Quote:
Originally Posted by jaxie
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ing-drugs.html
This story popped up in my Google news feed this morning and I wondered what people thought about children under 16, sometimes under 10 being given puberty halting and gender change hormones. On checking out the story I found a report on the same child from 2015 so he/she is already undergoing treatment.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7933741.html
I also found this story about a boy who changed his mind. In my view a child is too young to decide to have this life changing therapy and doctors seem to be giving it out like candy. How can you be sure at 9 what sex you really want to be, most children because they are children are to a degree gender neutral without the drives and life creating elements that are part of gender, until the hormones kick in at puberty anyway so how can you know you don't want to be a man until you have any experience of it.
What do others think on this issue?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cherie
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true, I think we are causing more confusion in young minds by trying to cover every possibility instead of being practical, if a child said they wanted to be an astronaut at 8 would we put them into space ..
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I don't think it's a case of 'wanting' it's that they think they already are a male or female trapped in the wrong body.
I don't know what that's like or how these children feel but most transsexuals say that they always knew even as children, so I don't think going through puberty is a factor in that. Transsexualism isn't about sexual desire so why is going through puberty a necessity in being able to make the decision?
I don't know what the right answer is though and I'm not totally comfortable with the idea of gender-changing hormones, but like I say I don't understand the feelings of it as noone who hasn't gone through it can, but like Kizzy said the people who are best to judge that are the doctors/psychologists who have a better understanding of it and analysis of the specific children in question, so I'm inclined to trust their judgement (I don't think that the fact that some doctors have turned out to be murderers etc should mean they shouldn't be trusted full stop).
The rate of suicide among trans people is shocking and I don't think discomfort/inability to truly understand justifies putting these children at risk. It's weighing up the risk that they might change their mind (I'd be interested to know the rate of this) against putting their lives at risk by denying treatment. With regards to the drugs that delay puberty, they aren't actually being given a sex change, and it allows them time to change their mind, and it makes the process of having a sex change if that's what they end up deciding much easier, so maybe that is the most sensible option.