Psychology Today: People Refusing To Date Transgenders Is ‘Dehumanizing’

Then I'm dehumanizing, and proud of it. So, now I'm a dehumanizing deplorable. Love it!

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

So basically, its a stupid article, written by stupid idiots?

If they were saying transgendered folks feel dehumanized by straight people not wanting to date them, and discussing how that negatively impacts the psychology of the transgendered, I totally get that. But that's their issue to deal with. We all have issues to deal with.

As an awkward teenager, smoking hot 20-somethings didn't want to date me. It wasn't something they were doing (not doing lol) to me, it was just the way things were.

But its ok, I found my smoking hot 23 year old at 33 and married her

a reply to: ketsuko

Is her boyfriend gay? Is she a lesbian?

As far as anyone knows, or cares to guess..no to both..it's bizzaro

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Well, then I'll be the bigoted A-hole.

She-men need not apply.

If not wanting to date someone dehumanizes them, then every woman that didn't want to date me, dehumanized me.

originally posted by: CryHavoc
If not wanting to date someone dehumanizes them, then every woman that didn't want to date me, dehumanized me.

I know. I spent a lot of my life not being human because most of my schoolgirl crushes didn't even know I existed.

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: ghaleon12

Who participated in the study?

You know what an analogy is I take it, and why they're used.

originally posted by: AaarghZombies
a reply to: ghaleon12

For many of us, attraction is based on biological sex, not gender identity.

Asking us to change this for the convenience of others is like demanding that gay men date biological women.

If they want to be allowed to be who they are then surely they must also do the sane for us?

I'm not on the radical bandwagon or whatever you're thinking. But they have the right to have their health studied, like any minority.

African Americans often are ignored in drug trials and that neglect can have consequences for that entire population.

The site sourced in the OP misrepresenting this study for clicks, money, is in essence helping to try to prevent or discourage research that could help Doctors, parents and trans children from being able to best figure out what will work for those that are trans or questioning, in the future.

That is not something to condone. These are children largely that are dealing with this.

a reply to: Dfairlite

Uh Oh. Sorry, didn't make myself clear. Gay man, not gender fluid. You appeared to be addressing the whole sexuality spectrum as a disorder. Forgive me if I got that wrong.

originally posted by: Dfairlite
a reply to: fastzombie

Well being one of them I don't consider it a disorder. I don't consider it a choice I can switch between either.

You don't consider it a disorder (defined as confusion) that your DNA says you're one gender, that the formation of your body and mind was driven in large part by that gender specific DNA which formed those organs accordingly, yet you 'feel' like you're the opposite gender? Myself, I think that's just asinine in and of itself, how could a man ever know what it's like to feel like a woman, and vice versa? No human has ever felt what it is like to be both a man and a woman and therefore it is impossible for a person to know they feel like the other one, is it not?

All the controversies around this aside, I have no problem with people wanting to live their lives as they see fit, with dignity and respect while affording others dignity and respect. At the moment society is trying to navigate this process and as per usual, some of those on both sides of the debate hustle and shove for their own preference to be given favour. I have no idea how a trans person feels about their identity because I'm not one. There are aspects of the debate that I don't get for instance identifying as a woman but staying a biological male with the access to the privileges and services females get. There seem to me to be good reasons to challenge that.

a reply to: Dfairlite

You both are ignoring that this article goes against what the study is about.

It's "Fake News".

The Psychology Today article even says, in bold no less, "Ultimately, each individual has the freedom to decide whom they date or are interested in dating, and thus this research does not attempt to make any statements concerning whom an individual should date or consider dating".

This is the premise of the article, if you two want to get a room and discuss sexuality, then do so. But this study was never meant or designed as fodder against children trying to understand their sexuality nor trying to persuade people to have sex with those they aren't attracted to.

a reply to: ghaleon12

Well if it's fake news then not much point in discussing it as it's essentially pissing in the wind.

TBH I'm not very up on the whole trans debate anyway. There are aspects that need more clarification for me.

I will just say I'm libertarian, believe people have the right to live and express themselves in society within the bounds of the law.

a reply to: fastzombie

Not much use in discussing.

Yes.

If there was an interest in trans issues from a majority group, this wouldn't be a problem.

I'm not even trans but over a dozen pages and no one highlighted the only bold text in the article, it's shameful.

a reply to: ghaleon12

You both are ignoring that this article goes against what the study is about.

And what else is new?

Almost every scientific article I see brought up in these forums is misrepresented. As with any science, especially those with a highly subjective subject matter, experiments and data acquisitions get twisted by "news" websites (and even lately by MSM outlets) to try and use intelligent study to promote specific agendas that are not addressed by the study. It happens with Global Warming, Immigration, and a host of other subjects.

I have pretty much given up trying to explain science to anyone... sometimes I make a half-hearted attempt, but I expect so little from it, it's become just a matter of hoping that maybe one person will read one sentence that helps them out in a few years. Instead, I focus on what others are trying to read into the reports, because what's actually in the reports don't matter to them. What's in the reports don't matter to society. All that matters to society is what society wants and when society wants it, truth and facts and reason and logic be damned.

Face it; we are entering the modern version of the Dark Ages, where facts are less important than religion... the religion of self-gratification, the religion of Global Warming, etc. Like the last Dark Age, research will continue, in attempted silence, while the rest of the world tries to establish a new order based strictly on belief. Once we come out the other side, and we will eventually do so even if in much smaller numbers, people will 'discover' what was known all along and wonder at how so many could have gotten it so wrong for so long.

It's no longer a question of IF this is going to happen... it's now a question of how bad it will get and how long it will last.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

I do notice that some members here actually do attempt to read, interpret and open their minds to new science and so I cannot paint all people here as being closed-minded.

I sometimes think, however, that some members get so riled up emotionally that they seem to lose all rational thought and then it ceases to be an educational discussion/debate and becomes a confrontation which leads to personal attacks, and that is sad to see. Perhaps we need lessons in how to debate properly, or similar to how the psychologists teach couples in "How to communicate 101".

For my part, I can't let ignorance get the better of us, so I will chime in where I feel I need to chime in.

i dont dig the term cisgendered... seems heterophobic. many YouTubers have made it very clear that i am a horrible person because i know what i like sexually and because it happens to fall in the norms of sexuality. i have siblings and other family & friends that are lgbtq and never once questioned them about their way of life. it's not my business to know who and how they love someone. i'm happy with them being happy no matter what their gender and/or sexual orientation is. now i'm a horrible person for being cisgendered... FML

a reply to: ElectricUniverse

Just a thought Elec, what if the study didn't have written multiple choice questions, but rather pictures of people instead, with a little bio of the people leaving out sexual orientation? If we are only talking about attraction then you can bet your bottom dollar that the outcome of choice would be turned right way 'round. Many of you nay sayers would definitely be attracted to trans people if you didn't know they were trans. Whether or not you would date a trans person after finding out they were trans is, of course, already known by the posts above. However, many trans women say that when the men who initially found them attractive and a potential romantic opportunity, once they find out they are trans, then do a turnaround and consider them as a sexual fetish and are more disrespectful.

And you are right, asking 1,000 people to fill out a multiple choice survey as to whether or not they would date a transgender person without meeting that person, nor explaining in detail or have any understanding of why they would not date a trans person is incomplete to say the least.

This article mostly reflects what many members here are trying to relay about the incomplete study.

Ultimately, each individual has the freedom to decide whom they date or are interested in dating, and thus this research does not attempt to make any statements concerning whom an individual should date or consider dating. At the same time, however, understanding the extent to which trans individuals are excluded from the realm of dating can serve as a benchmark for where society currently stands with respect to including trans and non-binary individuals.

thefederalist.com...

On the other hand, another study - understanding your prejudice:

"Ameliorating transnegativity: assessing the immediate and extended efficacy of a pedagogic prejudice reduction intervention"

We demonstrate that pedagogic interventions utilising mediated contact and the parasocial contact hypothesis provide an effective means of instantiating both an immediate and long-term reduction in prejudice towards transgender people. Through application of the parasocial contact hypothesis, our quasi-experiment demonstrates that exposure to the combined intervention of a panel presentation and a trans-themed film resulted in a significant reduction of self-reported prejudice immediately after exposure and this effect persisted up to 6 weeks later in a sample of 66 female university students. In addition to testing this effect, we also assess the relationship between prejudice towards transgender people and other forms of prejudice, including old-fashioned and modern prejudice towards gay men and lesbian women. In doing so we demonstrate that prejudice towards trans people appears to be conceptually related to prejudice towards gay men and not lesbian women. Limitations and directions for future research are explored.

www.tandfonline.com...

a reply to: InTheLight

There are some people here who absolutely amaze with with their mental horsepower. Most have an exceptional mind. That is not the problem.

The problem is that too many think with their heart instead of their head. The heart does not think clearly; it feels very well. The head does not feel; but the head thinks very well. A reasoned approach requires both.

During the Dark Age, the problem wasn't that people suddenly turned dumb. They didn't. There were many advancements in science that happened during the Dark Ages; they simply did not receive attention at the time because they flew in the face of generally accepted norms. Likewise, this study flies in the face of generally accepted ideologies for many, as the spin on the data in the article tries to draw an inappropriate conclusion from the data.

The simple fact is, as is apparent to anyone who wants to actually look at the data, that being transgender is by its very nature a turn-off to most people, both straight and gay. The reasoning is also pretty apparent: people who date are generally doing so for the express purpose of considering a sexual partner. Sexuality is not something that can be changed with current societal evolution; the attempts of yesteryear to "fix" gay people attest to that. The same reasoning can be applied to straight people... there is no "fix" for being straight; one either is or is not.

During a date, people gather information about their prospective partner as to compatibility, not just in interests and social views, but also as to physical characteristics. The genitals one has are the major part of this physical compatibility, whether one is straight or gay. I can foresee a day when most people would be OK with a trans person as a sexual partner if that person had undergone the reconstructive surgery, but without that reconstructive surgery there is no reasonable process by which one could be OK with the incorrect genital arrangement they were expecting. To believe that is to believe that gays are simply confused and can be "fixed." it flies in the face of science that says otherwise.

The study does not implicate this; it simply gathers data and makes a few general conclusions based on a superficial examination of the data. The article does implicate this. The fact that so many ignore the exclusion in the study and instead focus on the incorrect assumptions in the article speaks volumes to the fact that many are trying to think with their heart instead of their head. The link in the OP is to the article, not the study; thankfully the study is well-referenced. That is another Dark Age, and it's not coming; it's here.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Then again, quite a few people of all sexual orientations date for the sole purpose of sexual intercourse and those types will indeed date trans people but, again, for fetish reasons or worse. It is almost as if trans people are between a rock and a hard place within the dating scene.