“Here’s the big question: Is being dramatically desperate for attention a major cause of transgenderism or an effect?”
I think it is in male to female. I think they see men lavishing attention on women and hanging on to every utterance as if it came from god himself through the oracle of delphi. Then when reality hits that no matter how much makeup they trowel on that it is still blatantly obvious that they are just guys in drag which guys naturally feel is creeptastic that they become distraught thus explaining the high suicide rate.
Women transitioning to men makes less sense though. It is much easier for a woman to pass as a male with hormones. I think they think they will suddenly get all of this privelege, but in reality they suddenly become just another guy, common, uninteresting, and disposable, which leads to depression and suicide as well
female to male
Still has breasts