Is Rachel Dolezal Black Just Because She Says She Is?

Lots of misconceptions going on here.

Rather than enabling these people by allowing them to mutilate their bodies, we should be helping them as we would with any other mental illness and help them to come to terms with who they really are.

Surgery is the recommended treatment for people who suffer from gender identity disorder.

Transgender people may meet the criteria for a diagnosis of gender identity disorder (GID) "only if [being transgender] causes distress or disability."[69] This distress is referred to as gender dysphoria and may manifest as depression or inability to work and form healthy relationships with others. This diagnosis is often misinterpreted as implying that transgender people suffer from GID; this misinterpretation has greatly confused transgender people and those who seek to either criticize or affirm them. Transgender people who are comfortable with their gender and whose gender is not directly causing inner frustration or impairing their functioning do not suffer from GID. Moreover, GID is not necessarily permanent and is often resolved through therapy or transitioning. Feeling oppressed by the negative attitudes and behaviors of such others as legal entities does not indicate GID. GID does not imply an opinion of immorality; the psychological establishment holds that people with any kind of mental or emotional problem should not receive stigma. The solution for GID is whatever will alleviate suffering and restore functionality; this solution often, but not always, consists of undergoing a gender transition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender#Mental_healthcare

The reason it's the recommended treatment is because the "woman who believes she's a man" is not a woman. He's a man. He was born with the wrong genitals.

People with anorexia believe they are fat. It doesn't mean we sit there and surgically remove their fat so that they can feel skinny.

People with schizophrenia believe they hear the voices of other people. We don't sit their and affirm they are truly hearing other people just because they feel like they are.

You're looking at this all wrong. A woman with GID is a woman who was born with a penis. Think of it more as being born with a deformity or an extra limb, but one you only notice when the child is old enough to point it out. Anorexia and schizophrenia are two entirely different things and comparing them to gender identity disorder is ludicrous.

It's really tyranny of thought that people should be forced to accept people as something they are not.

Right, which is why you should address a transman as "he" and a transwoman as "she". Their biological gender is wrong, therefore that's not who they are.

If someone believes the sky is always red, do I have to accept that because they strongly feel that way?

There is too much wrong with this argument, I wouldn't even know how to begin to address it.

Why do I have to acknowledge a man as a woman just because he feels like he's a woman?

This is a gross misunderstanding of what being transgender is. The person you describe isn't "a guy who feels like he's a woman" -- she is a woman. The thing between her legs is a birth defect which is corrected with surgery.

That's ridiculous. I'm sick of people imposing their feelings on MY perceptions.

In which case I'll address you as I would a child from now on, because that is my perception of you. Now go stand in the corner and think about what you've just said. And no dessert for you until you learn to respect other people. Kids these days.

/r/inthenews Thread Parent Link - slate.com