LoveInfamy
I feel suddenly and deliberately attacked.
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User ID: 1950
LoveInfamy
I feel suddenly and deliberately attacked.
1yr ago
Still, the causal chain lacked explanation. Why was having trans friends or spending time online making kids identify as trans?
The standard explanation for this is twofold: "more awareness leads more people to realize transition is an option" and "trans people tend to gravitate toward each other, even before they realize they're trans".
I was pretty skeptical of that explanation myself, particularly the second part... until I experienced it first hand.
After about 5 months on hormones, I came out to friends and family at age 40. Most people responded with the standard pleasantries and statements of support, etc., but two of the responses surprised me: one friend told me he'd had similar thoughts about his own gender for a long time, but kept them to himself, and hadn't acted on them because his life circumstances made it impractical. Another was really curious, told me he hadn't ever "felt" male (or female), and said I'd given him a lot to think about when I explained why I decided to transition.
These are guys my own age who I've known for 20-30 years, and I didn't expect to hear that from either of them!
Suddenly it doesn't seem so far-fetched that teens who'll eventually want to transition might recognize some related aspect of themselves in each other, form friend groups without realizing they have this in common, and then all come to that realization shortly after the first one does.
LoveInfamy
I feel suddenly and deliberately attacked.
1yr ago
Transgenderism is for life, and it is unprecedented money maker for big pharma and big medicine.
This is a little hard to believe, because the "for life" parts (i.e., hormones) are generic medications and they're dirt cheap.
I think you're mistaken. The WPATH SOC 8 explains the purpose as: "In general, the goal of GnRHa administration in TGD adolescents is to prevent further development of the endogenous secondary sex characteristics corresponding to the sex designated at birth. Since this treatment is fully reversible, it is regarded as an extended time for adolescents to explore their gender identity by means of an early social transition (Ashley, 2019e). Treatment with GnRHas also has therapeutic benefit since it often results in a vast reduction in the level of distress stemming from physical changes that occur when endogenous puberty begins (Rosenthal, 2014; Turban, King et al., 2020)."
That's why WPATH recommends not using them until after puberty has begun: "The use of puberty-blocking medications, such as GnRH analogues, is not recommended until children have achieved a minimum of Tanner stage 2 of puberty because the experience of physical puberty may be critical for further gender identity development for some TGD adolescents (Steensma et al., 2011)."
One reason is to allow casting a wider net. If close to 100% of kids who go on blockers continue on to cross-sex hormones, that suggests the blockers are being used fairly conservatively, i.e., only the kids who are most likely to go on cross-sex hormones anyway are getting them. Which suggests they may be screening out a lot of kids who, nevertheless, will go on to transition one day after having gone through natal puberty. Expanding the use of blockers would give those kids a chance to make that decision at a point in their physical development where it'll be easier, safer, and more effective, with minimal impact on the ones who decide to resume natal puberty.
It's a 16 year old kid brain with 4 years of experience living as the opposite gender, learning about their options for hormones and surgery, etc., instead of a 12 year old kid brain with zero experience. Don't you think that experience might be useful for decision-making?
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