Ex-Catholic Reacts To Fr. Mike on Trans Identity

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi all. Upon listening to this again, some things I’d like to clarify: Fr. Mike never says gender dysphoria isn’t real, though I do make the statement “gender dysphoria is real” in such a way that would indicate that he had. Basically, what I mean is that it’s a condition that has shown to respond well to treatment. Hormones help treat it, surgeries help treat it, affirming therapy helps treat it. In the same way that trying to forcefully change someone’s sexuality causes harm and not good, if a trans person is not allowed to safely be who they are it can be very psychologically harmful.

[@megzipperer7645]

I don't think it is a dishonest comparison between BIID and trans person's will to operate they're sexual parts. The reality is, we ALL feel a sort of "discomfort" in our bodies, and gender is not unique or more important, it's just one of the many struggles. The only thing that is important, is to remain in humility and search for a perspective about our phisical human conditions. I never struggled with gender dismorphia, but let's say, I suffered with a "spiritual" dismorphia, because I felt like it would be easier for me to "release" myself from my physical body (as in suic*de). I had to change my perspective and surrender my thought process to my inherent value as a human. Knowing I was loved no matter what, was important for me.

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi Meg, thanks for the reply. Suicidal ideation has been a thing for me as well, for as long as I can remember. I guess one of the things that’s helped me to stay here, in this experience we’re all having, is trying to be open-minded to experiences that might be beyond my understanding. Like I said in the video, I find the whole BIID thing to be really strange and disturbing, but for me things get really grey and complicated when you’re dealing with adults who are consenting to things that only really directly affect them. Fact is, I just don’t know. Thanks for watching me not know though!

[@megzipperer7645]

@@Matt_Dalton I appreciate your vulnerable and honest response. It is really complicated, but there is hope out there, for us, for sure

[@tilly704]

trans people is so ancient that at our side, your religion is just. fashion😊

[@HALP1234]

We need more people like u keep it up

[@Matt_Dalton]

Thanks for stopping by Michael!

[@mattvee4827]

Hey, Matt. As a former Catholic myself, I can totally agree with a lot of points you’ve made in this video. There is a certain underhanded aspect to the benevolence that many Christians portray. It’s so interesting to see you put out such different content! 👍

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hey! Yeah, it can feel pretty sinister sometimes. I’ve had good experiences with Christians/Catholics as well, but the vast majority have been either neutral or negative. I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I’ll still be posting music as well, but I’ve just got lots of thoughts and wanted a place to share them :]

[@tilly704]

benevolence? have the bad luck of get born with a trans brain, and when you move to be happy, you will realice that there is not christian benevolence , and that the christian love is actually hate .

[@Coco-qz7fn]

Sounds like you are a bit bitter and are the one acting a bit holier than though. I will pray for your return to the true faith and whatever wrong was done to you I pray that you find peace.

[@blazingtrs6348]

it's kind of hard not to feel bitter when the god of said religion and thise who preach it compare one's identity with drug addicts, rapists, and murderers. maybe instead of summing one's criticisms as "bitterness", maybe listen to them

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi. Do you think I should feel shame for feeling bitter toward the church?

[@Matt_Dalton]

I ask that question because I don’t find bitterness to be a shameful thing. Sometimes things like bitterness or contempt are just straight up natural and understandable. My path (a path that skewed away from the church long, long ago) is one that is now focused on being open-minded and liberated from church or christ-centric rhetoric. I find the adversarial path to be greatly preferable to that of complete and unquestioning submission to an archetype created by people, with a supporting infrastructure (the church) maintained by people. Me returning to Catholicism is about as likely as god offering forgiveness to Lucifer or any other demon; that is to say, out of the question.

[@Featherfinder]

@@blazingtrs6348 This question is sincere and not merely rhetorical: When did Jesus Christ or any of His followers say that people with gender dysphoria are comparable to drug addicts, rapists and/or murderers ?!? Or did I misunderstand something? By the way, Jesus taught that ALL people who would follow Him must repent of their sins in order to do that. This is,not because God delights in shaming us but rather because turning away from sin (and back to the God who loves us) promotes human flourishing in THIS life and in the next.

[@CarolineOwens-s1h]

@@Matt_DaltonI think you make a great point. I have had so many hurts and bitterness and when I returned to the church with my wounds, I had an incredible priest meet me in those feelings and where were those coming from . I had a horrible childhood wound and mother and father wound. God gave us emotions and feelings so we can’t just dismiss them. Our wounds tell us a lot about ourselves .

[@DeiBrutti]

9:26 I don’t think Fr. Mike is trying to say that Gender Dysphoria is not real. And a bit further on you justify the distinction between amputation of limbs and reassignment surgery along the lines of whether disability would result from the procedure. Isn’t this quite the disputable objection? Especially in the case of reproductive organs, how is it not massively debilitating to forego the ability to reproduce? Given that so many people find their life’s satisfaction in raising a family of their own as opposed to - or even in conjunction with walking or the functions of other limbs. It seems these disorders are more comparable than you are letting on. Thank you for putting yourself out there, cheers!

[@Wolfschanzeful]

His argument is completely absurd. Men that go through with these surgeries constantly have their "hole" infected and oozing pus. It has to be dilated multiple times a day with effectively a pump which hurts like hell. If he thought about his argument for one second he would realize it is wrong. Ask any guy on the street if they would rather lose and arm or have their penis chopped off and replaced with a hole that oozes...

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi, thanks for the reply. So you’re of course right that if raising a biological family is your desire, that would need to be a consideration before undergoing surgery. But, as we all do, I’m sure whoever is getting these surgeries is thinking through the ramifications and potential complications, quite possibly even overthinking them. All that to say, if you know you don’t want kids, then having surgery that will prevent you from having biological children is probably not an onerous proposition. Thanks again for the reply!

[@Matt_Dalton]

@@Wolfschanzeful surgical aftercare can be a messy business sometimes. I think it's important to try your hardest to work with a well-recommended surgeon who also passes your own personal vetting process. Doing this will likely help to avoid any unnecessary complications. If you would rather lose your arm than have your penis turned into a vagina, I can't fault you for that.

[@brockreynolds870]

Nobody "assigns" anything. Your body parts are your body parts. full stop. It's a completey asinie idea that sexist gender stereotype are supposed to define what genitalia you walk through life with. SOME people might feel that, due to a mental condition, but that doesn't make it true. Anorexics are not fat, and the voices in schizophrenics heads are not real. What this ideology is doing, is psychologically conditioing gender non conforming people to hate themselves, and hate their bodies. What we really need is complete acceptance of people to present however they want to present, and not trying to surgically alter themselves to fit some societal stereotype. I'm a gay man, and I am stunned at all these turn of events.

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put forward the idea that stereotypes should dictate anything, quite the opposite actually. I think gender is much deeper than all that. You could be a trans woman who is extremely masculine, or a trans man who is extremely feminine, or a non-binary person just kinda doing their thing. At the end of the day, if people are happy with themselves, why should we be concerned with how they arrived there, provided it was consensual and not treading on anyone else’s personal liberty?

[@MidWestCon]

❤ this!

[@SparklyCoconut-le3fu]

“Gender ideology” doesn’t teach anything. Gender dysphoria describes a psychological phenomenon. That’s it. Not only that, but research shows gender affirming care improves the lives and psychological well being of trans people and even cis people. By your logic, depressive ideology is making people hate their circumstances. There is no world where you can therapy transgender people into enjoying life being perceived as someone they don’t feel they are. If it were possible, it would have been done.

[@SparklyCoconut-le3fu]

“Gender ideology” isn’t doing anything. Gender identity and gender dysphoria are terms we use to describe a social and psychological phenomena regarding our ABS. Not the other way around. By your logic depressive ideology is just making me people hate their circumstances or gay ideology is making gender non conforming straight people hate the opposite sex. You sound ridiculous. Not to mention that all available research shows that gender affirming care improves trans people’s psychological well being and even cisgender people benefit from it as well. It is my understanding based on research and my own experience that you can’t talk therapy people out of their gender identity anymore than you can talk therapy someone out of their homosexuality. Finally, anorexia and people who want to remove limbs is also not analogous to gender dysphoria because people who have gender dysphoria see how their body actually is whereas people with body dysmorphia don’t. Idc if you’re gay. You being gay doesn’t change the fact that you don’t know wtf you’re talking about. Most gender non conforming cis people support trans rights and acknowledge that there’s a difference. Also there are even trans people who are gender non-conforming.

[@michaelwarenycia7588]

Father Mike is handsome!

[@Matt_Dalton]

yeah, would tap.

[@christopherjohnson9167]

Trans identity is a religious belief.

[@Matt_Dalton]

Sure, if you want to frame it that way. Do they not deserve to be able to practice their beliefs freely, as you are free to do?

[@christopherjohnson9167]

@@Matt_Dalton of course. but they are demanding us to affirm their identity under threat of self-deletion. As adults they can purchase whatever cosmetic surgeries they want, but right now at least in my country(Canada) our tax money is used to pay for their cosmetic treatments. Psychological treatment encouraging self acceptance with the individuals natural body is illegal in Canada and considered conversion therapy. Getting a kid on gender affirming care is putting them on a pathway to lifelong medicalization, turning them into a cash cow.. the whole ideology around trans identity is extremely predatory on these individuals who are suffering from gender dysphoria. Finding peace with your body and learning to love your natural body is so much more the loving and compassionate thing to do, rather than affirming a dishonest perception of self, imo.

[@christopherjohnson9167]

@@Matt_Dalton They can but they threaten us with self-harm if we don't affirm their religious beliefs. They want us to pay for their "health care" Trans people are setting themselves up for life long medicalization.. an unending source of profit for pharmaceutical companies. To set children on that path is extremely predatory. And if we don't go along with this religious belief, we're called transphobic.. cmon man. Why not help people learn to accept, love, and be at peace with their natural bodies?

[@hannahpelto2039]

It’s really interesting hearing you say that gender dysphoria is based in reality, but body dysmorphia is not. Do you have any scientific basis for that opinion?

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I guess I didn’t mean to imply that BDD isn’t based in reality, but rather that gender dysphoria seems to have a much clearer path forward in terms of treatment and therapy.

[@Featherfinder]

@@Matt_Dalton I wish you nothing but true peace and happiness. I’m just writing a reply because there is a good number of former trans people who have discussed their de transitions … and I reeeeeally, really hope you search out and listen carefully to their stories before deciding to do anything radical or permanent vis-a-vis your gender dysphoria. I would respectfully suggest that you closely question this idea that there is any kind of “clear path forward” for trans-identifying people that is based on real scientific evidence.

[@Matt_Dalton]

@@Featherfinder hi again. I should point out that I am not trans and I do not experience gender dysphoria. It's part of why I stumble a bit in my speech on the topic in this video. I have seen quite a few interviews with de-transitioners, and while I recognize that those are real experiences, I've also watched plenty of interviews with trans people who are perfectly satisfied with their choices, and I know trans people who speak about it as the right move for them. It's unavoidable that there will be people who regret taking irrevocable steps. Regret is very human, after all, and we make mistakes all the time. I feel like we should be allowed to potentially make mistakes though, provided it's only directly affecting us.

[@christopherjohnson9167]

@@Matt_Dalton dont you think trans people who report satisfaction could be biased because they've invested so strongly into this belief system and into cosmetic alterations to affirm their identity, not to mention all the effort put in to convince everyone around them of their identity? Not to mention they never experienced how life would be if they simply pursued self-acceptance of their natural bodies, so they have nothing to compare to.

[@Matt_Dalton]

@@christopherjohnson9167 the same could be said of Catholics taking part in the sacraments. Don’t you think you wouldn’t experience so much satisfaction from confession if you weren’t so heavily invested in the Catholic narrative of requiring absolution through a priest? Not to mention you never experienced what it would be like to try [insert lifestyle here].

[@MidWestCon]

Nothing he said in this video was wrong. Being trans is a non verifiable “feeling”. As a gay man and a therapist this is something everyone understood 5 minutes ago. Who are you to speak on what treatments certain people need? No one is “assigned” male/female. You talk about reality but seem to not live in it.

[@Matt_Dalton]

Hi. Trans identity can be traced back quite far, long before you or I were born, and hormone therapy/sex reassignment surgery have also existed for similar periods of time. I don’t really understand what you mean when you say it’s non-verifiable. I’m sure there are differences between individual experiences, that is to say, maybe some people are more certain of their need to transition than others, but gender dysphoria is a very real and treatable condition/experience. I don’t claim to know what treatments certain people need, but there is publicly available information that indicates that there are positive outcomes from transitioning.

[@MidWestCon]

@@Matt_Dalton There is also publicly available information that says those treatments are not helpful. Trans identity as it is today is nothing like what you say can be traced back quite far. The problem today is that while I do believe people should be able to chop off whatever they want, it does not and will never make them the opposite sex. It’s non-verifiable because you can just claim it as true without any factual evidence. Things like cancer can be proven and other medical conditions can be proven. The trans ideology of today and what you push is harming the lgtb community.

[@Matt_Dalton]

I guess I don’t see it that way, nor do I think that communities under the lgbtq umbrella are that fragile. Is it easier for me to wrap my head around binary trans people rather than non-binary? Totally, but I think that’s just because we’re brought up with a binary system. I don’t think you have to believe that a trans man becomes a cis man after transition, nor do you have to believe something similar about a trans woman. You actually don’t have to believe anything, as I’m sure you’re aware! I think the most important thing to remember in this situation is to let others make decisions about themselves. If you’re getting freaked out watching queer TikToks and stuff (something I did a couple years ago) I would strongly recommend just ignoring all that. I think most people just want to live their lives.

[@Featherfinder]

@@Matt_Dalton We’ve all been brought up with a “binary system” because human sex is actually, really a binary thing. Intersexual people exist, yes, but they are living with a birth defect that does not alter the fundamental reality that humans are either male or female, period. You can be gender nonconforming all you want; that’s fine. What you cannot do is force people --or their children--to say things that they don’t believe are true, then expect things to go well.

[@Matt_Dalton]

@@Featherfinder Hi. I'm certainly not saying that I can or want to force people to do anything. We're free to believe what we want to believe in this country. I think it's good to question things like gender though, and to try and keep an open mind. Experiences and needs differ in the extreme from person to person, which I'm sure you already know.