“I was wearing my Spiderman costume,” Tom, now five, remembers. I couldn't read past this. No... he doesn't remember that.
Transgender children and gender dysphoria
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#32I feel like we are confusing children with people that have actual gender identity issues. My 5 year old can decide what her favorite color is, much less what gender she wants to be the rest of her life.
Just my experience: My wife worked in contact with a child that, years later, happend to be one of the earliest officialy recognized trangender of the country at the age of nine. My wife realized this child was a transgender, very probably earlier than their parents. She saw it clearly in the behaviour, preferences, movements. Is not that someone asked the child about it, but that the child acts and strongly feels so…
I'm admittedly skeptical about a 9 year old being trans.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#33“I was wearing my Spiderman costume,” Tom, now five, remembers. I couldn't read past this. No... he doesn't remember that.
I still remember my 3.5-year-old self trying to type some simple first grade calculations with MS Word 97 and print them. And I didn't knew English back then.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#34“I was wearing my Spiderman costume,” Tom, now five, remembers. I couldn't read past this. No... he doesn't remember that.
Memory is also reinforced by recollection and rehearsal. Since this was a pivotal thing in both his and his mom's life, it presumably has been talked about more than just this once.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#35If I had grown up in a culture this accepting of transgender people I would have transitioned. That would have been the worst decision of my life. I've grown into my identity as a man since then and I'm thankful for my parents and society pushing me in the right direction. We need to be careful to avoid putting borderline cases like me into a group with such high rates of suicide and depression.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#36The worrisome thing here is that batman outfits and swords are used as proof of the "boy" identity and pink princess stuff as proof of the "girl" identity. This is complete crap - gender roles are not dictated by which aisle of Toys 'R' Us you favor. I am willing to grant that the children profiled in the article aren't just in it for the toys, but the author is encouraging this perception, and I have seen more than…
And you're right; these are totally two separate things (cross-dressing, for example, is not much of an indicator as to whether someone is transgender or not.) Now, that said, kids should be free to wear whatever the hell they want, but nobody should take what they wear as an indicator as to what gender they would be more comfortable as.
I am none too keen seeing young girls wearing heavy make up. Children should be able to be children and not little adults.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
And you're right; these are totally two separate things (cross-dressing, for example, is not much of an indicator as to whether someone is transgender or not.) Now, that said, kids should be free to wear whatever the hell they want, but nobody should take what they wear as an indicator as to what gender they would be more comfortable as.
>Now, that said, kids should be free to wear whatever the hell they want I am none too keen seeing young girls wearing heavy make up. Children should be able to be children and not little adults.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#38I feel like we are confusing children with people that have actual gender identity issues. My 5 year old can decide what her favorite color is, much less what gender she wants to be the rest of her life.
> My 5 year old can decide what her favorite color is, > much less what gender she wants to be the rest of her > life. I think you may be confusing gender dysphoria with people waking up one day and thinking "Heck, it'd be kinda cool to be another gender!", rather than a pervasive and persistent deeply held belief that their body is wrong.
There have been cases of children and young teenagers who have such beliefs, and then change their minds when they're adults. This may not be the norm, but I think it's important that children and teenagers don't undergo irreversible transition treatment. Thankfully, I believe there are many reversible treatments, like puberty blockers.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Now, that said, kids should be free to wear whatever the hell they want I am none too keen seeing young girls wearing heavy make up. Children should be able to be children and not little adults.
What is inherently "adult" about makeup?
On this topic I really hope men can continue to resist the cosmetics industry. I have zero desire to see it become the expected social norm like it has for women.
Re: Transgender children and gender dysphoria
#40If I had grown up in a culture this accepting of transgender people I would have transitioned. That would have been the worst decision of my life. I've grown into my identity as a man since then and I'm thankful for my parents and society pushing me in the right direction. We need to be careful to avoid putting borderline cases like me into a group with such high rates of suicide and depression.