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This is not a topic I've researched, but I have read stories as they've come to my attention. From what I've seen, parents see a boy who likes pink and frills, and dresses and dolls, and they think "Girl." Why not just let it be okay for boys to like those things?
I'm not saying this is all there is to it, but it's what comes out in the articles. Girl likes playing rough and hates dolls: must be a boy. Boy likes playing dress-up and wants to be a princess: must be a girl. Why not just let it be okay for each child to have likes and dislikes without trying to make it part of their gender?
At least part of the confusion comes from the roles that we continue to assign to the genders.
Momma Bear pointed it out perfectly to be honest . The fact is people like this do not feel like the sex they are born with and letting them transverse gender norms is not going to make them feel better.
Sex reassignment is no small matter and not a decision that a child should make. If a girl is tomboyish then she should be supported in acting in whatever manner feels natural to her within the bounds of decent behavior. The suicide rate among people with gender reassignment is high. They wind up with parts that they may associate with but actually don't have any sensation.
I would think the RIGHT thing to do for a child who felt that they were the wrong sex would be to get counseling for them to deal with it until such age as they mature sexually.
The sucide rate among transexuals is considered higher pre op to post op,Gender Dysphoria Organization Research and Education. And to be honest this is the first generation in which we are seeing young people get the surgery before puberty kicks in giving them the characteristics that make one masculine or feminine. Being able to grow up without people knowing you were one sex, will affect your long term mental health. Sadly transexuals are not understood and often ostracized.
I've read several stories recently on this. It is also on the rise in Europe. Although I believe transgender issues are real, at what age should steps be taken to change a child's sex? My sister was a major tomboy and a kid, she used a boy's name, wanted to wear boy's clothes, and had GI Joe instead of Barbie. If she had been asked I'm sure she would have chosen to BE a boy, but right now she is perfectly happy as a woman.
I wonder if the mental stress of trying to live as the "wrong" sex is enough to warrant a life altering treatment in children.
I think there is way more to it than that. I don't believe anything life altering is being done to children (not that I'd know, really). I have followed the story about Jazz, a biological boy who felt like a girl from the get-go. As a toddler, s/he was undoing the snap crotch of her overalls to make it like a dress. the latest think I saw on her (she's been living like a girl since age 5), she was 11 and was contemplating putting off puberty for a few years. IIRC it was completely reversible, and puberty could be induced later, if she chose. She hasn't had any surgery, or anything permanent done. I think waiting until after age 18 is standard for actual reassignment surgery.
I have to give her parents a ton of credit for allowing her to live like a girl, against what society would have wanted. From what I saw, she really is a girl on the inside. It wasn't a phase. It wasn't going to go away. What a difficult thing to go through as a child and as a parent.
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Originally Posted by JustJulia
Gender identity disorder is a very rare condition. Hormone treatments, not to mention the initial medical and psychological tests, are very expensive and probably not covered by insurance. The article says that gender reassignment surgery (alteration of genitalia) is not done on patients under 18. Is this really a pressing issue? Of the very few children affected with this disorder, do all of them have parents who are willing or able to help them? No. It's not an easy, quick, or inexpensive path to take, so I imagine that any families in that situation know far more about what they are doing than the layperson does.
I think there is way more to it than that. I don't believe anything life altering is being done to children (not that I'd know, really). I have followed the story about Jazz, a biological boy who felt like a girl from the get-go. As a toddler, s/he was undoing the snap crotch of her overalls to make it like a dress. the latest think I saw on her (she's been living like a girl since age 5), she was 11 and was contemplating putting off puberty for a few years. IIRC it was completely reversible, and puberty could be induced later, if she chose. She hasn't had any surgery, or anything permanent done. I think waiting until after age 18 is standard for actual reassignment surgery.
I have to give her parents a ton of credit for allowing her to live like a girl, against what society would have wanted. From what I saw, she really is a girl on the inside. It wasn't a phase. It wasn't going to go away. What a difficult thing to go through as a child and as a parent.
I wonder if it's the choice of the clinic doing it that chooses the earliest age allowed? I know Kim Petras had it done at 16 a few years back.
As a toddler, s/he was undoing the snap crotch of her overalls to make it like a dress.
. . .
I have to give her parents a ton of credit for allowing her to live like a girl,
I realize that there's more to it than this, but this is an example: what does wearing a dress have to do with being a girl? That is completely cultural.
Couldn't some of the confusion be eliminated if we didn't do so much of the "Girls wear pink dresses; boys ride blue bicycles" stuff?
I realize that there's more to it than this, but this is an example: what does wearing a dress have to do with being a girl? That is completely cultural.
Couldn't some of the confusion be eliminated if we didn't do so much of the "Girls wear pink dresses; boys ride blue bicycles" stuff?
I don't think so because transexuals want to actually be the opposite sex. I don't see how allowing someone who feels they would be more complete with breasts, or curves is going to somehow feel okay because they can wear heels,chanel, and a dress
I think one of the big questions is in regards to hormone treatments pre-puberty. Once they hit puberty, their bodies will transform into the gender they don't identify with and there will be features that can't be changed by any amount of surgery or hormones taken as adults. Through action or inaction, you're making a decision about whether your child will grow into a feminine or masculine body. So how do you know what the right choice is for your child?
I realize that there's more to it than this, but this is an example: what does wearing a dress have to do with being a girl? That is completely cultural.
Couldn't some of the confusion be eliminated if we didn't do so much of the "Girls wear pink dresses; boys ride blue bicycles" stuff?
Very, very little, if any, I would think.
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. The fact is people like this do not feel like the sex they are born with and letting them transverse gender norms is not going to make them feel better.
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