'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.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.guim.co.uk%2Fstatic%2F59255%2Foriginal%2Fzones%2Fnews%2Fimages%2Flogo.gif&hash=66f712a672aa74a88076e8cc98fdd46f9f726f28) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/aug/14/children.youngpeople?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews)
QuoteLinda 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.