'My body is wrong'

[Hazumu]

'My body is wrong'
Should teenagers who believe they are transgender be helped to change sex? And if so, what about the four-year-olds who feel the same way? Viv Groskop meets the parents and doctors in favour of intervention.

Linda receives a couple of inquiries a week: "We get a lot of calls from parents who have five- to nine-year-olds. There seem to be more boys than girls affected at that age," she says, "Which is probably because it's more acceptable for girls to be tomboys. If you have a little girl who wants to cut her hair short or play football, that is seen as normal. But if you have a boy who wants to draw mermaids or dress up as a princess, they get made fun of." Once puberty hits, the numbers even out and there are as many girls as boys seeking help. For some children, it is a passing phase, she says. "For others it is likely to go on for some years and will cause a lot of problems." This is something of an understatement.