Lyric, you are espousing one of the popular myths and outdated definitions of transsexuality. That it happens at a very young age, and anytime it doesn't is not real transsexuality. I will tell you right now the age of full gender consciousness does not make much of a difference whether or not somebody is a TS, this is why the age of onset of these feelings as far as evaluation was thrown out of the SoC. Clinicians have a better understanding of this issue now.
Even under the older definitions of early onset, it was those who experienced feelings between the ages of 3 to early onset of puberty, often 11 or 12. It was not by the age of 5. Rather by age 11 or 12. Many people in this category who do achieve it by this time, were not necessarily fully gender conscious when they were younger. Why? Because for many gender consciousness does not really happen until early puberty. That is why many who say they feel like they should be a girl at age 5 or very early on, actually end up being gay men. Just as many "primary" or "early onset" TS say they knew pretty much at the start of puberty, as those who knew at the age of 5. The onset of puberty itself has more to do with gender consciousness than how you felt at a young age. That is why the cutoff for early onset or primary used to be puberty. Real gender consciousness often does not happen until then, and determining ones gender identity, or whether or not they are TS, before than can often be in futility. Gender variant kids, are often not TS.
The truth is though age of onset matters very little these days for any experienced therapist. They will admit though, that it is how it sustains itself in puberty can be a determinant for some. Many of those people who identify as female at a young age, end up being gay, not TS after puberty hits. While many TS do not achieve gender consciousness until puberty (it is an often response that they really were not sure before hand, and they always felt different by those who onset was at the start of puberty). Puberty, ends up being more of a key to TS in earlier onset, because that is when one becomes fully conscious of ones identity and where the gender identity and TS tend to cement. Thats why if you read the definitions of early onset it is often between early childhood and early puberty. It is once you get beyond early puberty that you are in the realm of late onset or secondary TS. However, even the primary and secondary definitions and age of onset has been scrapped.
By saying one is "not really TS" if they did not know by age five is discounting many peoples experiences, and not rightfully so. It is also going against even the old clinical definitions of early onset, which is determined by those feelings at or before the onset of puberty. It is placing things in a very narrow definition, that has hurt more TS than helped. I find it to be a viewpoint, that discounts many peoples feelings, and lacks real understanding of TS.
However, there is a move to have these definitions scrapped, because they are finding that everybody is unique and this categorization was of TS based on onset is a bit bunk. Everybody is different, and even the onset definitions do not take into account a number of factors that are individual to each person. Placing a hierarchy on TS does more to block treatment and access than actually help an individual out. One needs to get beyond this.
With that being said, even under the older definitions you will find just as many primary TS who had onset and consciousness at 11-13 as you will at the age of five. But these older definitions, do not even mean much anymore, and has been completely dropped by the clinical community with regards to TS, and it has been better for it.
I personally knew I was always different from the age of three, but it did not fully occur to me that I should have been female until the age of 11. I was emotionally, physically and psychologically different then boys when I was younger (even though I was not aware of it I was effeminate in many ways), but I was not fully conscious until I was 11. Even under the older definitions I fall under primary TS/early onset.
This was the conclusion of a 2000 Paper which was very influential on the current SoC:
Conclusion
Despite efforts to classify transsexualism hierarchically, neither sexual preference nor a history of feminine behavior have been shown to have any bearing on whether or not an individual will or will not profit from treatment. The work of Person and Ovesey was helpful in describing the range of behaviors and orientations to life that transsexuals may experience. From this we have learned that transsexuals can be widely different from one another, yet show a common need for their condition to be understood and helped. There are no primary transsexuals or secondary transsexuals. There are no true transsexuals or "wannabe" transsexuals. Being gender dysphoric in a society that barely acknowledges the existence of such a condition requires the development of coping mechanisms. Some coping mechanisms are more overt and obvious than others. But no matter what the individual does to survive, one thing is certain, everyone who suffers from gender dysphoria must eventually come to terms with his or her situation. it can be found here:
http://www.avitale.com/PrimarySecondary.htm
