The power and fragility of the human mind
This is a very interesting thread.
But maybe they’re not right. A 4000 percent rise would seem to hint that they’re not, because how could there be such a steep rise in the absence of any cultural influence? Where were all these cases 20 years ago?
Possibly we should think carefully about it instead of just shouting slogans.
Interesting that the last transgender ‘expert’ refers to the desire to remove healthy body parts by both the transgender and the trans-amputees as “an obsession.” I’ve also heard trans people compared to addicts, fixated on getting to higher and higher levels of passing, promoting, and approval. You would think that might seem suspicious to supporters, who instead seem to consider it like being gay.
It seems obvious to me that the distress is real … and that it’s to at least some extent related to both stress and social contagion.
People want healthy limbs amputated because the limbs cause distress / feel foreign. We broadly don’t amputate them, because we recognise the distress as a psychological problem in need of an appropriate solution; an illness of the mind rather than the physical body part.
People want healthy genitals and breasts removed because they cause distress / feel foreign…
-If we apply our reasoning consistently, then: we broadly don’t remove the body parts, because we recognise the distress as a psychological problem in need of an appropriate solution; an illness of the mind rather than the physical body part.
-or we can flip the logic: we remove the body parts, because suddenly body image and distress must be catered to with surgery rather than with coming to accept the body we have.
There is a good article in the Guardian by the author of the book referred to in the above thread: ‘The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness’ by Suzanne O’Sullivan & published by Picador. It’s headline is: “The healthy child who wouldn’t wake up: the strange truth of ‘mystery illnesses'”.
Very interesting article indeed. Here is the link.
https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/12/the-healthy-child-who-wouldnt-wake-up-the-strange-truth-of-mystery-illnesses
Thank you very much, Sackbut. I’m afraid I’m hopeless about providing proper links.