comment: >
  
  I didn't realize it was so widespread - but, why? What is the supposed reasoning for it?
context: Finland has passed a new, progressive rights law which makes it substantially easier for trans people to change their legal gender. >
  
  Also, trans people no longer have to prove that they're sterile in order to do so. >
  
  Pardon me? >
  
  In many countries we are not allowed to change documentation to show the correct gender without meeting certain conditions and being sterile is common. Some countries require gender affirming bottom surgery before you can do anything at all (which implies sterility anyway). And not all trans people can afford or want surgery >
  
  That's interesting, why wouldn't a trans person want the surgery? I thought they want to be the other sex? >
  
  It's a surgery which inherently carries risk to your health, often requires many visits to the doctor after and maintenance you have to perform yourself. On top of that, the current quality of those surgeries doesn't satisfy many people as it isn't the same as being born with the different parts. Some also don't want to be sterile obviously. Healthcare also isn't the same everywhere and places that require sterilisation might be more risky and have a lower quality of healthcare for example.
  ​
  I'm sure there is many more but those are just the first reasons that come to mind. >
  
  Also gender dysphoria doesn’t have to include genital dysphoria. >
  
  Also being trans isn’t contingent on dysphoria. >
  
  True I guess, but I feel like the concept of being trans implies at least some body dysphoria due to being trans. Or if not body, gender? I dunno. >
  
  It need not. Dysphoria is very common for trans people, but it’s often temporary. For trans people who do experience dysphoria, transitioning is really effective. A trans person who transitions and no longer experiences dysphoria is still trans. 
  Also, lots of trans people just never feel dysphoria and they discover their gender by following euphoria. This is perfectly valid
  We have a history of using dysphoria to define trans people because it was more palatable for cis people, but although dysphoria and being trans are highly connected, they are not the same. 
  Despite what the right argues, being trans isn’t a mental illness, it’s just a mode of being >
  
  
  Amendments also abolish a provision that required transgender people to provide a medical certificate proving they were infertile or sterilised before the government would recognise their gender identity
  
  This is the most important part. A lot of European countries' Transgender laws still have this stipulation, and - for example in Germany - there's a law in the making that would pay reparations to trans people that had to be chemically sterilized before being able to change their birth certificate, i.e. name & sex. >
  
  damn, that's really fucked up... why would the laws have this in the first place? like, surely they didn't just come out and say "we don't want trans people to have children"? >
  
  In Germany, the law came into effect after the Constitutional Court judged in favor of a transgender Woman in 1978, to be allowed to change her name. The following law came in 1980, and was since then dragged to the Constitutional Court a handful of times for violating the German Constitution.
  Back then, chemical sterilization & forced divorcement was a requirement to change your name under these laws. Subsequently, almost all of these stipulation have been declared unconstitutional (although, sadly, only in the the year 2005 to 2011)