Is there a typo there?
by DBCooper (2024-02-02 12:19:30)

In reply to: I don't know why people get so jazzed up  posted by ACross

Cannot Reply Return to Political

“I know a family whose child has been transgender for 3 years and is now age 5“

That seems a bit… early

The child was 3. Typo *
by ACross  (2024-02-02 14:44:13)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

3 seems quite early to know much of anything *
by ravenium  (2024-02-02 15:11:34)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

However also unlikey at that age for it to be a response to
by wpkirish  (2024-02-02 19:08:04)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

type of societal conditions that people believe are leading to this which would lead me to believe the kid is seeing something in himself or herself.

I dont know anyone who is trans but the gay friends I have are all pretty clear they knew from a very young age.

Human nature is a complex mystery for sure
by ravenium  (2024-02-03 17:52:09)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I think at the end of the day I'm just here to raise my hand, admit I know jack squat, and just try to treat people with respect and dignity, even if I don't fully understand their situation.

At that age, I would agree that society probably isn't doing that (despite the far right boogiemen). It may be parents overreacting, but I'm also not going to backseat parent anyone.

A couple thoughts, if you'll allow me -

- I would think one's knowing if they were gay or straight would be predicated on puberty, wouldn't it? I thought girls were super cootie gross until right around the time my voice started cracking (ok, not exactly, but you get the idea).

- I think the whole idea of gender as a social construct vs actual medical dysmorphia gets conflated a lot. Having to make someone whole (for lack of a better term) medically seems to be a world apart from a kid who decides he likes barbies or gi joes better. We probably place too much emphasis on the latter.


Random anecdote: Bobby Flay asked for an easy bake oven when he was a kid. His dad freaked out, but he turned out fine.



-
Both of your points are highly valid and relevant
by czeche  (2024-02-04 07:59:23)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I believe the Economist writes that studies of prepubertal kids who believe they are Trans show that, if allowed to progress through puberty, they are usually (but not always) glad they did not, and usually (but not always) turn out to be homosexual instead.

That suggests that medicalizing this prepubertally likely causes more harm than good. One major issue is that in the United states, since affirmation is the one allowed response at present, there will not be any advancement in determining who will end up still wanting to be trans vs realizing they actually did not... hopefully Europe advances that science.

In the meantime, any parent who has a child who identifies as Trans would be unable to find someone willing to explore that identity without firmly trying to answer the question for the child. The battle lines are drawn.

Who decided that affirmation is the only allowed response
by Dutch  (2024-02-04 09:25:44)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

in the US? How did that decision get made? What will it take to change that status quo?

While these questions are important for the specific issue of how best to care for prepubertal kids who believe they are trans, I think there are also some lessons to learn from this more generally.

Well, that is what happened
by ACross  (2024-02-02 17:00:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

The child identified as a particular gender and chose clothes and toys consistent with that gender.
My experience with trans kids in fellowship
by AquinasDomer  (2024-02-02 18:14:48)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Was that their families didn't skew more progressive than other families. Normal people trying to fo the best for their kids.
My 3 year old once told my wife
by manofdillon  (2024-02-02 15:56:47)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

to point her penis down when she said she had to use the bathroom (advice we regularly gave him at that age as he was learning to use the bathroom on his own, which at that point involved sitting down to pee). Not a well developed concept of sex and gender.
Not sure if the kid was concerned about genitalia *
by ACross  (2024-02-02 18:57:19)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I don’t know your friends and am not passing judgment.
by manofdillon  (2024-02-02 20:34:14)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Have had five kids who were all 3 at one point, I really struggle to imagine a 3 year old having any developed sense of what it means to be a boy or girl, such that any meaning could be ascribed to one’s expressed desire to dress like or play with toys associated with the opposite gender. Maybe their favorite tv character is the opposite sex and they want to emulate that? Or a friend at day care or preschool who is the opposite sex? I just don’t know how a 3 year old boy could have any developed sense of what it really means to be a boy or girl beyond the most superficial characteristics that he or she can identify at that age. But I certainly haven’t lived that or had any first had experience with it.

I never mentioned whether the child was a boy
by ACross  (2024-02-02 22:36:16)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Or a girl, biologically.
The point still stands.
by JTAD31  (2024-02-03 07:59:52)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Does a 3 year old know enough to ask for a sex change?

Can a 3 year old make any rational decisions? I know my kids couldn't.

It seems very early to be making decisions like that. About 15 years early.
It’s patently absurd. *
by thehibernian  (2024-02-06 20:34:15)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

Statistically, that 5 year old is probably a biological boy
by Tex Francisco  (2024-02-02 12:40:07)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

who will grow up to be a cisgender gay man.