Indulging

The word indulging is very interesting as it suggests approaching a battery limit of excess but not surpassing it. It feels like we are saying we are pushing the envelope. We can talk about indulging urges such as eating where its excess can lead to obesity and perhaps heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

But what about indulging urges of same-sex attraction or to express gender variance. I remember many years ago reading testaments online of people trying to cure their urges to dress as a woman without specifically stating the consequences. It is as if they were simply assuming it was wrong because they had ingested the messaging they had received from childhood without question.

I like to think that the measure of whether we are indulging includes some concrete and detrimental penalties one has experienced. This way they know they should modify their behaviour when they have exceeded a limit.

Perhaps then, loving a same-sex partner or treating gender dysphoria seriously could be seen as something other than indulging especially when there are no penalties to be found but mostly benefits.