An Overture

Famously, trans people tend not to have great introspective clarity into their own motivations for transition. Intuitively, they tend to be quite aware of what they do and don't like about inhabiting their chosen bodies and gender roles. But when it comes to explaining the origins and intensity of those preferences, they almost universally to come up short. I've even seen several smart, thoughtful trans people, such as Natalie Wynn, making statements to the effect that it's impossible to develop a satisfying theory of aberrant gender identities. (She may have been exaggerating for effect, but it was clear she'd given up on solving the puzzle herself.)

I'm trans myself, but even I can admit that this lack of introspective clarity is a reason to be wary of transgenderism as a phenomenon. After all, there are two main explanations for trans people's failure to thoroughly explain their own existence. One is that transgenderism is the result of an obscenely complex and arcane neuro-psychological phenomenon, which we have no hope of unraveling through normal introspective methods. The other is that trans people are lying about something, including to themselves.

Now, a priori, both of these do seem like real [...]

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Outline:

(00:12) An Overture

(04:55) In the Case of Fiora Starlight

(16:51) Was it worth it?

The original text contained 3 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:
November 1st, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/gEETjfjm3eCkJKesz/post-title-why-i-transitioned-a-case-study

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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