Being transgender has absolutely nothing to do with anorexia or identifying as a cat or self-harm. There is no correlation, there is nothing similar about them.

If an anorexic person says to me that they are fat, I will assure them that they are not. Because they aren't. I would help them if they let me, because I've been there and I know what that kind of hell is like. The fact that they are not overweight does not matter, because in their minds, they are. That is all they see. For them, it is reality. This is nothing like being transgender.

If someone told me that they intended to harm themselves, I would try to talk them down from it. If they seemed like they were going to do something drastic like self-amputate or attempt suicide, I would call the police immediately. There is obviously something seriously wrong with their mental health and they need help. Again, this is nothing like being transgender.

You're equating being transgender with being mentally ill or unstable. This is absolutely ridiculous. The APA has recognized that gender identities and sexualities that don't fall into the "cisgender heterosexual" category are NOT mental illnesses. There is nothing wrong with them.

Oh, and "transgenders" is not appropriate. "Transgender people" is appropriate. "Trans* people" is also appropriate. By referring to them as "transgenders", you're treating them as if that is their sole defining characteristic. It's why you don't refer to black people as "blacks" and gay people as "gays". It's rude.

I'm transgender and I'm going to state some facts. Yes, facts.

If someone is anorexic and you allow them to follow that disease to its natural end, they will die a terrible death. Nothing good comes out of being anorexic. The treatment agreed on by the medical community is not letting them waste away.

If someone wants to cut off their own healthy leg, they will become disabled and have trouble with mobility in ways they didn't before. It will cost a lot of money to make their life accommodate their new needs. Nothing particularly good comes from losing a healthy leg. The treatment agreed on by the medical community is probably not going to be leg removal even for someone who truly feels they need it.

I received gender confirming surgery two years ago because I am transgender. Before I came out and started transitioning, I was suicidal. I had chronic illness issues partially from dealing with the constant stress of being in a body that my brain didn't match up with. I had no social life because people like you told me that my kind of people were freaks who didn't deserve to be taken seriously and I couldn't bear it. I was dissociated all the time so I didn't have to deal with transphobia and my own body.

After I came out and received the medical treatment that is AGREED ON and SUPPORTED by medical literature and trusted professionals, I got a lot better. My love life, social life in general, mental health, and even my physical health have all vastly improved. I started making other positive life choices for myself as well because I quickly found myself wanting to be alive as the person I truly am, enjoying my new body, and now I'm doing really well! Good things have come from me transitioning!

If you don't understand the difference now, or you do and you still think you're right, you actually just want to hate trans people for no rational reason whatsoever.

At this point, this board is something that would have belonged in our old debate forum -- which we no longer have for a reason. It's gotten a bit out of hand and a lot of things are bordering on personal attack. Locking this board so everyone can take a deep breath and calm down.