Explaining Transgender to kids

[JimG]

Locker Rooms and Lessons in Gender | Catholic Answers Magazine

 

[adgloriam]

We hear more and more cases of parents who help their children “transition,” even before the traditional age of reason, and even before the child can tie his own shoes. One famous case involves Thomas Lobel, an eleven-year-old boy who identifies as a girl named Tammy. His adoptive lesbian parents claim that Thomas has identified as a girl ever since he was three, and say they worried about suicide risks if he didn’t use hormone blockers to stave off puberty.

There should be protective alarm bells instinctively going off in our brains when we hear any adult say such novel and outrageous things!

These adults ignore the real mental health risks involved in trying to change a child’s sex. Johns Hopkins University professor Paul McHugh points to a thirty-year study in transgender-friendly Sweden that found that, ten years after having reassignment surgery, the mortality rate of transgender people was twenty-fold higher than the non-transgender population. (Walt Heyer is one example of sex-change regret, and he has made it his mission to reach out to others who regret their operations, and to educate the public about the harm of such surgeries.)

 

[Bruised_Reed]

From Fact check: study shows transition makes trans people suicidal

Williams: Before I contacted you for this interview, were you aware of the way your work was being misrepresented?

Dhejne: Yes! It’s very frustrating! I’ve even seen professors use my work to support ridiculous claims. I’ve often had to respond myself by commenting on articles, speaking with journalists, and talking about this problem at conferences. The Huffington Post wrote an article about the way my research is misrepresented. At the same time, I know of instances where ethical researchers and clinicians have used this study to expand and improve access to trans healthcare and impact systems of anti-trans oppression.

Of course trans medical and psychological care is efficacious. A 2010 meta-analysis confirmed by studies thereafter show that medical gender confirming interventions reduces gender dysphoria.

Walt Heyer was abused by his grandmother in a very specific way. That isn’t true of any of the transgender people I know or have read about.

 

[ConfusedLucy]

I’d probably just tell kids that Person A is a man who prefers to style themself like a lady. Best to keep things simple.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I agree, I think that is all the explanation necessary for a child prior to puberty.

 

[0Scarlett_nidiyilii]

Good luck explaining it to kids when there isn’t even a standard definition to go by.
At this point in history, “transgender” simply means whatever the person claims it is.