This is a very hot issue right now, and I thought it might be interesting to start a conversation on the topic, and see what everyone here thinks!

Personally, I have mixed feelings on the subject.  I'm absolutely in support of using blockers once someone in their early teens, and I don't have any doubts that they should absolutely be able to transition-I knew I was trans* when I was fourteen or so, and starting then would have made my life so much better.  Where I start to hesitate is when I hear about children who are twelve, nine, six, even three, who are already transitioning.

I don't think there's any doubt at all that a child that age can know if they are male or female identified-I'm pretty sure we all knew SOMETHING then-but can they understand the implications of being transgender?  That they'll probably need to undergo painful and expensive surgery to feel complete and fit in, and even then might not feel right with their bodies?  The bullying and isolation they could face, just for being themselves?  Even if a child understands who and what they are, I just can't imagine them understanding the challenges that they'll face.  Besides, social transition is almost as permanent as surgery, and there's a huge difference between wearing the clothing one likes and actually taking on a new gender!  I know for certain that if my parents have encouraged me to live as myself myself at that age, I wouldn't have survived a year.  I'm certainly passionately not for or against anything, but I think it's worth asking if these kids can really understand at that age what they're getting into.  Thoughts?  No flame wars, please!


Thanks,
Sasha

I feel puberty blockers are important as they give the person a chance to think about it and make a decision before any puberty is experienced. And ideally the timing for the blockers should be before puberty begins, assuming that symptoms of being unhappy are identified soon enough.

Hmm, come to think of it... I don't really have an opinion ;3;

I do know that some kinda grow out of it, but of course some don't..

In retrospect, I would have given my left nut for puberty blockers.  And the right one.

If gender dypshoria is present at puberty, it's not ever going to magically go away.  If anything, it just gets progressively worse over time.  I stuck it out for as long as I could, and it almost killed me.   I realize now that I suffered needlessly for decades. 

I think it's awesome that people are now able to identify gender dysphoria and do something about it before the physical damage is actually done.

Quote from: androgynouspainter26 on July 01, 2014, 12:57:41 AM
I don't think there's any doubt at all that a child that age can know if they are male or female identified-I'm pretty sure we all knew SOMETHING then-but can they understand the implications of being transgender?
That they'll probably need to undergo painful and expensive surgery to feel complete and fit in, and even then might not feel right with their bodies?
The bullying and isolation they could face, just for being themselves?
No flame wars, please!

Even though I didn't know what transgendersim was until I was 10, I felt the way that I did since age 4. The only difference is that by age 10, I finally had a name for what I was feeling and going through. By age 10, I was aware of GRS, hormones, etc. Sure, I didn't know all of the specifics such as the RLT, therapists, etc, but I was in the ballpark.

I was already being bullied, was an outcast and spent a LOT of time by myself, so transitioning wouldn't have changed any of that.

Flame wars?

*Squirts hot sauce at you*

I don't know enough about puberty blockers to comment on their use, but I would initially say they are better than administering HRT to a young teen. Some people know for sure, and some don't. I knew about trans women, didn't know trans men were even real until I was 16, and even then I hadn't had the luxury of self reflection to figure myself out. I don't think that any surgical steps should be taken until the child is an adult.

Quote from: Ayden on July 01, 2014, 01:40:46 AM
I don't think that any surgical steps should be taken until the child is an adult.

I could agree with that, but I think that hormone blockers would be a great idea. I wish that I had them back in the day.

Quote from: Laura Squirrel on July 01, 2014, 01:46:57 AM
I could agree with that, but I think that hormone blockers would be a great idea. I wish that I had them back in the day.

Are there any thorough studies on long term use of hormone blockers? As I said, in theory I think it's excellent for young people who show unmistakable signs, but I would wonder how it would affect the bodies ability to regulate. HRT replaces and suppresses at the same time, hormone blockers just suppress from my understanding.

Ayden,

My understanding is that these drugs have no track record of complications thus so far, and are considered safe.  I would give anything to have had them...

Also, you can't administer HRT to someone until about sixteen-their growth would be harmfully affected.  Usually, they'll take blockers until they're sixteen, and then start full HRT, often with amazing results. 

I am thrilled that the younger generation today (god, I sound so old!) have this option available to them, and I dearly wish it had been available when I was younger.

However, I think it's very dangerous to put specific age limits (such as 'early teens') on eligibility for these drugs. Dysphoria is a very personal, individual thing, and we all discover it at different ages and stages of development. But so too is puberty: different individuals enter puberty at different ages and progress at different rates, so I believe it's important to assess each potential trans* child on an individual basis and to offer puberty blockers, if appropriate, when that child actually needs them, not at a specific age.

Me? I've been dysphoric since I was 5, and I had the misfortune of undergoing a precocious puberty that started when I was 6. By the time I was 12 I was already fully matured in terms of my secondary sexual characteristics: I already had breasts, wide hips, periods... the whole package. 12 would've been way too late for me to start puberty blockers. If they'd been available, the best time for me to start puberty blockers would've been around age 7. And yes, I would absolutely advocate for puberty blockers being prescribed for children of that age under the right circumstances.

Watch this talk by an endocrinologist who prescribes puberty blockers to trans* kids, and think about how age limitations on puberty blockers would affect people like me.

TRIGGER WARNING: this is a wonderful talk, but it can trigger strong emotions in those of us who were forced to go through the wrong puberty:

Quote from: androgynouspainter26 on July 01, 2014, 02:02:57 AM
Ayden,

My understanding is that these drugs have no track record of complications thus so far, and are considered safe.  I would give anything to have had them...

Also, you can't administer HRT to someone until about sixteen-their growth would be harmfully affected.  Usually, they'll take blockers until they're sixteen, and then start full HRT, often with amazing results.

Thanks for the info. I'm reading up on everything now. It's amazing what they can do for our youth nowadays, isn't it?

I can only speak from my own experience and, of course, that colours my views so I would wish that the broadest range of possibilities be open to children.

I knew my gender from earliest childhood, long before there was any element of sex involved. I had picked my female name by age 4 and would LOVED to have transitioned (socially) before school. In all the years up to puberty, I never wavered in my belief that I was/needed to be a girl and I should  have been on blockers by age 10 because the first signs of an inappropriate puberty drove me crazy and drove me to more and more assertive and drastic measures including DIY hormones by 13 (whenever I could steal them).

The figure of 80% has been used for children who do not persist in their cross-gender desires but that means 20% who DO. It does not seem humane or compassionate to deny the 20% the chance to live a more normal life! The option SHOULD be there, regardless of age to live a full and complete puberty of one's choice AT THE SAME TIME that one's peers are experiencing puberty. I (personally) do not feel that delaying puberty is an ideal solution when a normal puberty is within the capability of medicine.

A big part of the problem is parent's and doctor's dismissive attitude toward children, the "I know better and you don't know" attitude that results in delays and treatment denied.

It is true (I suppose) that  some children may not know and that NO child can possibly know for sure until they are given the chance to experience life as they desire it and they SHOULD be given that opportunity.

Any reasonable adult SHOULD be able to live with the consequences of their decisions - I tried that but it didn't work out - but the true regret comes from not having been allowed that decision in the first place!

I feel it is the prejudices and ignorance of adults that allows them to feel they are justified in interfering in children's lives. Children know a hellofa lot more than we give them credit for!

I knew I wanted to be a girl by the time I was 7 but knew something was wrong long before that, I thought I was gay but back in the 80's information on transpeople was almost non existant. It wasn't until early teens that I found out about ->-bleeped-<- & I instantly knew that this applied to me.

If I was a child nowdays then i'd likely not go through the stage of thinking I was gay due to ignorance, I feel that any child who feels that they are trans should be given the option of blockers, should they reach 16 (or 18 depending on location) & decide transitioning is not for them they can stop blockers at any time & go through a late puberty with no i'll effects.
That's the important point here, blockers do not equal transitioning they just prevent the damage of puberty giving the child/young adult come to terms with their condition before taking the step of HRT later in life.

I'm all for children being given blockers & the only negative feelings I have about it is jealousy. They're so damn fortunate to be born into a society that recognises the problem & has a medical solution that was never available to me.

I can't remember a time when I didn't know something was seriously off about me. It wasn't until puberty that I consciously thought, "I should have been born a girl," but for as long as I could remember, I didn't like being a boy. I liked things girls typically liked, wanted to have long hair, would have LOVED to wear a dress... but I didn't get to do any of those things. I was keenly aware just how unacceptable it was and I was pretty afraid of my father, so I never even spoke up about it. I just denied, denied, denied. I didn't feel that way. I could be happy being a boy. I had to be. There was no other option.

I was a VERY maladjusted kid. Maybe for some, not transitioning at a very early age would protect them; keep them safe. For me, I'm still shocked I made it through childhood NOT transitioning. Constantly forcing myself into a role I hated had a hugely negative impact on my development. It affected nearly everything. How I viewed everything. It kept me from forming friendships and made me a lonely outcast. That's what pretending to be a cis boy did, not what being a trans girl would have. So, yes, I'm 100% in support of parents allowing their children to transition at extremely early ages. I could have had a vastly different life -- a much better life -- if mine had.

I guess since we're all talking about personal experience here, I can go ahead and share mine. At the age of five, I was absolutely convinced that I was born as a girl, but that my parents wanted a boy and just gave me a quick switch. Obviously at the time, I didn't know that was not possible. As I progressed through child hood, I would do the normal 'cross gender' things: play with makeup, dresses and heels, etc. As I began to go through puberty, though, I guess I sort of repressed these feelings. I was gay by any conventional definition. That's not to say these feelings didn't exist, I still felt them from time to time, they just didn't dominate me. Last September (I was 19), I began seriously looking into myself again and last May (20 at that point), I came out as transgender.

Personally, I think it's great that things like this can exist. I think we need to continue pushing the boundaries of medical science, especially for all of our transmen brothers. However, I think a form of education needs to exist. Having developed this technology will do us no good if parents won't consent to their child being a part of it.

I would claim that it's not hard to tell the difference between a transgender kid and one who is experimenting. If the kid adopts an alternate gender presentation and the more time goes on, the more comfortable he/she is with it and the more he/she seems to fit in with his/her peers as that gender, the more likely it is that they are trans.

As for "knowing what they are getting into", I get what you're saying. Transition was tough at 52. I can imagine how it would be at 7 or 17. I've definitely seen kids who desperately want to live as the opposite gender but are terrified.

We (the adults in their lives) CAN and MUST make the way easier for them.

There's one other thing I wanted to add: I sincerely hope that, in the not-too-distant future, support groups & sites like this one will no longer be necessary. I hope that future trans* people will be identified and helped in childhood, and that those who come after us will not have to suffer as we have suffered. I hope the pain & torment we've experienced will eventually fade into a bad memory from a less enlightened time.

A transgender child, especially a trans girl, might be an even bigger target of bullying in their assigned gender.

Quote from: Ayden on July 01, 2014, 01:40:46 AM
I don't think that any surgical steps should be taken until the child is an adult.

I know many trans minors lack the maturity to make that decision, but what about the ones who can?  Should they be forced to experience the formative years of their life with the wrong genitals?  I recently had SRS and couldn't truly understand how psychologically damaging it was having the opposite genitals until afterwards.

No child should be forced to go through that. 

Quote from: Ayden on July 01, 2014, 01:53:57 AM
Are there any thorough studies on longg term use of hormone blockers? As I said, in theory I think it's excellent for young people who show unmistakable signs, but I would wonder how it would affect the bodies ability to regulate. HRT replaces and suppresses at the same time, hormone blockers just suppress from my understanding.

I wouldn't care if there were any risks, I would still be asking my parents (especially my mom) if they would have went with this if I had that option. But I didn't even have the courage to come out as a kid, never mind asking them/her: "Hey, can I take this?" If they knew the absolute truth of the situation and were also able to find a competent therapist, my life would have been much more bearable. I would have never touched drugs or alcohol. I would taken much better care of myself physically, and I wouldn't have been sitting in my bedroom on many occasions thinking to myself: "Okay, is this the day I get out Dad's shotgun and end this?" These are not thoughts that you should be having at age 10 through 12. Had I been on something like hormone blockers, this wouldn't have been the case. I would have embraced the future, rather than dreading it. (Because there were many times when I thought that there wouldn't even be a future.)

My daughter has a friend who is 5 who is trans. They refer to themselves as a girl with boy parts. They still go by their birth name, but they prefer the they pronoun and dress in the feminine. Their parents are very supportive and think that they will likely transition fully before middle school. I think that as parents, it is our job to support the path to happiness when our children come upon it. I knew that I should have been a boy when I was 4, and if I had told my parents rather than keeping it a shameful secret for 20 years, I may have had a better childhood.