It goes far deeper then that, it is far more sinister.Not hard...plain and simple...mental short-circuitry of the brain. No such thing as a trans., pans., or "furby"...period. It's all F'n mental F'ery. Mac
This you can lump in with any "program" that takes "lost" or "alone" people and will make them part of a group.
This process has existed for a very long time, getting some people that feel like they are alone in the world and without direction and giving them a direction. They are so mixed up by this point they don't really know the direction they are pointed in is not where they really want to go. It is only after they get very deep in that they finally figure out they have been used. Look to the current "detransision" you see as proof that they got pushed in the wrong direction.
They are not all "mental short-circuit", they are vulnerable in some way or form. This is something the .gov and so called "higher education" has done to kids for a very long time, our history is full of it.
Some of them are just as you say, but the bulk of them are looking for someone to give them a purpose.