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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My son is trans. When I told people, it was just to share information. I had a support system to vent to and share feelings with while he transitioned. I mostly told people so they wouldn't be lost when I said my son instead of my daughter, and so they could use his new name if they saw him. The best responses were along the lines of "thanks for letting me know. Please correct me if I mess up and use the wrong name or pronoun." I could tell it was awkward for some people to ask questions, but I was happy to answer any questions about the transition process. Many people don't know (or don't know they know) trans people, don't really think about it until someone they know transitions, and don't really know what resources are available to learn about it. [/quote]

One of my dearest friends and my kid's friends become trans a few years ago. I have been openly supportive and I genuinely love the kid and the family, but let's also be clear: it's their experience that has radicalized me against children transitioning.

I wouldn't share that with the family. But the rapidity with which that kid was put on blockers, cross sex hormones at 15.... And the change in them.... I've seen a kid go from being fairly happy go lucky go withdrawn, depressed, anorexic, and completely obsessed with their appearance and presentation.

You might say that's just being a teen and perhaps it is. But the difference between my kid and their friend is astonishing... And my kid isn't popular or gender conforming. They just don't give a damn. [/quote]

You probably don’t know all the details. I mean, I’m sure you think you do, but there’s no way you can. I’m sure some people thought we moved too quickly, but they don’t know about the years of therapy for anxiety and depression before coming out, then the year+ of therapy with a gender specialist before we did anything beyond changing hair and wardrobe. We researched everything, every step, and discussed the options with our child before coming to decisions and carrying them out. We didn’t advertise to friends and family, so I’m sure changes seemed sudden.

I think it’s unfair that you’re comparing their child to yours. It sounds like two different situations, plus they’re entirely different people with different personalities. The question is, are they happier now than if treatment had been withheld. You can’t know that, but the parents and child probably have a decent idea. My son still has anxiety and depression. The pandemic made that worse. He seems much less happy, not to mention happy go lucky, than his peers. But I don’t think I’d still have a living child if he hadn’t transitioned.

And one reason many trans people put so much consideration into their appearance is they’re judged so harshly for it. [/quote]

I'm sorry for your family's struggle. It's not uncommon and it is unfortunate, and I'd agree, the pandemic didn't help.

However, you aren't my friend or their family, and I do know for a fact their child didn't have much oversight.

My child probably has shorter hair than yours. We just don't consider it to be something that has to do with their gender. [/quote]

The fact that you’re suggesting trans kids are basing gender identity on their hairstyle says a lot about you. The only people I know who make comments about someone’s gender based on their hairstyles are ultra conservatives who make fun of guys who have hair past their collars and call them sissies and who call girls with short hair all sorts of names. My son is trans whether he has short or long hair. His hair is long right now, as a matter of fact. I’m sure your child’s hair is more about their preferences, personality, style, facial structure, and probably a lot of other personal choices rather than gender.

Also, I’m not sure why your friends choices make you opposed to all children transitioning. Just because they chose not to educate themselves about the process doesn’t mean everyone plays fast and loose with medical decisions for their kids. Decisions like that should be between the families and their doctors, not legislators, just like women’s health and treatment should be private and not decided by people who’ve never dealt with the issues first hand. [/quote]

I wasn't saying it has anything to do with hairstyle.

It was the poster talking about the their son who said hairstyle was one of the first things they did, before medical intervention. To me, that suggests that to their kid, hairstyle was a big part of this. Hairstyle and fashion. How could it be otherwise? What does someone barely in puberty actually *know* about being either gender as an adult?

It's my opinion, not a lot.

I have so many gay friends who would probably be considered trans kids if they were growing up today. And yet, being gay, loving the bodies they're in and being attracted to bodies like theirs... That's a huge part of it.

You say this isn't about appearance, or genitals, but then you're actually medicalizing kids to make it all about those things.

I would be thrilled if gender truly didn't matter. But what I see going on here is a codifying and defining of cosmetic gender attributes that would make a 50s nuclear family look like swingers. [/quote]

Different pp.  Trans adult here.  I knew since I was a young child even though I didn't have the words to describe that I was transgender.  My sexuality is unrelated to being transgender.  I'm bisexual.  I had sex with men and women prior to transition.  I'm still attracted to and have sex dreams about men and women.  The sexual orientation part didn't hit me until puberty but I knew I was trans from a very young age.  No cis person, gay or straight, should ever transition and I've never heard of a gay person being pushed to transition.  That would defeat the purpose of transition and give a cis person gender dysphoria.  No trans person would ever want someone else to have that.  The only people that should transition are those that are transgender and wish to and are ready to transition.  No one should ever be pushed into transition.  In my experience though, [b]most transgender people do want to transition but it's actually a lot harder to get the courage to do it than you might believe.  Especially if you're later in life[/b].[/quote]

Dp. Thank you for your perspective. The last bit, though....tween and teen brains aren't fully developed. Critical brain development happens into the early 20's. Teens are impulsive and, imo, should never be allowed to make the decision to stop or alter their hormones, especially if there isn't a long history (starting very young, preschool age) of feeling you are the opposite gender.[/quote]

How many trans people have you spoken to about this subject? Do you know anyone personally (not a friend's auntie's neighbor's friend from facebook) who transitioned without a long history of feeling like they're a different gender? Most trans people have known for a while, even if they didn't have the labels. Most people keep those feeling private, because there's a lot of judgment out there. Many transition as privately as possible, because it's a lot to deal with emotionally, and they don't need random people giving opinions about their medical treatment.  Just because they didn't share with you that they felt like their insides didn't match their outsides since they were children doesn't mean those feelings weren't there. [/quote]

This comes from the parent's perspective. Young children have no filter. There are signs the attentive parent would notice. If my preschooler said "I'm a girl, not a boy" or sone other thing which we've all heard about (Jazz Jennings), I'd give that more credence than my tween who never showed signs of gender dysphoria or questioning all-of-a-sudden declaring they are trans. Especially with the gender fluidity "explosion" in the young populace of late.[/quote]

So when people start talking about transgender issues, you think of tween girls trying on different identities trying to figure out who they are? That's your standard?

DS came out after going through puberty. He was a teen, but this wasn't a whim. I never would've guessed he was trans. I wouldn't have guessed it because it's not sometime I was very familiar with rather than I wasn't observant or he didn't give clues or he hadn't been feeling that way for a long time. It's just not the most common thing and I wasn't experienced with trans issues in a personal way. After he told me, my first thought was "this makes so much sense." He never said he was a boy, he wore dresses and played princess when he was little. But there was always an element of discomfort at certain gender expectations, something I can't put my finger on that just never felt quite right until he transitioned. He's more comfortable, and it just feels natural. Even though he never gave indications that he was trans before coming out abruptly, he'd been feeling it for a long time.
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