How to Deal with Group Pressures to Transition?
Dr. Z talks about pressures that exist in LGBTQ community and how to be very mindful and careful with those pressures.
A lot of people have commented on her videos saying they feel incredibly pressured (especially relevant for people who identify as nonbinary) into starting hormones or undergoing surgical interventions.
When we become aware about our sense of identity in relationship to gender—especially if you identify other than trans binary, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum—it can be very challenging because you don't really have a sense of community or belonging. Because we're all social creatures, it's natural to want to be part of a pack.
But we have to be careful and mindful about wanting to be part of the pack. Being part of the pack carries its own dangers—one of the dangers is conforming to peer pressure. It's very easy to get seduced by what the majority of people in a group are doing and start believing that what they're doing is the right way and your way is the wrong way.
Watch to find out why just because you're not taking hormones doesn't make you less trans or invalidate your path, why conforming to group pressure means losing your identity again, and why you need to practice discernment and ask yourself what's important to you.
