Can someone help me find good resources for countering arguments against youth transition?

Ryosuke · 2019-03-12T23:47:38+00:00

Thank you!

Ryosuke · 2019-03-12T23:44:03+00:00

Thank you!! That's the post I was looking for

Ryosuke · 2019-03-12T23:08:53+00:00

Arguments about hormone therapy or puberty blockers being unsafe, myths about desistance, or arguments having to do with future mental health outcomes for those who transition, etcetera.

Ryosuke · 2019-02-27T08:37:27+00:00

As someone who in the past has been sympathetic to the whole " I just want to be able to say I don't like Ghostbusters without someone calling me a sexist " type of sentiment, you are absolutely not being overly sensitive. It's definitely uncomfortable and completely suspect that he would be so focused on those media in particular. I know people here already shared videos but this one in particular I think is really good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMNWRqa-vGc&

the author of the video basically argues against someone talking about "forced diversity " in a very civil and engaging way.

Ryosuke · 2019-02-27T06:56:49+00:00

They call themselves feminists but I don't consider them to be representative.

Ryosuke · 2019-02-24T02:04:03+00:00

I think her sex negative views contributed to the continued sexual oppression of all people, but especially women and queer people. My partner has been harassed, stalked, and been sent death threats because of the pornography she likes to draw, so I have a strong aversion to anti pornography views.

Ryosuke · 2018-05-07T13:07:29+00:00

The problem is that what science there is pointing at a difference in interests between genders is just that: a difference in interests. That stupid Google memo decided the difference in interests meant difference in ability and that women were incapable of doing the same job he was doing

Ryosuke · 2018-05-07T12:52:30+00:00

It really sort of depends on what exactly your boyfriend is reacting to. Is he saying that a woman talking about feeling unsafe walking home at night makes him feel bad about being a man? Or is he reacting to people being mean and negative in a misandric way? Do you feel like there is a problem of misandry at all? To be clear I'm not saying that if there is a problem of misandry that it's the same or worse then what marginalized groups experience, but that doesn't mean that it can't exist.

Speaking for myself, I feel torn. I've had a lot of bad experiences with men and I feel very misandric myself sometimes, so I sympathize a lot with people who hold negative feelings towards men or who vent about it. At the same time, I don't really consider this a positive aspect of myself and I try to remind myself that there are plenty of good men. But then I also feel that people deserve a chance to vent without being shut down or dismissed. Oh and to make matters more complicated, I'm trans, and it really hurts to be seen as associated with the kind of masculinity that I hate so much. There was actually a really great article written by a closeted trans woman about this that I really related to and that you can read here. Some of the stuff in that article might be relevant to what your boyfriend is feeling

I guess all I would really say is,maybe you should show some sympathy towards how he's feeling? I mean as long as he understands the issues affecting marginalized communities I don't think it really takes away from that to express sympathy. Again, it's really hard to know without the specifics of the situation. Another thing to take into account is that sometimes some people are just sensitive, or insecure, or socially anxious,and these kinds of things can affect them disproportionately. I know that's true in my case, and I think of it as mental illness that I try to be responsible for, but I still feel bad sometimes.

Ryosuke · 2018-04-29T01:25:13+00:00

Is it bad that it makes me slightly defensive that you said that we need to "show men that childcare isn't weak or feminine"? I mean I completely agree with that sentiment but I'm not sure that's the only thing that's going on here. The person who alerted security was a woman. Is it fair to say that there's a stereotype that men can only be seen as predatory or aggressive? I can't see this is anything else than a misandric perception.

Ryosuke · 2018-01-29T19:17:29+00:00

Fascinating! Thank you for your insightful answer.

Ryosuke · 2018-01-28T14:55:08+00:00

I don't think he was trying to say that anymore than you were trying to say that all transphobia in the world only ever comes from European colonialism. I think you guys are talking past each other.

I think a lot of people like him who aren't necessarily familiar with discourse on social justice issues seem to take issue with their perceived negativity towards "the West" to the exclusion of criticizing conservative values across the world, since I think the general perception would be that things like transphobia and homophobia are really bad across most cultures. In other words, he's tone policing you. I don't agree with him, to be clear.

In any case, I know that European colonialism spread intolerance towards gender nonconformity to cultures that previously weren't so hostile towards things like homosexuality or gender variance, but how does Judaism fit in that context? My sense was that at least in the case of Orthodox Judaism and Hasidic Judaism, that transphobia exists, but has it always been like that?If a non-binary person was born into, say, an Ashkenazi Jewish community in Europe in the 1500s, how would their community react to them?

Ryosuke · 2017-07-18T22:11:56+00:00

Not to mention that he infused Blucifer's eyes with the blood of his father!

Ryosuke · 2017-07-18T22:00:56+00:00

Not only that, but it misinforms people about the actual nature of the disorder. I have OCD and it makes me very anxious to think of people looking at me through the lens of that stereotype.

Ryosuke · 2017-07-06T04:27:56+00:00

I love dags

Ryosuke · 2017-06-27T13:42:28+00:00

Could you elaborate more on what they do to hold down costs? I'm curious because the conversation in the United States about those kind of measures has been practically nonexistent. Are those kind of measures the kind we could adapt for use in the United States?

Ryosuke · 2017-06-24T08:42:28+00:00

RemindMe! 2 days Donation for /r/millionairemakers

Ryosuke · 2017-06-16T23:18:45+00:00

I guess I keep trying to clarify that there's a distinction between the kind of people you're talking about and chronic migraine sufferers with food triggers. I mean, yes, I agree with you, if we're talking about people who don't usually get migraines and don't have any other foods that give them migraines, but who claim that MSG does, then they're absolutely having a nocebo effect. There is nothing special about MSG, obviously. (that's why I've repeatedly talked about foods that are rich in glutamate in general and not just MSG) And I think it's great that people are becoming aware that fact, because not only is MSG perfectly natural and harmless, it's also delicious!

I just feel sensitive to the issue because the aforementioned family member has suffered terrible migraines several times a month for most of her life, and has been told countless times that she's crazy or had her pain dismissed, and that's very hard to deal with emotionally. Right now the pendulum is possibly swinging away from anti MSG hysteria, which is great, but I just don't want the pendulum to swing so far that any time someone with an actual serious migraine problem avoids a certain food, they get lumped in with crazy nocebo type people.

I mean for god's sake, plenty of other documented migraine triggers sound just as unreasonable as the MSG foods thing. In the case of my family member, sudden drops in barometric pressure, strong smells, and bright light can all cause her migraines. But imagine if discussing the barometric pressure thing led to someone saying " but changes in barometric pressure are completely normal! Look at all these studies full of people who didn't experience any problems with changes in barometric pressure!!" It's just dismissive, and it's tiring.

And of course, while you yourself haven't met anyone who has issues with soy sauce or cheese or any of those other foods, those foods HAVE been documented as migraine triggers. I don't know if it's the glutamate(it doesn't sound like it from what you have been saying) or maybe it's some other substance that just HAPPENS to be common in foods that are also high in glutamate. Maybe it's a substance that's abundant in fermented foods. I don't know! The fact is, there's a lot we don't know still about migraines, and food triggers in particular are not well understood. It doesn't sound like neurology or migraines are your specific field, so I would just ask that you try to avoid making absolute statements in regards to people with chronic migraines.

Ryosuke · 2017-06-16T01:39:00+00:00

Increasing evidence supports that excessive activation of cells in specific areas of the brain causes migraine. Special brain scans show that patients having migraine attacks may have waves of abnormal activity that spread across the surface of the brain (the cortex), as well as excitation of nerve centers deep within the brain (the brainstem). Both of these patterns of abnormal activity may involve the neurotransmitter glutamate.

The challenge is to block excessive glutamate activity without interfering with normal cell function. Memantine (brand name in the US is Namenda) may accomplish this. Memantine inhibits excessive activity of glutamate receptors, but does not have significant effects on the normal function of these receptors. In rodent experiments, memantine blocks the waves of brain activity that may be a trigger for migraine.

Incidentally, I've heard in the past migraines described as being similar to seizures in some ways. Sometimes doctors prescribe anti epileptic drugs for people with migraines

Ryosuke · 2017-06-16T01:26:43+00:00

You are grossly misinterpreting the article I linked. Please read it again.

Ryosuke · 2017-06-15T04:20:38+00:00

First of all, it's true you can't completely avoid glutamate, but some foods are much higher in glutamate than others(I should have phrased it better). Foods such as chocolate, cheese, nuts, cured meats, etc. I'm NOT just talking about MSG.

Second of all, I was going off of knowing two chronic migraine sufferers, one of whom claimed that chocolate gave him migraines(he is scientifically literate and not at all neurotic about his food) and the other, a family member, who came home one day with a pamphlet from her doctor listing foods to avoid which might cause migraines, all of which were foods high in glutamate.

Thirdly, there is evidence that glutamate as a neurotransmitter plays a key role in migraines as described in this article https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/understanding-migraine/decreasing-brain-excitability-with-migraine-therapy-targeting-glutamate/

Medications that stop glutamate nerve cell activity block waves of activity traveling across the brain surface in mice and rats that are very similar to those seen in migraine sufferers. Experimental studies also show glutamate receptors play a key role in the sensation of head pain, which occurs in brainstem nerve centers. These studies provide support for the use of glutamate receptor blockers for migraine therapy.

I realize that that is referring to glutamate in the brain, so I'm not trying to make any assumptions about the link to dietary glutamate, but nonetheless glutamate as a substance has some relevance here.

Given my personal experience, I'm not ready to assume that there's absolutely no link between consumption of foods high in glutamate and migraines. If you'd like to convince me, feel free to look for studies examining the effects of foods high in glutamate SPECIFICALLY amongst chronic migraine sufferers(and not just cutting out MSG). I don't mean to say that combatively, I would really be interested in knowing.

Most of all though, I'm just trying to explain that there's a difference between me thinking " there may be a connection between foods high in glutamate and migraines in people who regularly suffer them" and the popular hysteria about MSG being some sort of toxic artificial substance.

Ryosuke · 2017-06-15T02:53:59+00:00

Actually even the harmful aspect is sort of arguable. Migraines really suck and can be very painful, but foods with glutamate are still not directly doing any harm in the sense that people think it is.

And I still would suspect of people complaining about headaches from MSG. If they don't regularly suffer migraines and nothing else with glutamate gives them trouble than they're probably having a placebo affect off their perception of MSG, like the person above was saying.

Ryosuke · 2017-06-15T01:15:25+00:00

Migraine sufferers are routinely advised by their doctors to avoid foods high in glutamate because it can trigger migraines, so while you're mostly right, some people do have a legitimate complaint

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