@starkatt @mxsparks @green @literorrery

But not all of us _do_ know. "Eggs" are common on the fringes of trans communities, completely miserable and convinced that they're not really trans, or not "trans enough" to transition into a happier life.

I got my diagnosis from a therapist ~13 years ago, and it was the tipping point that gave me confidence to pursue my transition. Many of us don't have supportive trans folks to give us the confidence to start the journey. ^^;

@mawr @literorrery @green @mxsparks Okay, fair. I still don't feel like a clinical scale is the best way to assess that, though? I'm just so, so afraid of it leaving people out in the cold.

@mawr @literorrery @green @mxsparks I feel like the history of the last 50 years of trans people is clinicians saying "trans people must be x" and then a whole bunch of trans folks saying "uhh we're not x but are absolutely trans."

@starkatt @mxsparks @green @literorrery
Oh gods, the scales in that survey were HORRIBLE. Don't get me wrong! That said, a better written scale would be super helpful. Ultimately, the scales are just tools that force people to introspect and come to their own conclusions.

Too many medical professionals view those scales as written by the Official Transgenderereded Community Cheiftans ordained by THE GODS, though. "Oh you didn't say yes to all of that? Not trans."

@mawr @literorrery @green @mxsparks Yeah I don't trust clinicians as a whole to treat scales as anything *but* gospel. Some know better, but far, far too many don't.

@mawr @green @mxsparks @starkatt This is, I think, a fundamental failing of modern society. The presentation of anything qualitative in quantitative terms will eventually be reduced to quantitative evaluation regardless of qualitative analysis, because that's the only way to operate at scale. Some experiences defy quantification, and modern society is at a loss as to how to deal with those experiences.

@literorrery @mawr @green @mxsparks :applause:

also it sure sounds like that applies to your current healthcare struggles.

@green @mxsparks @starkatt @mawr Perhaps it's worth framing the discussion of one in which clinicians should act as empowering agents and catalysts for personal growth and discovery. They should be helping people move from uncertainty and fear towards confidence in the seekers path, instead of acting as gatekeepers seeking to bar the way for all but the most devoted.

@literorrery @green @mxsparks @mawr Absolutely.

@mawr @literorrery @green @starkatt yeah the 3rd scale might actually have been useful for egg-me, despite all the binary language

i had so much difficulty articulating "aha, this is a specific thing that sometimes makes me uncomfortable" or "aha, this is a specific thing that i have sometimes thought I might want," let alone believing "oh here are some ways to do something about it without first being absolutely sure"

@mawr @literorrery @green @starkatt and if it were used as an assessment tool with a cut score of approximately 0, and the follow-up actions were "discuss any positive answers and ensure access to transition steps, but also don't come on super-strongly with 'uwu you can just be $(gender) if you want uwu' because that's kind of A Lot to handle for someone who still thinks they're probably cis" i could see it doing some serious good

but that's probably a utopian fantasy :/

@mxsparks @mawr @literorrery @green So I've been thinking about this a lot more, and I think the takeaway is that what we need isn't an assessment scale, it's a list of question prompts?

@mxsparks @mawr @literorrery @green Hm though. There really isn't a solution to circumvent the amount of damage a clueless therapist could still do, save for a whole lot of training.

@starkatt @mawr @literorrery @green omg this, a thousand times this