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"Furries" are adults who dress up as animals and live "in character" for at least part of their lives. My friend's alter ego was a horse (I forget his horse name). For some it plays into their intimate lives (they and their partners get intimate in character) but it isn't really a sexual fetish but a form of very involved roleplaying that spills over into real life. They have conventions and local associations and so on where they gather (usually in costume).
"Species dysphoria" means someone who actually thinks they are wholly or partly not human. They do not feel human. Some, perhaps many, furries are dysphoric but it's not a given (at least from what I have read).
"Gay" I assume you know.
So "gay and furry" means my friend dressed up and partly lived as his horse alter ego and was intimate with his own sex.
What is the underlying biological basis for gender dysphoria RitaTG?As I am sure you realize Jae .... species dysphoria has absolutely no relation or similarity at all to gender dysphoria.
It is so very often a very hurtful and deliberately ignorant association that is made by religious persons in their opposition to the notion that being trans is a valid aspect of human creation.
So to be clear ..... I would hope we both realize that these are completely separate and unrelated issues.
That said ..... species dysphoria has no underlying biological basis whereas gender identity has.
Is it twisted? ... no .... no more than any other mental health problem.....
I feel empathy for them and I hope that the issue can be successfully resolved.
You could just google it and follow the references on Wikipedia.
"Wikipedia is not a reliable source" is a cop-out when it points you to better sources, which is where my link pointed you to. And if Bing can't find Wikipedia, find yourself a better search engine.As you know chansen, I use Bing, notGoogle. Also, Wikipedia is
not
a reliable source of information. I would much rather hear the answer of our guest speaker RitaTG.
Still would prefer to hear the answer of our guest speaker @RitaTG who did, after all, offer to answer our questions."Wikipedia is not a reliable source" is a cop-out when it points you to better sources, which is where my link pointed you to. And if Bing can't find Wikipedia, find yourself a better search engine.
Here is a link that gives a lot to wade through.What is the underlying biological basis for gender dysphoria RitaTG?
Thank youHere is a link that gives a lot to wade through.
http://transascity.org/the-transgender-brain/
Ok ... we shall sum this up for you Jae...
The default blueprint for a fetus is female.
The fetus gets its sexualization messages from hormones that are activated my genes and receptors.
Genes are much more than a simple on/off switch but rather are a collection of switches.
More than one gene is used to determine a characteristic.
Receptors on the cells may react strongly, weakly, or not at all to certain hormones at certain times.
The brain gets its sexualization at about 6 weeks.
The rest of the body gets its sexualization message almost 2 weeks later.
This is how a brain can become misaligned with the rest of the body.
This misalignment can vary in intensity from very strong to very weak.
This accounts for transsexuals (strong misalignment) to crossdressers (weak misalignment).
That is the dysphoria that we talk about.
Some (crossdressers) are fine with occasional forays into the "opposite" gender world to relive the mild dysphoria.
Transsexuals such as myself require a far more drastic and more permanent change in order to relive the much stronger dysphoria.
I hope this helps....
You are welcome Jae.....Thank youfor your answer RitaTG. It
sounds good. I can
run with that
understanding of things.
Wow Medalla!! ..... how we have become mainstream! LOL!A new story of interest:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/03/13/jazz-jennings-clean-clear_n_6862714.html
A mainstream beauty product using a TG teenager as their spokesmodel looks to me like a positive development and is being promoted as such but my cynical side is nudging me to wonder if this is the beginning of "transgender" becoming a "market segment" to be targeted by the beauty and other industries. I think/hope it is a step forward, for sure, though.
Any thoughts on this story, @RitaTG ?