Swedish Trans Teens Face Media & Public Backlash Over Dysphoria Rise

[Carolyn Marie]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/22/ssweden-teenage-transgender-row-dysphoria-diagnoses-soar

 

I'm not really surprised that the same anti-trans backlash has surfaced in parts of Europe as it has here.  The politics are different, but attitudes about trans folk and trans youth are manipulated by similar forces, IMO.

 

Carolyn Marie

[VickySGV]

More competent therapists and the suicide rate goes down, but the trigger was GD and stress caused by the H8ers.  Thus the rise in the GD survivors which strangely makes them unhappy.  They don't like happy live kids.

[tracy_j]

A related issue - I don't know how much it would affect the somewhat different system in the US, and how countries in Europe differ, but I think the mushrooming costs of health and social care will have a detremental effect on support for trans care. Political will may be greatly affected by budget unless convinced otherwise by valid research.

 

Tracy

[Jackie C.]

A 1500% uptick is a really big number. My therapist is of the opinion that some FtM's come out as trans because being a woman in western culture can be such an incredible hardship. Right in the 13 to 17 year old range where young women are trying on new identities to see where they fit. While I'm 100% for trans kids getting them help they need, I'm also for protecting kids from doing anything they might regret later. From reading the article, I'm thinking Sweden might have swung a the pendulum a little too far towards making it easy to get corrective surgery. I LIKE the barriers. They're a pain in the butt, but they help people to slow down and really consider what they're doing. This process should be available to everybody who needs it, but there need to be controls to keep people from doing something they're going to regret.

 

Hugs!

[Willowtry]

My main question when I read such an article is : how well known was transidentity known back in 2008 in Sweden ? How many people who struggled even was aware it existed and so seeked a diagnosis ? How many diagnosis were performed compared to now ? Especially for teen girls between 13-17 since it's so specific. And so on.

 

I actually took the time to look up for the source used for this article. Here is the link if you're interested.

https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/om-socialstyrelsen/pressrum/press/vanligt-med-flera-psykiatriska-diagnoser-hos-personer-med-konsdysfori/

 

I used an automatic translator, but here some parts of it to put The Guardian's article in perspective :

 

"- Yes, that the increase is clear, there is no doubt, however, we do not know what the increase is due to, says Peter Salmi, investigator at the National Board of Health and Welfare."

"In 2018, a total of just under 6,000 people, 0.6 per thousand of the population, had any gender dysphoria diagnosis in Sweden. As more and more people seek help and are being investigated for gender dysphoria, the National Board of Health believes that the number of people who also receive a fixed diagnosis, after a preliminary, will increase."

"Of the total 6334 people who have had a gender dysphoria diagnosis in Sweden since 1998 , a total of 21 persons with registered birth sex have died and 18 persons with registered birth sex have died in suicide, corresponding to 0.6 percent."