Sir, – Orla Ní Chomhrá (Letters, June 29th) raises concerns about the role of homophobia in driving gender dysphoria. Broad discussion, openness, and critical thinking are certainly required for this complex topic, but critical thinking also means engaging fully with evidence rather than making assumptions.
If clinicians, parents, and broader society think that gender reassignment will eliminate either homosexuality or gender nonconformity they would seem seriously mistaken. Many transgender adults identify as neither heterosexual nor gender stereotypical.
To think critically about this issue would surely involve considering a broad range of scenarios including that gender identity might be a significantly different matter to gender expression or gender conformity, and that gender identity and sexuality need not be related in any way.
– Yours, etc,
JOSEPH CURRAN,
Artane,
Dublin 5.