@LionsFan you literally told us an anecdote about your experiences.
A good scientific study would analyse the reports of hundreds or thousands of case workers and claim handlers, normalised for their experience level, attitudes to trans people, how their cases were allocated to them, etc. It would also consider, for example, how the insurance companies' policies towards trans people have changed. If the study was limited to the US, it would collect data from all states and territories.
Technically you didn't observe stories, because you were an active participant in them. You were a common factor. And, because you're a human being dealing with human beings, you have both conscious and unconscious impacts on what the other person tells you about themselves. One human talking to other humans may be interesting and important, but in and of itself it's not science no matter how many conversations there are.
If I may paraphrase your original post:
_For decades I was an authority figure holding power over vulnerable supplicants. Only one revealed themselves to me as trans. Now I notice that other authority figures in similar circumstances have a relatively large number of supplicants reveal themselves as trans. Why is this? Is it because there really are more trans people now? Or is it because societal attitudes have changed? Or is it something to do with me?
Edit: ah, I see that things have moved on since I started writing this post.
@LionsFan
From age 18 to 28, statistically speaking, how many trans folks should I have met. You can assume I interviewed 1,000s of people all ages 18-90?
It depends on where you are, when, how likely you are to go into spaces frequented by trans people, and your attitude towards trans people. You've almost certainly met quite a lot, but none of them told you that they're trans.
It's strange how you keep wanting to use only your own limited personal experience as scientific evidence. As if you either don't want to know the truth or you just have no idea how statistical analysis works.
And I did go to MSU. I know what it's like there. I really should have gone to U of M, it would have been much better, but MSU was near my house.
No insults from me. I'm just stating facts here.
@LionsFan hey before you sign off, I’ll answer without assumptions about your intent. I think what other people are saying about trans people being scared to be open is a very real thing. People are scared for their safety and there’s a history, especially in the US of people being awful to trans people. Also if you consider some of the science behind intersex people (I know, a little different than trans, but hear me out) it might make more sense. The last time I head a number from an academic source, 4 out of every 1000 people are intersex (have some combination of both male and female reproductive functions.) Furthermore, it’s not just that it’s both or none, there exists a whole spectrum, sometimes it’s only on the hormonal level. For me, if you take this information and combine it with the fact that we really don’t know much about the brain, gender, or sexuality, I’m gonna tend to believe people’s experiences when they say they feel they are a different gender that what they are assigned. It makes sense and there are records of trans people throughout history. Now we do also have gender norms from a cultural perspective. And there is a chance that some cis gendered people get inspired by people who are trans shrugging off gender norms. I feel that at times, not likening gender norms myself. But I am in no way qualified to judge people on this, nor would I want to. I honestly feel that the struggles trans people have been going through are eventually going to benefit all of society because it forces us to have more awareness and challenge what gender norms might be hurtful in our culture. So it seems like nature, but there may be an aspect of both. Regardless, one of the reasons people are wary of any talk about it being “nurture” is because people have used this type of reasoning to justify negating people’s existence or even being violent towards them. People literally fear for their life. I don’t want to speak for anyone but I think these conversations would be easier if people didn’t have to worry about their safety.
WOW. It is hard for me to believe that this thread has ANY desire/intention to find an objective truth about our human experience as opposed to what @TheFunCartel referred to....
I think the thread was started to dismiss the transgendered
As a woman who grew up in a conservative world and believed that there was only ÖNE RIGHT WAY TO BE in practically EVERY WAY... I am grateful for a shift in awareness instead of the myopic perspective that has been traditionally presented in our country.
Just as much as people who have been NURTURED to be open to different ideaology, there are those who have been NURTURED to be honest about their feelings and internal experience instead of trying to desperately conform to an image that has HISTORICALLY been accepted.
Thank goodness that the majority of our country allows people to be open about their experience.
AS A WOMAN...... I was tethered to an idea that only allowed me to present my hopes/dreams in a manner that complied with the ideas of the patriarchy that informed our laws and families at the time.
THANK GOODNESS that there are a growing number of people who are willing to speak out about EQUALITY on a thousand levels.
Was it nurture or nature that created an innate need within me to fix things? Was it nurture or nature that led me to get my first plumbing book from the library because my Dad wouldn't help take care of things at our house and my Mom was taught that she was too INEPT to do those **MANLY ** things like plumbing? Was it nurture or nature that led me to help my Mom keep her cupboard from getting destroyed by water damage? Was it nurture or nature that made me have a desire to wear pants instead of a dress? Was it nurture or nature that led me to search for love from a man or a woman?
Was it nurture or nature that led everyone in this cuddle community to look for something like platonic intimacy even though it is somewhat non-traditional and not accepted widely
ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY IT WAS BOTH
How can you ask such an inflammatory question about sex and gender without thinking about how ALL of our lives are influenced by nurture AND nature?
OF COURSE people would be less likely to be open about being different than "what is accepted by the society" NO MATTER WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, when you might be ridiculed, executed, harassed, mugged, dismissed as less worthy, or even hospitalized and given a diagnosis of mental illness.
Lucky for you Mr. @LionsFan that you were born 67 years ago as a light skinned man who is in a relationship with a woman and "likes to cuddle while with a new female friend almost anytime" because if you were born with anything slightly altered from that you might have a different awareness/perspective about this topic.
Please actual do what you've implied in your profile and LISTEN to other's comments if you would like to find the truth of someone's experience that might be a little bit different than your own.
I am a pretty good listener......Caring, generous and funny.