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A comment on Stop that It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of mass sociogenic illness. Parent comment

Re:Stop that It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of mass soci... by niom on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:39AM (#33879479)
The "trans/gay/lesbian is cool now" explanation doesn't hold a lot of water to me. If I had the choice to not be gay, I wouldn't be. Life would be so much easier, emotionally and otherwise. Sex would be lower risk and it would be much easier to find a romantic partner. I spent a long time - two decades - suppressing it, as hard as I could, and it did not go away. Instead I was anxious and depressed. After I started to accept myself, those things became a lot better. I look forward to the day I come out.

Transitioning is 100x harder. The nonconformity is obvious. The antagonism directed at transitioning people is unavoidable, strong and potentially deadly - violent and lethal attacks on trans people are becoming much more common every year.

No, nobody is doing any of this because it's "cool".

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Re:Stop that It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of mass soci... by red_admiral on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @08:45AM (#33879582)
It is "cool" inside a very small, but very powerful, stratum of society. You are right that there are still a lot of places where being queer (whether of the LGB or T variety) is a huge disadvantage.
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Re:Stop that It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of mass soci... by ryanbrunner on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @09:40AM (#33880627)
Even within that stratum, I'd argue that it's more "acceptable" than specifically "cool". Or if it is "cool", it's in a superficial sort of way that doesn't relay any real benefits or privilege.
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Re:Stop that It’s not Tourette’s but a new type of mass soci... by red_admiral on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @10:46AM (#33881914)
I guess one could argue whether getting upvotes, likes, views and such on social media counts as "real benefits", but that seems to be exactly what's going on with some of the Tourettes-on-TikTok people. You get lots of validation coming your way, you get to be part of a community, and you get +1 armor against trolls who claim it's ok to punch as long as you're only punching up.
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