In the past, the major difficulty with gender identity issues was that they were perceived as rare conditions and people who had them were therefore isolated and affected by being misunderstood. The transgendered were repressed, persecuted or not taken seriously, and consequently suffered with loneliness and depression.
A boy may have said he felt he was really a girl, but as such a thing was so little heard of he would not be believed and would learn to keep that subjective experience secret and suffer accordingly. The internet has made ->-bleeped-<- in children more widely known, which makes it easier for it to be accepted and, hopefully, more normal. But as the recent spate of sensationalist news stories about young children with the condition show, we, as a culture, have work to do: "normality" needs to widen its net.
When raising any child, gender dysphoric or not, upbringing should not be about whether to oppress or indulge children, as it too often is. Ideally the carers of a gender dysphoric child should neither be punitive nor overly enthusiastic, as both of these responses would be judgmental. A judgment is a bit like a full stop and, once reached, further exploration tends to cease. Instead, adults need to honour children's subjective experience. They should endeavour to understand and validate a child's feelings.
"Adults need to honor childrens' subjective experience."
There's the rub. Adults need to parent. That means caring, guiding, mentoring, being role models, etc. The dog wags the tail; not the other way around.
