Russia Says Drivers Must Not Have "Sex Disorders" To Get License

mrspoonsi writes Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licenses. Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving. The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents. "Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move. The announcement follows international complaints about Russian harassment of gay-rights activists.

Comments

They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[Anonymous Coward]

But are no longer classified as such in the West for political correctness.

At any rate, it's a pretty stupid reason for refusing to give out driver's licenses. Discrimination appears to be systematic in Russia...

Re:They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a weird criterion to use. So if my tuberculosis is under control, it's not a disease?

Re:They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[Anonymous Coward]

Transgender people often end up having myriads of surgeries, taking many pills (often until they get cancer), seeing psychologists for years, and spend most their lives being unhappy until some time after the switch. So yeah, it's a problem for them and it goes way beyond wearing clothes. For the most part, I think society does a good job helping and understanding them. There are also many government programs in place. Maybe you don't see these things because of your own biases.

But, as it was mentioned before, this is unrelated to driving and it seems Russia is just enacting more discrimination.

Re:They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[Anonymous Coward]

It's only a disorder if it has a major negative impact on a person or society. The major negative impact from TG people is only that which society places on them and thus an unnatural impact. Simply being taboo is not a reason for discrimination against something.

Logic fail. You are now confusing disorder and discrimination. For example homosexuality is a type of a disorder but it should not be discriminated as it causes no harm.

Re:They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[Anonymous Coward]

Simply being taboo is not a reason for discrimination against something.

The same apply for pedosexuals. As long as they do not rape anyone, they should be free to celebrate their contribution to the spectre of sexual diversity in any way they see fit.

The LGBTP community sadden by this move from Russia. But the west also has it's share of discrimination. The LGBTP community solidarity extent to all sexual deviant. #EndWitchHunt #Pedophobics #LGBTP

Re:They (well some of them) are mental disorders

[BarbaraHudson]

The major negative impact from TG people is only that which society places on them and thus an unnatural impact.

I've heard a transperson dispute that, saying that even where people are 100% cool with them, they still feel awful about the mind/body mismatch, to the point of depression, self-harming etc. Gender dysphoria can still be a mental illness even if transsexualism per se isn't.

Though of course, not in any sane jurisdiction should that prevent you from driving.

Would you be happy with yourself if you had the wrong body parts? There is so much negativism about transsexualism from a minority of the population that it tends to drown out the fact that the majority are okay with it. After all, it's the same with the bullies back in school - sure, 99% of the kids don't beat you up, but that 1% makes a lot of kids not want to get up in the morning to go to school. They can actually become physically ill from the stress. Would you say that they had a mental illness?

Obviously the correct course with any medical problem is effective medical treatment. If you had, say, a cleft palette and couldn't get treatment, you'd be pretty depressed too, no? Maybe to the point of self-harm by trying to fix it yourself?

Now, I'm not disagreeing totally with what you're saying - the negative reactions of others don't help, and the removal of transsexualism as a mental disorder was a big step towards normalizing the situation. Is gender dysphoria a mental illness? I'm okay with that. After all, if it's classified as a mental illness, then that opens up the path to treatment. If we can't make the mind match the body, let's make the body match the mind. And once it's treated (one or more of hormones, surgery, therapy) then they're no longer dysphoric.

Of course, one big problem with saying that it's a mental illness is that a lot of people think "it's all in your head, yo should just pull yourself out of it." The same way that they treat people with major depressive disorder or ptsd or anxiety disorder. The other big problem is that transsexuals themselves delay seeking help because in many cases we've also bought into the myth that we can "pull ourselves out of it" because we're afraid of the negative reactions from family, friends, coworkers, etc. Can't be done, and you will lose some friends - but with friends like that, who needs enemies :-)

(me gets ready to be flamed by those in the community who refuse to accept gender dysphoria as a valid diagnosis / disorder)

Re:Counter Logic

[Anonymous Coward]

Hopefully you mean 'near hits' because a near miss would just be a hit.

And the rules for Putin?

[fahrbot-bot]

Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.

Since Putin apparently likes to ride around half-naked on horse-back?

People who persecute others

[presidenteloco]

are generally full of fear and insecurity.

Even though they act tough.

The Russian government is rabid with fear at the moment.

russia is devolving

[circletimessquare]

it crushes political maturity and instead offers worship of one super strong super tough exkgb goon putin, like north korean cult of personality bullshit

rather than diversify the economy it tries to become a petrostate (now with crashing oil prices)

it panders to simpleminded fears and hatred now with gays and sexual minorites, so it is culturally and socially rotting too

is russia trying to weaken as best as it can?

with a surging imperialist china, which has a border dispute with every single one of its neighbors: stealing land from india, stealing philippine/ vietnamese/ japanese islands, etc... how long until china says "fuck it" and just flat out takes siberia from sick pathetic dying russia?

Re:russia is devolving

[circletimessquare]

a weak, poor country can be defeated in myriad ways

china doesn't have to militarily invade siberia. it can just corrupt officials, pay russian legislators to make laws friendly to it, own all of the companies operating in siberia, flood the area with immigrants, etc

such that the map may say russia, but for all intents and purposes, it will be china's siberia

russia showed us how to unilaterally take another country's sovereign territory with crimea

flood the area with your own citizens. then they simply announce what country they really are a part of after some political turmoil in the country's capital. which, weak as russia is, should be easy for a rich china to corrupt

bloodless

http://abcnews.go.com/Internat...

sure, texas being snatched form mexico wasn't bloodless, but by the time the mexicans put up a fight, it was too late: the immigrant population had already tipped allegiances

the change will be slow and inevitable. nobody will nuke anyone because it won't be an overnight military invasion. just immigration leading to gradual social and political realignment, helped along by corrupting influence

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfor...