The hormones for children doctrine is such a minefield.
First you have the fact that people who transition after puberty looks like shrek in drag, so the advocates for trans want to transition people earlier so they can be molded before the code mother nature put in us kicks in.
This leads to so many fucked up issues because children are not allowed to control their own lives because they are not developed mentaly.
So who gets to decide if a child can transition? Parents? We wont know if the parents have an agenda or munchusen by proxy. A therapist? By the time a therapist have managed to get the full mental picture of a child the child would be to old for a child transition unless the therapist is a hack or extrmely biased. We are talking life long changes that in many cases cant be undone here, a 1 year therapy plan wont cut it as you would have to make sure 100%.
Imo transitioning children is child abuse unless we want to give children adult rights, wich in itself is such a retarded proposal we dont have to discus it.
If you are a grown ass man or woman and you want to look like shrek in drag, i say go for it. But keep the children out of this madness.
Someone plx cue the simpsons think of the children gif
I actually agree with you on this, but as a teacher I've been forced to really think through the details of what I believe in relation to my care and respect for the children that I teach.
Personally, I feel like hormone blockers for boys transitioning to girls (and I know I'm not saying that as sensitively as I'm probably supposed to, but I'm trying to be as clear as possible) are not such an out there treatment option. If that person changes their mind at a later date, once they are an adult, there are still some good options left for developing as a man.
But giving testosterone to girls transitioning to boys seems an exercise in potential cruelty. If that person changes their mind at a later date, once they are and adult, the options available don't have very promising results. The potential loathing that someone in that position might have for their childhood self and the adults who failed to protect them from the long term consequences of their childhood choices feels like a massive burden to me, considering the fact that waiting until adulthood does not come with the same sorts of "too lateness" of the former scenario.
The decisions to remove body parts, in either case, seems to me something far beyond the capacity that a child has for forethought and an understanding of the long term. Especially since, as above, there is no real long term advantage to doing it now versus doing it later.
I am, however, sympathetic to the idea that a parent might see the long term advantage of acting now as being the increased happiness of their child in the present leading to the greater likelihood that their child will still be around in the future. I'm not sure I've seen much in the way to suggest this is the case, but I'm certainly open to the possibility that it is, and I don't envy any parent that sense of dread, or judge them for their attempt to address it.
I'd be interested in the thoughts of more "Trans Friendly" people on the above (i.e. the situations in which waiting does not have a negative, "Shrek in drag," impact on future outcomes).
Personally, I feel that maybe the best thing to do is to treat trans issues with children and teens in a way that is in keeping with best practices for how we (should) treat sexuality in general with children and teens. That is to say, you help your trans girl feel that it's okay she has a penis for now, and empowered in the idea that when she is of age to make adult decisions she can make the decision of whether she wants to keep it or not. Likewise, to help your trans boy feel comfortable in his smooth skin for now, and empowered in the idea that when he is of age to make adult decisions he can choose to keep his smooth skin or grow a beard.
Thoughts?