People don’t wanna talk about it at all because it’s too close to trans-ness being a mental illness but imma come at this from entirely the opposite direction:
The NO.1 predictor of a cluster B personality disorder is a consistently invalidating childhood environment.
What’s more invalidating than spending your whole childhood saying “hey I think I’m actually a-” and every single person around you cutting you off right there and saying “no you ain’t.” Psychiatry ain’t shit without social context but psychiatry is also coming to accept that being constantly invalidated as a child gonna do your brain the fucky-wucky.
It’s ok to accept that trans ppl are at an increased risk of personality disorders due to our completely fucked societal norms. Accepting that we’re at increased risk of mental disorders due to societal bullshit =/= saying being trans is a mental illness. If anything, it’s an indictment of the society we live in.
TLDR; trans ppl are at increased risk of mental illness =/= transness IS a mental illness and we still deserve to acknowledge the trauma society done did to us.
As someone not trans, and only with few trans acquaintances, but with history of emotional problems (I prefer to say “emotianal trauma” than “mental illness”) I risk steping over since I don’t have good understanding of problem trans people have, so feel free to correct me.
I think it should not even be important what is cause and what is effect, in both cases it is what you are and should be good enough for anyone. It might only be a bit important in healing BPD, but that’s something else.
This is comming just from my personal experience with self acceptance, and might not be correct.