s say the person has dysmorphia about their body and they are willing to undergo one of the most dangerous cosmetic procedures available (1 in 3000 mortality) in order to feel good about themselves. A good therapist/psychologist, and maybe in conjunction with a psychiatrist, should try to get them to a place where they are comfortable with their body and do not have feelings of self harm because of it.
I just want to point out, gender dysphoria is different from body dysmorphia, though the words look very similar. A person with dysphoria (eg, a trans person) sees their body the way it really is, but is uncomfortable with it. A person with dysmorphia (eg, someone with an eating disorder) sees their body as different than it actually is, and is uncomfortable with that perception.
That said, you can’t effectively treat someone experiencing body dysmorphia the same way you’d treat someone experiencing gender dysphoria, and vice versa.
What about the BBL example? They see their body the way it is.
Do they? I guess they’d have to figure out why they’re so set on getting that surgery, if it isn’t a matter of skewed body image. Any treatment is going to have to depend on that, I’d imagine. Has there been research on this subject?
I sincerely doubt a doctor’s first response would be to encourage the patient to get a BBL. Gender-affirming care (specifically here, hrt and surgery) has been extensively scrutinized and researched and has been proven effective for treating gender dysphoria, and other treatments (like conversion therapy) have proven ineffective. As far as I’m aware, the same isn’t true of BBLs and (is there a name for this phenomenon?). From what you said, it sounds like BBLs aren’t nearly as safe as gender-affirming care, so that might make it more difficult to justify. It’s also worth mentioning that gender-affirming care is justified by just how bad the outcomes are without it (e.g. suicide rates, persistent mental health struggles, quality of life). Afaik, similarly negative outcomes haven’t been observed in this case, but please correct me if I’m wrong.
*I’m typing this on my phone, but if you do want sources on the effectiveness and safety of gender-affirming care, effects of conversion therapy, etc., I’d be happy to provide them once I get home.
Idk that they’ve done a lot of research on BBL’s specifically, but people who I know have had cosmetic surgery did so because they were unhappy with how their body was, not because they saw it as something else.
I don’t doubt that gender affirming surgery can help people. I’m just wondering why one type of mental abnormality should be treated with surgery over another.
I’m curious, if society abolished gender, would people still feel the need to have gender affirming surgery? They would only ever be perceived as they them.