Kids and gender dysphoria

[Genivieve Bujold]

Ok ladies, I am wondering about the flood of news recently about kids being treated for gender dysphoria, given puberty blockers, having surgeries and according to news reports, the push in schools to have kids identify this at a young age. Personally I tend to distrust government, and the mainstream media. For this reason I am questioning what this push is going to do to us all? I am an old lady and growing up in the 50’s and 60’s being Trans or a CD was certainly not well received. I started going out en femme in the late nineties and not once did I ever have a negative experience. So things had changed, at least for me. Now for my question: What will this push yield for the trans/cd community? Will it be a positive or a negative. I have to admit, I don’t know but am a bit scared. Please share your thoughts.

[Angela Booth]

A touchy subject. I live in the UK and it has been a hot potato in the media as young children were being given medication without parents permission and if a child said it was trans then that was that. It came to a head when main clinics were closed and a more robust system put in place as there was a suggestion that the authorities could be culpable of child abuse by overstepping parents and childrens laws.

For me, on the face of it, recognition given to dysphoria at a young age is a good thing and young are less afraid to come out. How many of us wanted to be girls? In my day, like yours Geniveve, you wouldn’t dare to say such a thing! But how many of us would really have gone through with the process and enjoyed the results and it is that which is key here. Many here would say a resounding ‘YES’in hindsight but there is a difference between a crossdresser and a Trans person as there are many who would be quite happy with their lot just being able to dress as opposed to going the whole way.

As a youngster who really felt this way there would be help for them but they are still children, and, in my mind is it right to let them make life changing decisions? Children can live in that make believe world and want to be almost anything. As it has been said before, if a child wants to be a dog would you give them dog food and a kennel outside?

I do believe that there should be support and work done with the child and parents to guide and help the child through school and life until either decided by parents and experts or age of consent is reached.

Has it done any damage?  In itself no, but in the wider press it was allied to other issues regarding Trans persons which has done damage.

Had I have been born in the last ten years and had the same feelings I had when I was younger I would probably had gone for it. It didn’t happen but I can say I have still enjoyed life and reached my goal of living as a woman, So good things do come to those that wait and I have years to make up for and I think that if I had changed when young I wouldn’t be enjoying being a woman as much as I am now.

[Nikki Just Nikki]

There is no “push” to get kids to identify. This is a bogeyman pushed by the right to deny rights to children and families, and to undermine public education. I work in public schools. ALL children in the US are entitled to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), which is written into every federal law governing public education and it requires schools to remove barriers to access wherever they are found. Harassment, intimidation, and bullying create toxic school environments that represent a barrier to FAPE, and LGBTQ+ kids are more than twice as likely to subject to harassment, intimidation and bullying than cisgender kids are. They are also more likely to be discriminated against, since there is no federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Are there trans kids receiving appropriate medical care? Certainly, but like abortion it’s only the business of the family and their doctor. These aren’t kids “pushed” into anything, it’s simply the acknowledgment by their parents that their child is transgender and they require gender-affirming care to protect their mental and physical wellbeing. That’s it. The very idea that this is being somehow “pushed” is as ridiculous as the right-wing canard that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Who here thinks they got to choose to be transgender?

To answer your question, the trans/CD community gets the same thing that everyone else in the LGBTQ+ community has gotten from increased visibility and awareness, and yes advocacy: equal protection under the law, and widespread social acceptance neither of which is a bad thing for anyone. Justice for trans is justice for all.

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