Transmedicalism

A Transmedicalist, also known as a Transmed, Truscum, Trumed, Trident Trans (TT), or Nunchuck Non-Binary, is an exclusionist who has a set of beliefs about the transgender identity and the "criteria" or discourse around what's "necessary" to be transgender. The defining belief of transmedicalism is that gender dysphoria in some form is necessary to be transgender. This technically classifies them as exclusionists towards transgender people who do not experience gender dysphoria in any form, though most transmedicalists are not exclusionary and are very open to genuine and respectful discourse. There are some extremely exclusionary transmedicalists, but they only represent a small part of the whole community.

Beyond the core belief that gender dysphoria is necessary to be transgender, there are a vast amount of different beliefs in the community. Some transmedicalists support non-binary identities, and some don't. Some support xenogenders, and some don't. Some support neopronouns, and some don't. There's a vast amount of different scientific theories which are used by different members of the transmedicalist community to support different beliefs. While harmful gatekeeping is nowadays most commonly associated with transmedicalism as a whole, the community consists of radical transmedicalists, and general transmedicalists. Radmeds tend to be much more exclusionary, hateful, and intentionally gatekeeping, while the rest of the transmedicalist community may not behave similarly.

Less-radical transmedicalists may or may not have exclusionist beliefs, and even the ones that do are much less likely to be actively exclusionary, and instead tend to prefer nuanced conversations instead of just blatant, blanket exclusionist statements. Transmedicalists who adhere to the immediate aforementioned "standards" should not be treated with disrespect, as general transmedicalism is much less harmful than radical transmedicalism, and for that reason, this page is split into harmful, more radical transmedicalist beliefs, and less harmful, non-radical transmedicalist beliefs, to display the nuance in the transmedicalist community.

The reason that many of the harmful beliefs are centered and highlighted here is that they are often the center of discourse much more and are usually much more front and center in discussions in trans spaces, and it's important to recognize the immense harm those beliefs have had and are continuing to have on trans individuals while also acknowledging that this harm does not represent the imprint of the entire transmedicalist community and should not be held against the whole community but rather the harmful exclusionists within the community who perpetrate, either directly or indirectly, the harm from the following beliefs.

Transmedicalist Beliefs
The following beliefs are the most common transmedicalist beliefs, though that in no way means that every transmedicalist believes all of the following things. The only classifying belief for being transmedicalist is the belief that some form of gender dysphoria is necessary to be transgender, but all other transmedicalist beliefs are secondary and not endorsed by all members of the community.

Dysphoria Is Necessary To Be Trans-
The basic transmedicalist belief is that some form of dysphoria is necessary to be trans. Some believe that it's only necessary to have one or a few forms, and some believe it's necessary to have all forms, while still others believe that it's necessary to have them at an intense level. This stems from the belief that being transgender is a medical condition and that "trans brains" are different than "cis brains". Most transmedicalists do not distinguish between dysphoria and being trans, which results in the belief that dysphoria is necessary to be trans because it is its medical component. Many transmedicalists believe that gender dysphoria is the cause of being trans, and not that being trans is the cause of gender dysphoria.

One of the reasons many transmedicalists are very adamant about this belief is due to the history of harm that transphobic cisgender rhetoric has caused to transgender people. For example, one of the most harmful misconceptions about being trans is that it's a choice. Being transgender is not a choice, and implying that it is is very harmful. That harm is incapacitated by things like the belief that gender dysphoria as a medical diagnosis is a necessary part of being transgender, as well as the sexed brain theory and the classification of being transgender as a legitimate medical identity. Beliefs of gender dysphoria being necessary to be trans offer validity and support to transgender individuals in the persistent struggle against people claiming their identity is a "choice" and a "lifestyle".

Being Transgender Is A Medical Condition-
Since gender dysphoria is a diagnosable, actual mental disorder, many transmedicalists believe that being transgender is a condition due to their beliefs that dysphoria is a requirement to be trans. Another common reason for this belief is medical theories about the brain structures of transgender people being different than the brain structures of cisgender people of the same sex, lending credence to the belief that being trans is a medical condition in tandem with the sexed brain theory.

Medical Transition Is Necessary To Be Trans-
Another one of the most common transmedicalist beliefs is that medical transition of some form is a necessary process for transgender people. This is due to the fact that transmedicalists believe that gender dysphoria is also necessary to be trans, and that, as a medical condition, medical transition is the proper treatment. This belief holds that there's an undeniable and irrevocable correlation between being trans, gender dysphoria, and medical transition, though not everyone with this belief agrees on what "level" of medical transition is necessary for transgender people. Some think that undergoing hormone replacement therapy is enough, while others believe that HRT and gender confirmation surgery are necessary, and still others believe that HRT and all possible forms of GCS are necessary for one to be trans. Some transmedicalists may believe that someone who claims to be trans but does not want to transition medically is not actually trans.

Other Common Topics/Beliefs-
Apart from common beliefs relating to the trans identity as a whole in its relation to the medical world, other common topics for debate and discourse within the transmedicalist community are things like non-binary identities, xenogenders, and neopronouns.

Non-Binary Identities-
Many transmedicalists support non-binary identities in a variety of ways, through concepts like the intersex brain theory, and many transmedicalists are themselves non-binary. However, while support for non-binary identities is widespread throughout the transmedicalist community, some more radical transmedicalists have harmful beliefs that non-binary people are not real or that they're a "mockery" to binary transgender individuals. Those "radmeds" may believe that being non-binary is medically impossible and that the different ways in which they would experience dysphoria could potentially delegitimize the struggles of binary transgender individuals. However, that exclusionist belief is not a defining feature of the transmedicalist community and is instead a more radical belief among radmeds.

Xenogenders-
Another common topic for debate and varying opinions among transmedicalists is xenogender identities. Some transmedicalists fully support xenogenders, some are ambivalent towards them, and some do not support them. Transmedicalists who support xenogenders believe that different gender experiences are valid, and transmedicalists who don't support xenogenders may posit that gender is not just a construct or an arbitrary feeling, but a concrete reality which therefore can't be related to things like animals or concepts. Many transmedicalists may support aspects of both of the aforementioned arguments about xenogenders, but some might not have any opinions one way or the other regarding xenogenders.

An important conversation to be had around xenogenders is their potential impact on neurodivergent people and especially neurodivergent cisn't and trans people. Some (but not all) neurodivergent may find it difficult to understand the concept of xenogenders, and some may feel that xenogenders being a sort of "divergent" kind of identity while being associated with aesthetics delegitimizes other forms of divergent experiences like their own. It's important that neurodivergent voices are centered in the discussion around xenogenders and that their opinions be taken seriously and steadfastly and listened to with an open heart, as this Wiki supports xenogenders, but it also doesn't stand for disrespect or intolerance towards neurodivergent communities. As one Reddit user mentioned, xenogenders have been directly harmful to them and many autistic transgender people, and they believe that for that reason, neurodivergence and xenogenders are important discussions to have in tandem with each other, not separately.

Neopronouns-
One thing many transmedicalists commonly discuss is neopronouns. One relatively common belief about them is that they are ableist due to the difficulty some neurodivergent people may have in understanding them, how to spell them, and how and why to use them. Many neurodivergent people may have troubles with comprehension of neopronouns, and it's therefore a common belief that they're not neurodivergent-friendly and therefore promote ableism. Other beliefs surrounding neopronouns in the transmedicalist community include (but are not limited to) that they are valid because they may be validating to peoples' gender identities and there's nothing wrong with that, and that that they're a mockery to trans people because they accompany a rise in non-binary visibility and some radmeds believe non-binary people are mockeries to the trans community.

Radical Transmedicalist Beliefs-
A large amount of the transmedicalist community is very respectful and kind, but there are some more radical transmedicalists whose ideologies are harmful to the transgender community as a whole, as they're restricting and invalidating, and promote harm to transgender individuals. Some of the more common radical transmedicalist beliefs include that non-binary people aren't valid and are a mockery, that body dysphoria is necessary so trans people therefore can't like their bodies at all, and that transgender people can't be GNC. Most transmedicalists don't believe these things, but the ones that do may contribute harmfully to the trans community, and it's important that that harm be highlighted and uprooted.

"Trans people can't like or appreciate their own bodies"- Many transmedicalists believe that body dysphoria is necessary to be trans, but some radmeds take that to the extreme and say that no trans person can like their body, claiming that "truly" being trans would make one hate their body so much that they couldn't like it in any way. This belief is harmful because it promotes even more self-hatred in the trans community and invalidates trans peoples' attempts to cope with body dysphoria by trying to like their own bodies.

"Trans men need to be masculine and trans women need to be feminine"- One of the most pervasive radical transmedicalist beliefs is that trans people need to fully present as their gender identity so that they can "prove" that they're dedicated to living as their gender identity. This belief stems from the belief that social dysphoria is necessary to be transgender- due to social pressures placed on stereotypical gender roles (men and women dressing and acting specific ways), many transmedicalists believe that these social gender roles and stereotypes have contributed to trans individuals' harm and that they must therefore be overvigilant when it comes to observing them in order to be perceived as their correct gender. The idea that trans people are used to being mistaken as a different gender because of how they present and behave drives in the idea that gender presentation is tied into gender identity for transgender people.

This belief is harmful because it relies upon the misconception and common transphobic rhetoric that being trans is a performance. Instead of treating the trans identity as the fundamental core identity that it is for some, this belief treats it like it's just an outward performance, which is one of the most common rhetorics used against trans people by transphobic cisgender people. Gender presentation is not determined by gender identity, and acknowledging that cisgender people can be gender non-conforming while holding trans people to the standard of conformity to gender roles and stereotypes is treating trans people like their identities are different than cis peoples', like they have to prove something, like they're not really trans, and they can only convince people they are through a gender performance. This belief is fundamentally transphobic.

Conclusion
Transmedicalism is a diverse set of ideologies. Radical transmedicalist ideologies are immensely harmful, exclusionist, inaccurate, and generally hurtful, and there is no place for such vehement exclusionism and harm on this wiki, and there should not be room for it in any community whose goal is to promote respectful, inclusionist discourse and acceptance. However, non-harmful transmedicalist ideologies belonging to the general community and not specifically radical transmedicalists are valid discourses, and there is space for them in this wiki and in all forums, so long as they are respectful and civil. This wiki does not support radical transmedicalism or the promotion of harmful exclusionism, but it does support respectful discourse regarding non-harmful differing ideologies, including non-harmful non-radical transmedicalist ideologies.