Transgenderism and Children: Child Abuse?

Transgenderism has been a thing for a while, becoming more and more prevalent in the news, and seems to almost be a fad or a trend. Whether it's a has-been celebrity or a child getting a sex change, there has been no such springboard to the forefront of media attention than getting a sex change.

I'm a fan of an old saying: "a man's home is his castle." And I've always been bewildered that people would believe that a man's home is his castle but his body is not in his domain. If you want to use drugs, alcohol, engage in sodomy, or get a sex change, in my view: you do you, as long as you're an adult and your decisions aren't harming anyone else.

But recently, transgenderism has come up in a different way. Like I said, if you're an adult and you want to get a sex change, I don't care: you do you. To me that's like genital piercings - I don't get it, seems weird to me, but it's your body, and it doesn't harm me.

But recently this has started to pick up with kids - with children. Last year a child as young as four years old opted for a sex change. How ludicrous is that? Doesn't it seem odd that children are now making these decisions?

We take an individual and tell them: you're not mature enough to join the military; you're too young to have a job [and we'll put anyone who gives you one in jail]; you're too immature to decide if you are going to put alcohol in your body; you are too immature to decide if you will use tobacco; you are too immature to buy a gun; you are too immature to drive a car; you are too immature to travel on your own; you are too immature to buy a Playboy; you are too immature...

But - somehow this person, who is too immature to make any of the above decisions, is mature enough to decide to undergo surgery for a sex change?

 

Children who can't even smoke tobacco yet, or drink alcohol, have 0 life experience, etc should not be allowed to get sex changes.

Many who do regret it, and this will only contribute to their suicide rate when they decide they miss their penis.

 

Children should never be allowed to make such a life changing decision for all the reasons stated above. No one should be allowed to until they become legal adults.

 

This is a legitimate issue that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, what we get instead is a National Geographic cover and overall media acclaim for a child who began transitioning at four years old.

If people legitimatelly believe we should be so inconsiderate regarding a life desicion that involves hormone blockers, major surgery and lifelong infertility, I guess there is little to be done about it.

 

No, a child should not be making this decision.

However by the time they reach puberty they are no longer entirely a child but on the cusp of adulthood.

And if they are convinced that they are in the wrong body that would be the appropriate time to introduce the appropriate hormone therapy and counseling.

Once they reach the 18 they can decide for themselves if they want a sex change.

 

Yes 18 they would be adults and therefore can decide for themselves.

 

it is child abuse not to allow it, those kids are trapped in bodies that they don't want.

freedom for all others in your list as well.

 

Well like I said, once they're adults - do what you do.

But I don't think kids at puberty should be able to make that decision either - I mean, onset of puberty ranges from 10-16, and at any rate they're not mature enough to have a smoke - but they're mature enough to opt for sex change surgery?

idk. seems odd to say both "you're not mature enough to try tobacco" and "you're mature and old enough to opt for sex change surgery".

 

That is NOT what I posted! They are NOT getting "sex change surgery" at puberty. Hormone treatment is reversible.

Essentially what you are alleging is that at puberty they are not mature enough to know themselves and while that might be true of some it is certainly not true for all. A blanket assumption of that nature ignores reality.

This is a private matter between the individual and their doctor. Obstructing a treatment that would be in the best interest of the individual based upon nothing but an assumption that one size fits all is wrong.

 

I didn't say that you did, but if it makes you feel better sorry.

Hormone treatment is reversible to a degree. It is never fully reversible - it's not like you stop taking estrogen and the breasts just go away.

hahaha, I am "alleging" no such thing. I didn't say anything about anyone 'knowing themselves'. There are certain decisions that we as a society have decided children aren't mature enough to make - which has no relevance to them "knowing themselves". We don't have a law that says, "you can't smoke a cigarette until you're 18 - unless you know yourself".

Really, could you stop and think about what you're actually saying here? Just because a kid has reached puberty and decides that they want a treatment, which a doctor is supportive of and will perform, that means we should leave it between them and their doctor? So if a young girl decides that she wants to undergo what we in western society call "female genital mutilation", you think that's a decision a child should be able to make? Or, only one they should be able to make if they think they "know themselves"?

 

You are confusing public policy and individual medical treatment.

They are NOT the same thing at all.

 

No I'm not. Public policy affects the healthcare industry, fyi, in so many ways - this is just a way that that can be.

I mean, that's what the whole point of discussion here is about...

 

I voted no and the reasons are that if you need to be 18 to smoke, vote, serve in our armed forces and even older than that to drink then there is no way in heck your of age to make such a life changing choice.

 

Public policy to prevent underage smoking and/or drinking addresses serious nationwide issues.

Public policy, such as is being suggested in the OP, is not applicable in this situation.There is no such serious nationwide issue when it comes to sex changes because it just isn't happening on anything remotely like underage smoking and/or drinking.

Underage children are not going to their doctor and asking them for sex changes. Medical doctors are licensed by the state and they are not going to provide sex changes without the consent of the parents because that would mean risking their medical licenses. Furthermore there is the cost of sex change operations. No minor has that kind of money or would be able to obtain medical insurance either.

A public policy in this instance would be nothing more than intrusive meddling in the private lives of a very small number of individuals.

Unless there are credible statistics PROVING that there a nationwide problem of doctors peddling sex changes to minors this is nothing more than an attempt to impose an egregious government overreach where none is needed.

 

I'd use about the same standard for this as I would for being able to consent to any serious thing such as intercourse, so that would be 16 or 18, but I honestly don't believe in age-based standards - it will vary at least some by the individual, but probably around 16 as a default. We're not talking about little boys who simply prefer to play with dolls and dress in pink. Children with this rare condition who are followed over years do not changes their mind about 99% of the time (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sex-change-treatment-for-kids-on-the-rise/):

And the reason the condition seems to be more common now is parents are being more open minded, instead of punishing and trying to correct the behavior as would have been the usual in the past. I like the Boston approach described in the news article I posted, block puberty until the teens when they can make a decision. If they are followed over years and demonstrate consistency and understanding of what they want, it is unlikely their preferences will change (1 in 97 at Boston). So telling them no, allowing puberty to occur, and subjecting them to the extra trauma of dealing with being treated as the gender they would prefer not to be during middle school and high school is a more harmful approach than blocking puberty until they are mature enough to make the decision to take hormonal therapy. Probably would wait longer on the more irreversible surgery, but it will depend on the case.

 

Excellent link, thank you.

Just thought that I would highlight this item;

That sex change surgery is ONLY carried out on adults was a given and that there are a mere handful of doctors who even carry out the procedure says volumes.

 

At puberty it is not a private matter between the individual and his doctor, the individual's parents have a right to be included as well since the minor will be living with them and they will be paying for it also.

 

Agreed!

I was using the terminology to exclude the general public not the immediate family of the individual concerned.

 

I do believe that it is the concern of the family and the child and I don't care what they decide as long as I don't have to pay for it in any way.

 

From what I have gathered it is elective surgery and may or may not be covered by health insurance dependiing upon the plan.

 

The 'parents' of such children shall be send behind bar, at best for life.And children need a help from psychiatrist if they 'suffer' in a 'wrong' body.

 

from just a quick glance at some articles it seems younger gender reassignment patients are less likely to be able to reverse the operation so that being said they should wait until they are adults, also I do not believe the taxpayers are responsible to pay for this operation

 

There is no child in the world who voluntarily would ask for a sex change, most children will not even know such a procedure exists. Any parent who talks to their children about this issue with the intention of brainwashing the child is severerly infringing on their self-ownership.

Let children be children!

 

I believe that children should be allowed to go to the preliminary stages of transitioning. Puberty is very problematic, though, because hormone replacement therapy becomes increasingly less effective the further down someone is. If a child is dysphoric, then the best course of action is to give them puberty blockers to see whether the feeling persists and to buy them time to decide if they want to fully commit to transitioning.

Well, yeah, that's how gender dysphoria is diagnosed and treated.

 

It seems like the obvious solution is to just put them on puberty blockers till they reach their majority, at which point they can choose whether further transitioning is right for them.