Transgender kids get help navigating a difficult path

[Shana A]

Transgender kids get help navigating a difficult path
Amber is one of an increasing number who are getting specialized care. The 12-year-old takes puberty-blocking drugs and hopes to have gender reassignment surgery at 16.

By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times
June 15, 2012, 4:58 a.m.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-transgender-kids-20120615,0,1463761,full.story

Amber, a soft-spoken, feminine 12-year-old who loves Hello Kitty and fashion design, lives with a secret. It is a secret most sixth-graders can't fathom, one she hides behind pink skirts and makeup. It is a secret that led to all her baby pictures being tucked away as though her childhood had never happened.

Amber was born a boy.

When she was 10, she stopped going by her given name, Aaron, and began dressing as a girl. Last year, she started taking medication to keep her from going through puberty.

[suzifrommd]

Amber, a soft-spoken, feminine 12-year-old who loves Hello Kitty and fashion design, lives with a secret. It is a secret most sixth-graders can't fathom, one she hides behind pink skirts and makeup. It is a secret that led to all her baby pictures being tucked away as though her childhood had never happened.

I wonder if there will come a day when transgender is so accepted that people like this dear child won't have to hide their past. Could "I was born male-bodied" ever be said as casually as, say, "I used to have freckles"?