Part 3: Seven Principles of Psychological Warfare

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This article contains detailed discussion of conversion therapy tactics, psychological manipulation techniques, gaslighting, and the systematic invalidation of trans identities. It includes references to mental health impacts including depression, anxiety, and suicidality. The content may be triggering for survivors of conversion therapy, family rejection, or psychological abuse. Please prioritize your wellbeing when deciding whether to read.

Every conversion therapy manual needs its manifesto. A set of principles that sound reasonable, even enlightened, until you realize they're designed to systematically dismantle your sense of self. Welcome to Sasha Ayad's third video, where the philosophical foreplay ends and the actual indoctrination framework gets installed.

If you've been following this series, you've watched Ayad lay her groundwork carefully. Video 1 told you gender is "just a metaphor." Video 2 filtered out anyone who might question her authority, leaving only the "curious deep thinkers" ready for enlightenment. Now, in Video 3, she unveils her Seven Core Principles - what she calls the "unspoken philosophy" of her channel. Spoiler alert: it's very much spoken, and it's textbook conversion therapy dressed up in a philosophy degree's vocabulary.

The genius of this approach is its superficial reasonableness. Who could argue with principles like "discernment" or "flexibility"? These sound like the kind of wisdom you'd find in a self-help book or a mindfulness app. But that's the trick. Conversion therapy has always hidden behind reasonable-sounding principles [1]. The practice, defined as "any efforts to change, modify or suppress a person's sexual orientation or gender identity," doesn't advertise itself as harmful, it promises understanding, growth, and wisdom[2].

What Ayad presents as philosophical depth is actually a carefully constructed framework for psychological manipulation. Each principle starts with a kernel of truth: identity IS complex, introspection CAN become unhealthy, and then weaponizes that truth against trans identity specifically. It's the intellectual equivalent of poisoning the well while claiming you're just adding minerals for health.

Setting the Stage: The "Unspoken Philosophy"

At [0:03], Ayad opens with a bold claim: "Every channel has an unspoken philosophy." But here's the thing: she's about to speak it very loudly, and it's not philosophy at all. It's a seven-step program for self-doubt, carefully calibrated to make trans people question their identity while parents feel justified in rejecting their children's authentic selves.

She positions herself as the voice of reason in a sea of "activism" and "controversy" [0:11-0:19], claiming her channel is about "real thinking, real exploration, and real self-knowledge." But what she's really offering is thought reform: the systematic application of psychological techniques to produce specific attitudinal and behavioral changes [3].

The setup is masterful. By [0:26], she's given viewers "full permission to consider anything without judgment" except, as we'll see, the possibility that trans identity is real, valid, and deserving of medical support. This false openness is a classic manipulation tactic: appear neutral while systematically steering toward a predetermined conclusion.

When she introduces herself as "Sasha, a therapist" [0:37], she's leveraging professional authority right before delivering her indoctrination framework. It's the equivalent of saying "Trust me, I'm a doctor" before prescribing snake oil. And her target audience? "Curious people who prefer deep thinking over dogma" [0:41-0:43]. Translation: people who are susceptible to intellectual flattery and ready to accept her dogma as long as it's wrapped in philosophical language.

Principle-by-Principle Decoding: The Seven Deadly Sins Against Self

Principle 1: "Discernment" = Dismiss Medical Consensus

At [1:04], Ayad introduces her first principle with apparent wisdom: "We use discernment when discussing psychological concepts." Sounds reasonable, right? Who doesn't want to be discerning?

But watch what she does next. She immediately pivots to attacking "mental health discourse" online, claiming psychological concepts have been "memeified" and turned into "pop psychology buzzwords" [1:32-1:35]. Her specific targets? Content that tells you "you're perfect," promotes happiness, or suggests "your emotions and experiences mean that you have a mental illness" [2:00-2:02].

Here's what she's really doing: dismissing the entire medical consensus on gender-affirming care as "junk food" psychology [2:05-2:07]. The American Psychological Association, the Endocrine Society, WPATH, all reduced to TikTok trends in her framework. This isn't discernment; it's systematic delegitimization of established medical knowledge.

The red flag waves brightest at [2:37]: "we need to develop discernment." But the only thing she's teaching you to discern is which experts to ignore (all of them) and which lone voice to trust (hers). When someone tells you that everyone else in their field is wrong, that's not discernment, it's isolation, a fundamental component of thought reform [4].

🚩 Red Flag #1: Real discernment involves evaluating multiple expert sources. Fake discernment involves dismissing all expertise except one person's interpretation. Therapists should encourage you to research, consult various sources, and even seek second opinions. They strengthen your critical thinking skills rather than replacing them with their own conclusions.

Principle 2: "Identity is Complex" = Your Trans Identity is Just a Phase

"Identity is complex," Ayad declares at [3:20]. Again, who could disagree? Identity IS complex. But complexity can be weaponized, and that's exactly what happens here.

She correctly notes that identity involves both nature and nurture [3:44-3:46], that it evolves over time, and that it's negotiated between internal feelings and external relationships [3:58-4:09]. All true. But then comes the poison pill: "Who you were at 12 is not who you are at 22... and definitely not who you'll be at 42" [4:14-4:24].

Sounds reasonable, right? Absolutely! Ayad isn't wrong about change over time. The trick here is that this is a truism that any of us can confirm by looking back at our younger selves. We've all cringed at old photos, evolved our taste in music, changed career aspirations, or shifted our political views. People do change. But Ayad weaponizes this universal truth as a foil, using the fact that some things change to imply that either everything changes, or at the very least, with these things that do change, so too does gender identity.

This is specifically targeting trans youth, and this truism is employed to target parents or young adults specifically, while suggesting their gender identity is just a developmental phase. The message to parents is clear: your kid's trans identity isn't real or stable; it's just teenage confusion that will pass.

But here's what Ayad deliberately obscures: gender identity is often known much earlier in life, functioning like a core "default setting" that becomes increasingly clear and consolidated during adolescence.

Research on identity development in adolescence shows that while identity does evolve, core aspects of identity, including gender identity, typically follows a pattern of early emergence and consolidate during adolescence [5]. The process of identity formation is indeed complex, but that doesn't mean all aspects of identity are fluid or changeable. Ayad uses the legitimate complexity of identity development to cast doubt specifically on trans identity while never questioning why cisgender identity would be any more "stable."

After all, if gender identity were truly as fluid and changeable as she implies, we'd see massive numbers of cisgender people spontaneously becoming trans in their 20s, 30s, or 40s. We don't. What we see instead is trans people finally feeling safe enough to express what they've known all along.

She goes further at [4:52], claiming identity is "often treated like something you just understand by picking a label." This strawman argument suggests trans people simply "pick" their gender like choosing a username, ignoring the often years-long process of self-discovery, the persistent and consistent nature of gender dysphoria, and the relief that comes from finally understanding oneself.

🚩 Red Flag #2: Using identity complexity to invalidate rather than understand. Real therapists help clients navigate complexity; conversion therapists use it to create doubt. Good therapy explores how your various identities intersect and evolve while validating your current understanding. It treats complexity as richness to explore, not uncertainty to exploit.

Principle 3: "Introspection Can Become a Trap" = Stop Thinking You're Trans

This principle, introduced at [5:38], is perhaps the most insidious. "Introspection is powerful, but it can also become a trap."

On its surface, this addresses a real phenomenon: rumination, the unhealthy pattern of obsessive overthinking [5:56-6:00]. But Ayad isn't concerned with general mental health here. She's specifically targeting what she calls "intelligent overanalyzers" [6:05], exactly the kind of person who might be thoughtfully exploring their gender identity.

The message is clear: If you're thinking a lot about being trans, you're not being introspective, you're ruminating. You're not discovering your authentic self; you're trapping yourself in "hyperanalysis of minutia" [6:16-6:19].

This is gaslighting in its purest form, making someone question their own thought processes and self-understanding [6]. Gaslighting tactics specifically aim to override your reality and make you doubt your own perceptions [7]. A legitimate therapist might help you distinguish between healthy self-reflection and unhealthy rumination. Ayad simply pathologizes any deep thinking about gender identity as problematic.

The particularly cruel twist is that she's telling an audience she's already identified as thoughtful and analytical that their main strength, their ability to think deeply, is actually a weakness when it comes to understanding their gender. It's intellectual gaslighting, plating a litte seed of self-doubt, with a smile.

🚩 Red Flag #3: A therapist who discourages self-reflection about identity isn't doing therapy; they're doing thought suppression. Therapists should help you examine your self-reflection, distinguish between productive exploration and harmful rumination, and question assumptions through open-ended inquiry, and not guide you to their predetermined conclusion.

Principle 4: "Psychological Flexibility" = Gaslight Yourself Into Compliance

At [6:24], we get "Psychological flexibility is a strength." And yes, genuine psychological flexibility, the ability to adapt to changing situations while staying connected to your values, is indeed valuable [8].

But Ayad's version isn't about genuine flexibility. It's about doubting your core understanding of yourself. She claims at [7:02-7:10] that "most of our reactions start with a gut feeling and then we build arguments around that feeling to justify it." While this can be true in some contexts, she's specifically applying it to gender identity, suggesting that knowing you're trans is just a "gut feeling" you're retrofitting with logic.

The crucial manipulation comes at [7:23]: "we can easily mistake our instincts for objective truth." The implication? Your sense of being trans isn't real; it's just an instinct you've mistaken for truth. You need to be more "flexible" about it. More willing to consider that you're wrong about your own identity.

This perverts the actual concept of psychological flexibility, which is about being open to experiences while pursuing valued actions [9]. Real psychological flexibility would include being open to exploring gender identity without predetermined outcomes. Ayad's version only flexes in one direction: away from trans identity, toward doubt and denial.

She even admits her real goal at [8:04]: "we want to see reality clearly." But whose reality? The one where trans identities are valid and deserving of support? Or her reality, where they're just mistaken instincts requiring correction?

🚩 Red Flag #4: Flexibility that only bends one way isn't flexibility; it's coercion dressed up as wisdom. Genuine psychological flexibility means being open to all possibilities - including that your initial understanding was correct. Therapists should help you test assumptions in all directions, not just the one that leads away from your stated identity.

Principle 5: "Reality Has Tradeoffs" = Be Terrified of Transition

"Reality deals with tradeoffs, not perfect solutions," Ayad announces at [8:16-8:20]. Another seemingly reasonable principle that becomes a weapon in context.

Her example is telling. At [9:01-9:09], she states: "Some people online claim that taking hormones has no risks at all, but that's just not true. Every medical intervention involves some trade-offs."

In a more charitable reading, she's likely referring to irresponsible TikTokers minimizing DIY hormone risks, a legitimate concern. But watch the sleight of hand: she uses reckless social media posts to cast doubt on ALL gender-affirming care, including professionally supervised treatment.

This is classic motte-and-bailey argumentation. The defensible position (the motte): "Teenagers shouldn't get medical advice from TikTok." The actual position (the bailey): "Therefore all transition care is questionably risky." She retreats to the obvious truth when challenged but advances the broader attack when unchallenged.

But even if we set aside the motte-and-bailey tactic, her argument still relies on a classic strawman argument. No credible medical source claims hormones have zero risks. Every major medical organization that supports gender-affirming care openly discusses both benefits and risks.

But here's what Ayad conspicuously omits: the documented risks of NOT transitioning. Studies consistently show that lack of access to gender-affirming care correlates with increased depression, anxiety, and suicidality [10]. Her "reality-based" risk discussion only examines one side of the equation. The "tradeoff" of not transitioning can literally be life-threatening, but that never enters her "reality-based" discussion. That's not teaching discernment; it's manufacturing fear through selective presentation.

Her comparison to "headache medicine" [9:16] is particularly manipulative, minimizing gender dysphoria to the level of a minor headache while amplifying the risks of treatment. The actual medical consensus recognizes that for many trans people, the benefits of transition far outweigh the risks [11]. Studies show extremely low rates of regret for gender-affirming procedures [12].

The real tradeoff Ayad won't discuss? The one between living authentically versus living in denial with severe psychological consequences.

🚩 Red Flag #5: Discussing "tradeoffs" while only presenting risks on one side isn't honest assessment; it's fear-mongering. Ethical therapists present balanced information about all options, including the risks of action and inaction. They help you weigh decisions based on your values and circumstances, not their agenda.

Principle 6: "Broad Behavioral Repertoire" = Try Everything Except Being Trans

At [9:52], Ayad introduces the concept of developing a "broad behavioral repertoire": having multiple ways to respond to life situations. She uses the example of social anxiety [10:11-10:29], explaining how only having "avoidance" as a tool limits your choices.

The parallel she's drawing is clear: transitioning is avoidance. Just like avoiding parties doesn't solve social anxiety, transitioning doesn't solve gender dysphoria; it's just avoiding the "real" problem. You need more tools in your repertoire! Have you tried... not being trans?

This fundamentally misrepresents what transition is. Transition isn't avoidance; it's full and authentic engagement with one's self. The person living in denial of their gender identity is the one avoiding reality. But in Ayad's framework, exploring "lots of different ways" [10:59] specifically means exploring every way except transition.

The cruelest irony comes at [11:03-11:06]: she claims this will help you "grow your capacity rather than shrinking yourself down." But forcing trans people to perform a gender that doesn't match their identity IS shrinking them down. It's asking them to contort themselves into a shape that fits others' expectations rather than expanding into their authentic selves. It is teaching them to shrink themselves down until the closet becomes comfortable.

🚩 Red Flag #6: A "broad repertoire" that excludes the one thing that actually helps isn't broad; it's a cage with multiple decorations. Real behavioral expansion includes all healthy options that align with your authentic self. Good therapists help you develop coping strategies that work with your identity, not against it.

Principle 7: "Metaphor is Methodology" = Your Identity is Just a Story, Not Reality

We've come full circle. At [11:11], Ayad returns to her core premise: "metaphor is our methodology." This is where the philosophical mask fully drops and the conversion therapy framework stands naked.

"Some truths cannot be captured by statistics or research alone," she claims [11:15-11:18]. On the surface, this seems reasonable. Indeed, the human experience does contain ineffable qualities that cannot be boiled down to raw data and metrics. In context of her videos, this is her attempt at constructing an escape hatch.

When empirical research consistently shows that gender-affirming care improves outcomes, reduces suicidality, and has minimal regret rates, how do you argue against it? You claim access to a "deeper truth" that transcends evidence. Translation: when the statistics and research support trans-affirming care, we need another authority, Ayad's personal interpretation through metaphor, to override them.

Her example about smiling and happiness [11:37-12:01] is revealing, in which she says:

"Imagine you see a study that says people who smile more tend to be happier. Seems obvious, right? But if you take that information at face value, you might conclude that forcing yourself to smile all the time will make you happy. And yet, anyone who's ever worked in customer service, plastering a fake smile on for hours at a time, knows that that's not how happiness works."

She presents a reasonable observation: studies show people who smile more tend to be happier, but forcing yourself to smile (like customer service workers) doesn't create genuine happiness. The implication: maybe transition doesn't really help trans people despite what research shows—they might just be "performing" happiness. She is arguing that correlation doesn't prove causation, just as forcing smiles doesn't create happiness

But this comparison is backwards on every level. First, the false equivalence: Gender-affirming care isn't forcing an expression that contradicts internal reality; it's aligning external presentation with internal identity. Trans people before transition ARE the customer service workers with fake smiles, performing a gender for others' comfort, exhausting themselves maintaining an inauthentic presentation.

Second, she misrepresents the research. Studies on gender-affirming care don't measure something as subjective as "smiles." They track clinical depression scores, anxiety levels, suicidality rates, quality of life indicators, all validated clinical measures, not self-reported happiness. The methodological rigor she implies is missing actually exists; she just ignores it.

When she says at [11:54-11:59] that "anyone who's ever worked in customer service, plastering a fake smile on for hours at a time, knows that that's not how happiness works," she's accidentally describing the exact experience of living with untreated gender dysphoria. The fake smile IS the closeted existence. Transition is finally clocking out.

She then uses this flawed example to claim [12:18-12:22] that "data gives us a piece of the puzzle, but it doesn't tell us the whole story." Because one simplified correlation can be misinterpreted, ALL research supporting trans healthcare must be suspect. But where's her data? Where are the studies showing her metaphorical approach works?

The most telling moment comes at [14:00]: "There are other things in life which are much more blurry." Gender identity, in her framework, is one of these "blurry" things that can be reinterpreted through metaphor rather than understood through lived experience and medical evidence.

This is the culmination of the thought reform process: rejecting objective evidence in favor of the authority’s subjective interpretation [13]. When she says "real understanding isn't about memorizing facts" [14:28-14:30], she's explicitly telling you to reject factual evidence in favor of her metaphorical framework, wrapped in yet another reasonable sounding false equivalence.

Yes, real understanding isn't about memorizing facts, it's about synthesizing evidence with experience to build accurate models of reality. Facts ground us in what is real; metaphors help us understand meaning. Ayad wants you to abandon the grounding and float freely in her meanings. But when those metaphors contradict established evidence about life-saving medical care, they're not revealing deeper truths, they're obscuring documented realities to serve an ideological agenda.

🚩 Red Flag #7: When someone tells you to ignore evidence and trust their metaphors instead, they're not teaching philosophy; they're programming doctrine. Therapists should integrate multiple ways of knowing; empirical evidence, lived experience, and narrative understanding without dismissing any that challenge their worldview. They help you make meaning, not impose theirs.

The Conversion Therapy Playbook: Old Wine, New Bottles

These seven principles aren't innovations; they're classic conversion therapy tactics repackaged for the 2020s. Let's map them directly onto established patterns of thought reform and conversion practices:

Ayad's "Discernment" = Information Control
Robert Jay Lifton's criteria for thought reform includes "milieu control": controlling information flow to shape reality [14]. By dismissing medical consensus as "pop psychology," Ayad controls what information is considered valid.

"Identity Complexity" = Doctrine Over Person
Another of Lifton's criteria: the doctrine (trans identity isn't real) is more important than the person's lived experience [15]. Your feelings don't matter if they contradict the doctrine.

"Avoid Rumination" = Thought Stopping
Classic cult technique: discourage critical thinking about the group's doctrine by labeling it as unhealthy "overthinking" [16]. If you think too much about being trans, you're ruminating!

"Psychological Flexibility" = Gaslighting
Make the person doubt their own perceptions and experiences [17]. Your certainty about your gender is just inflexibility; be more open (to being cis)!

"Reality Has Tradeoffs" = Fear Installation
Conversion therapy has always emphasized the "dangers" of LGBTQ+ identity while minimizing the dangers of suppression [18]. Ayad continues this tradition.

"Broad Repertoire" = Behavioral Modification
Try every behavior except the one that affirms your identity. Classic conversion therapy attempts to modify behavior to align with cishetero norms [19].

"Metaphor Methodology" = Mystical Manipulation
Lifton's term for giving doctrine a mystical quality that transcends ordinary logic and evidence [20]. Gender becomes mystical metaphor rather than lived reality.

The Insidious Progression: From Hook to Doctrine

If you've made it to Video 3, you've already been primed to accept this framework. Video 1 established that gender is "just metaphorical." Video 2 filtered out anyone who might resist, leaving only the "curious deep thinkers." Now Video 3 delivers the actual programming.

Notice how each principle builds on the previous ones:

• First, dismiss outside information (Principle 1)
• Then, destabilize identity understanding (Principle 2)
• Discourage deep self-reflection (Principle 3)
• Install self-doubt (Principle 4)
• Create fear of change (Principle 5)
• Limit options to exclude transition (Principle 6)
• Finally, replace reality with the leader's interpretation (Principle 7)

This isn't random; it's a carefully designed cascade of cognitive restructuring. Each step makes the next one easier to accept. By the end, viewers who came looking for "deep thinking" find themselves in a closed system where Ayad's interpretation is the only valid one.

The trap is especially clever because it uses the audience's strengths against them. These "curious people who prefer deep thinking" are told their thoughtfulness is a liability when it comes to gender. Their intelligence is weaponized against their own self-understanding. The premises put forward are reasonable sounding, obscuring the underlying fallacies employed. It's intellectual aikido: using the target's own mental strength to throw them off balance.

What Real Therapeutic Principles Look Like

Let's contrast Ayad's manipulation tactics with actual therapeutic principles for identity exploration:

Real Discernment involves evaluating multiple sources of information, including medical consensus, peer-reviewed research, and lived experiences. It doesn't dismiss entire fields of knowledge as "pop psychology."

Real Identity Exploration acknowledges complexity while respecting the client's self-knowledge. A therapist helps clients understand their multifaceted identity, not use complexity to invalidate their experiences.

Real Introspection is encouraged and supported, with therapists helping clients distinguish between helpful self-reflection and unhelpful rumination, not labeling all gender-related thought as problematic.

Real Psychological Flexibility means being open to all possibilities, including the possibility that the client's gender identity is exactly what they say it is. It doesn't predetermine outcomes.

Real Risk Assessment discusses all tradeoffs honestly: the risks of action AND inaction. It doesn't cherry-pick risks to create fear.

Real Behavioral Expansion includes all authentic options, including transition-related behaviors. It doesn't artificially limit choices based on the therapist's agenda.

Real Understanding integrates multiple ways of knowing (lived experience, empirical evidence, narrative understanding) without dismissing evidence that contradicts the therapist's beliefs.

Actual therapy for gender identity exploration is client-centered, affirming, and open-ended. It doesn't have a predetermined outcome. It doesn't use philosophical frameworks to override client experience. And it certainly doesn't use manipulation tactics disguised as wisdom.

The Damage These Principles Do

These aren't just bad ideas; they're actively harmful interventions that cause real psychological damage:

Principle 1's damage: Creates isolation from accurate information and support systems. Trans youth exposed to this learn to distrust medical professionals and support organizations.

Principle 2's damage: Generates identity instability and self-doubt during crucial developmental periods [21]. Adolescents need support for identity development, not systematic undermining.

Principle 3's damage: Discourages the self-reflection necessary for authentic identity development [22]. Creates anxiety about one's own thought processes.

Principle 4's damage: Induces chronic self-doubt and psychological instability. The gaslighting effect can persist long after exposure [23].

Principle 5's damage: Creates paralyzing fear about necessary medical care. Ignores the documented risks of untreated gender dysphoria [24].

Principle 6's damage: Forces individuals into performative behaviors that increase dysphoria. Frames authentic expression as "avoidance."

Principle 7's damage: Completely disconnects individuals from their own reality. Creates a dissociative state where nothing feels real or valid.

Parents who internalize these principles become agents of psychological harm to their own children. They learn to dismiss their child's identity as a pahse, or as unhealthy rumination, their need for support as inflexibility, and their requests for care as avoidance. The family home becomes a site of constant invalidation and gaslighting.

The long-term effects mirror those of other conversion therapy practices: increased depression, anxiety, suicidality, and complex trauma [25]. Perhaps, due to it being wrapped in philosophical language and delivered by someone calling herself a therapist, parents feel virtuous rather than harmful. They're not rejecting their child; they're being "discerning." They're not causing trauma; they're encouraging "flexibility." They are not blindly affirming a phase, they are keeping them “grounded in reality.”

Conclusion: The Manifesto Decoded

Sasha Ayad's "Seven Core Principles" aren't principles at all; they're tactics. They're not philosophy; they're programming. They're not wisdom; they're weapons designed to dismantle trans identity from the inside out.

This video represents the moment when the "Metaphor of Gender" drops its philosophical pretense and reveals its true nature: a conversion therapy manual dressed up in academic language, softened with everyday truisms designed to appeal to “reasonable and rational” ones. Every principle is calibrated to create doubt, instill fear, and ultimately lead to rejection of trans identity.

The "methodology" isn't metaphorical thinking; it's methodical manipulation. The pattern is consistent: take a legitimate psychological concept, weaponize it against trans identity specifically, then present it as universal wisdom. It's conversion therapy's greatest hits, remixed for the podcast age.

But here's what Ayad doesn't want you to know: you can be discerning without dismissing medical consensus. You can understand complexity without denying identity. You can avoid rumination without stopping self-reflection. You can be psychologically flexible without abandoning self-knowledge. You can acknowledge tradeoffs without being paralyzed by fear. You can expand your behavioral repertoire without excluding authenticity. And you can appreciate metaphor without denying material reality.

The real principle here is simple: when someone has to use this much philosophical manipulation to make you doubt who you are, it's because who you are threatens their worldview. And that's not your problem to solve through self-denial; it's theirs to resolve through growth.

Coming up in Part 4, we'll watch Ayad take these weapons and aim them directly at affirming care, using her framework to attack the very supports that help trans people thrive. The philosophy lesson is over; the war on trans healthcare has begun.

🚩 The Seven Deadly Principles Decoded:

1. "Discernment" → Dismiss medical consensus
2. "Complex Identity" → Trans is just a phase
3. "Avoid Rumination" → Stop thinking you're trans
4. "Be Flexible" → Doubt your identity
5. "Consider Tradeoffs" → Fear transition
6. "Expand Repertoire" → Try harder to be cis
7. "Use Metaphor" → Your identity isn't real

This isn't philosophy. It's conversion therapy with a thesaurus.

Citations:

[1] Drescher, J. (2015). Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality. Behavioral Sciences, 5(4), 565-575.

[2] Ashley, F. (2019). Homophobia, conversion therapy, and care models for trans youth: Reclaiming the clinical ethics of non-affirmation. Journal of LGBT Youth, 16(3), 229-249.

[3] Lifton, R.J. (1989). Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. University of North Carolina Press.

[4] See 3 above.

[5] Testa, R.J., Habarth, J., Peta, J., Balsam, K., & Bockting, W. (2014). Development of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2(1), 65-77.

[6] Stern, R. (2007). The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life. Morgan Road Books.

[7] Sweet, P.L. (2019). The Sociology of Gaslighting. American Sociological Review, 84(5), 851-875.

[8] Hayes, S.C., Strosahl, K.D., & Wilson, K.G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. Guilford Press.

[9] See 8 above.

[10] Turban, J.L., King, D., Carswell, J.M., & Keuroghlian, A.S. (2020). Pubertal Suppression for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation. Pediatrics, 145(2), e20191725.

[11] Coleman, E., et al. (2022). Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8. International Journal of Transgender Health, 23(S1), S1-S259.

[12] Bustos, V.P., et al. (2021). Regret after Gender-affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 9(3), e3477.

[13 - 15] See 3 above.

[16] Singer, M.T. (1995). Cults in Our Midst: The Hidden Menace in Our Everyday Lives. Jossey-Bass.

[17] See 6 above.

[18] See 1 above.

[19] See 2 above.

[20] See 3 above.

[21] Arnett, J.J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469-480.

[22] Marcia, J.E. (1966). Development and validation of ego-identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551-558.

[23] See 7 above.

[24] See 10 above.

[25] Turban, J.L., Beckwith, N., Reisner, S.L., & Keuroghlian, A.S. (2020). Association Between Recalled Exposure to Gender Identity Conversion Efforts and Psychological Distress and Suicide Attempts Among Transgender Adults. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(1), 68-76.